Derek Jacobi News

To celebrate its 50th Anniversary, the National Theatre of Great Britain presents a once-in-a-lifetime performance, broadcast to cinemas around the world. Screening at Riverside Theatres on Saturday, 7 and Sunday 8 December, National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage will be a thrilling evening of live theatre.

Roundabout Theatre Company presents The Winslow Boy, starring Tony nominee Michael Cumpsty as 'Desmond Curry', Academy & Tony Award nominee Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as 'Grace Winslow', Alessandro Nivola as 'Sir Robert Morton' and Tony Award winner Roger Rees as 'Arthur Winslow'.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the National Theatre presents National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage, bringing together the best British actors for a unique evening of unforgettable performances, broadcast live from London to theatres and cinemas around the world.

With several plays in repertory opening on Broadway this year, theatre fans are already wondering what this will mean for the 2014 Tony Awards. Both NO MAN'S LAND/WAITING FOR GODOT and TWELFTH NIGHT/RICHARD III will take Broadway bows this fall, featuring such stage heavyweights as Mark Rylance, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and more- but will they be eligible for both of their performances?

Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch and Christopher Eccleston have joined the starry cast for the National Theatre of Great Britain's 50th anniversary celebration "LIVE FROM THE NATIONAL THEATRE: 50 YEARS ON STAGE," directed by Nicholas Hytner. This special event will be broadcast by National Theatre Live to cinemas internationally on Saturday, November 2, 2013 (with many encore dates in U.S. cities). From Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to The History Boys, from Antony and Cleopatra to Angels in America, from Guys and Dolls to London Road, this will be a thrilling evening of live performance and rare glimpses from the archive, featuring many of the most celebrated actors who have performed on their stages over the past five decades.

Today in 1946, Cyrano de Bergerac opened at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre), where it ran for 193 performances. Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears a very scant resemblance to his life. The entire play is written in verse, in rhyming couplets of 12 syllables per line, very close to the Alexandrine format, but the verses sometimes lack a caesura. Notable English-speaking Cyranos include Ralph Richardson, DeVeren Bookwalter, Derek Jacobi, Richard Chamberlain, and Christopher Plummer, who played the part in Rostand's original play and won a Tony Award for the 1973 musical adaptation. Kevin Kline played the role in a Broadway production in 2007. The play is currently in previews at the American Airlines Theatre, starring Douglas Hodge in the title role.

Experiencing a play from Britain's National Theatre in London is possible thanks to the Live in HD series at The Ridgefield Playhouse, which will broadcast NTL 50 Years on Stage on Sunday, December 1, at 6:30 p.m. to celebrate its 50th anniversary, The National Theatre of Great Britain presents a once-in-a-lifetime performance featuring stars from its early golden period under the leadership of Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic theatre to its now iconic building in the heart of London. The anniversary performance will feature Britain's finest theatrical talent, including renowned writers such as Harold Pinter, Peter Shaffer, Tom Stoppard, Alan Bennett and David Hare, and celebrated actors including Maggie Smith, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench, Michael Gambon and the rising stars of today.

Roundabout Theatre Company presents The Winslow Boy, starring Tony nominee Michael Cumpsty as 'Desmond Curry', Academy & Tony Award nominee Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as 'Grace Winslow', Alessandro Nivola as 'Sir Robert Morton' and Tony Award winner Roger Rees as 'Arthur Winslow'.

Here is the first look at Nicole Kidman as beloved movie star and real-life princess Grace Kelly in the upcoming biopic GRACE OF MONACO.

The governing body of the Church in Wales yesterday accepted a motion to allow female bishops, a move which was celebrated by the cast of the National Youth Theatre's production of Pope Joan at last night's performance.

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE has just announced a live broadcast of the National Theatre of Great Britain's 50th anniversary celebration 'National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage,' to cinemas around the world. From Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to The History Boys, from Antony and Cleopatra to Angels in America, from Guys and Dolls to London Road, this will be a thrilling evening of live performance and rare glimpses from the archive, featuring many of the most celebrated actors who have performed on their stages over the past five decades and directed by Nicholas Hytner. The celebration will be broadcast to cinemas internationally and in the UK on BBC Two on Saturday, November 2, 2013 (with many encore dates in U.S. cities).

The Daily Mail reports that Simon Russell Beale, Frances de la Tour, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi, Alex Jennings, Rory Kinnear, Adrian Lester, Anna Maxwell Martin, Andrew Scott, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton and more will be joining NATIONAL THEATRE: 50 YEARS ON STAGE on November 2, 2013.

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced the Broadway cast of The Winslow Boy, starring Tony nominee Michael Cumpsty as 'Desmond Curry', Academy & Tony Award nominee Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as 'Grace Winslow', Alessandro Nivola as 'Sir Robert Morton' and Tony Award winner Roger Rees as 'Arthur Winslow'.

The critically acclaimed British drama LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX premieres Sunday, September 8, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. (check local listings) on PBS.

National Theatre Live is pleased to announce that the June 13 live broadcast of Peter Morgan's Olivier Award-winning new play The Audience was seen by nearly 30,000 people in North America and nearly 80,000 people in the UK - the largest audience ever for a live broadcast from National Theatre Live. Due to the record-breaking response to the National Theatre Live broadcast of The Audience, many encore screenings have already been added, and more encores will be added throughout the summer internationally. In North America, there are currently 700 screenings scheduled throughout the summer, with additional encores to be added still; in the UK, nearly 800 screenings will take place - the largest number of screenings for a National Theatre Live broadcast in both North America and the UK ever. The Audience played its final performance at London's Gielgud Theatre on June 15, starring internationally acclaimed actress Helen Mirren as The Queen, directed by Stephen Daldry, and won two 2013 Olivier Awards for Best Actress (Helen Mirren) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Richard McCabe).

Internationally acclaimed actress Helen Mirren's performance as The Queen in the world premiere of Peter Morgan's THE AUDIENCE, directed by Stephen Daldry, will be seen by cinema audiences worldwide when National Theatre Live broadcasts the play live from London's Gielgud Theatre on June 13, 2013, with varying dates internationally and encore screenings throughout the summer. THE AUDIENCE reunites Mirren and Morgan after collaborating on the 2006 film The Queen, in which Mirren also portrayed Elizabeth II, winning the Academy, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and BAFTA Awards for Best Actress for her performance. For their performances in THE AUDIENCE, both Mirren and Richard McCabe (as former Prime Minister Harold Wilson) won 2013 Olivier Awards for Best Actress and Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

BBC Worldwide North America Sales & Distribution and PBS announced today the sale to PBS of the first season of the critically acclaimed British drama LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX and the third season of the award-winning BBC hit CALL THE MIDWIFE.

The first promo for the new ITV comedy VICIOUS starring Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi has finally been released and it garners us a gander into the bawdy and bitchy world of the tailor-made new series.

Red Bull Theater will present the American Premiere of a new adaptation of August Strindberg's The Dance of Death by Mike Poulton (Tony Award Nominee for Best Play for Fortune's Fool), directed by Joseph Hardy (Tony Award winner for Best Director for Child's Play), for a strictly limited engagement beginning tonight, April 10th and continuing through May 4th only, at the Lucille Lortel Theater (121 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson Streets). Opening Night is set for Thursday April 18th.

Red Bull Theater (Jesse Berger, Artistic Director) today announced that Derek Smith would join the cast for the American Premiere of a new adaptation of August Strindberg's The Dance of Death by Mike Poulton (Tony Award Nominee for Best Play for Fortune's Fool), directed by Joseph Hardy (Tony Award winner for Best Director for Child's Play). This strictly limited engagement begins Wednesday April 10th and continues through May 4th only, at the Lucille Lortel Theater (121 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson Streets). Opening Night is set for Thursday April 18th. Hardy directs a company that features Daniel Davis, Laila Robins, and Derek Smith.