John Mortimer News

Richard Eyre will direct John Mortimer's translation of Georges Feydeau's 1907 classic farce A FLEA IN HER EAR , opening for previews on 4 December 2010 (press night: 14 December). Starring Tom Hollander with Di Botcher, Jonathan Cake, Oliver Cotton, Lisa Dillon, Freddie Fox, Fiona Glascott, Lloyd Hutchinson, John Marquez, Tim McMullan, William Maxwell, Rebecca Night, Maggie Service and Walter Van Dyk, A Flea in Her Ear is a comedy of errors set against a backdrop of misunderstanding and confusion. A Flea in Her Ear is a co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions and is the second play in The Old Vic 2010-11 Season. The Season is sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Richard Eyre will direct John Mortimer's translation of Georges Feydeau's 1907 classic farce A FLEA IN HER EAR , opening for previews on 4 December 2010 (press night: 14 December). Starring Tom Hollander with Di Botcher, Jonathan Cake, Oliver Cotton, Lisa Dillon, Freddie Fox, Fiona Glascott, Lloyd Hutchinson, John Marquez, Tim McMullan, William Maxwell, Rebecca Night, Maggie Service and Walter Van Dyk, A Flea in Her Ear is a comedy of errors set against a backdrop of misunderstanding and confusion. A Flea in Her Ear is a co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions and is the second play in The Old Vic 2010-11 Season. The Season is sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Confirming speculation previously reported by BroadwayWorld, the Old Vic today announced three new productions today, marking the seventh season of work under Kevin Spacey's tenure as Artistic Director. This new season continues The Old Vic's tradition as a great actors' theatre, championing both established and young talent under the guidance of some of the greatest theatre directors in Britain.

Adapted from the hit play by award-winning novelist, playwright and screenwriter John Mortimer (Rumpole of Bailey), A Voyage Round My Father, debuts on DVD from Acorn Media on April 27, 2010. Also adapted for screen by Mortimer himself, this touching story of father and son stars stage and screen legends Laurence Olivier and Alan Bates (Gosford Park), and garnered multiple awards, including an International Emmy® for best drama (1982). By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, A Voyage Round My Father captures the special bond between father and son, which at times seems unbearable-but ultimately proves unbreakable (80 min., $29.99, www.AcornOnline.com).

Adapted from the hit play by award-winning novelist, playwright and screenwriter John Mortimer (Rumpole of Bailey), A Voyage Round My Father, debuts on DVD from Acorn Media on April 27, 2010.

Adapted from the hit play by award-winning novelist, playwright and screenwriter John Mortimer (Rumpole of Bailey), A Voyage Round My Father, debuts on DVD from Acorn Media on April 27, 2010. Also adapted for screen by Mortimer himself, this touching story of father and son stars stage and screen legends Laurence Olivier and Alan Bates (Gosford Park), and garnered multiple awards, including an International Emmy® for best drama (1982). By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, A Voyage Round My Father captures the special bond between father and son, which at times seems unbearable-but ultimately proves unbreakable (80 min., $29.99, www.AcornOnline.com).

Adapted from the hit play by award-winning novelist, playwright and screenwriter John Mortimer (Rumpole of Bailey), A Voyage Round My Father, debuts on DVD from Acorn Media on April 27, 2010.

The Royal Court Theatre's autumn season will focus on British playwriting talent, with new plays from Mike Bartlett, Tim Crouch, Lucy Prebble and Michael Wynne, tackling subjects as diverse as sexuality, abuse, authorship, financial scandal and the disappointed hopes of the Affluenza generation.

Full casting has been announced for the Royal Court's JOHN MORTIMER AT THE COURT...AND LATER AT THE BAR. The cast will include Broadway stars Jeremy Irons, Alan Rickman, and Harriet Walter. Further casting includes Sinead Cusack, Joanna David, Edward Fox, Tom Hollander, Richard Johnson, Emily Mortimer, Alessandro Nivola, and Dominic West. The evening will be curated by Stephen Jeffreys and Nina Raine will direct. The evening will take place November 15th.

The Royal Court Theatre will celebrate the life of its late chairman and president Sir John Mortimer with an evening of readings, performances and music by some of British theatre's biggest names in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, followed by further events in the Royal Court Café Bar.

The Royal Court's autumn season focuses on British playwriting talent

The British dramatist Sir John Mortimer has died at age 85 after a long illness. Mortimer is best known for his Rumpole of Bailey series of books, plays, and TV episodes. Horace Rumpole's speciality is defending those accused of crime in London's Old Bailey. Mortimer created Rumpole for Rumpole of the Bailey, a 1975 contribution to the BBCs Play For Today anthology series. Played with gusto by Leo McKern, the character proved popular, and was developed into a Rumpole of the Bailey television series for Thames Television and a series of books (all written by Mortimer). In September/October 2003, BBC Radio 4 broadcast four new 45-minute Rumpole dramatizations by Mortimer starring Timothy West in the title role. He also dramatised many of the real-life cases of the barrister Edward Marshall-Hall in a radio series starring ex-Doctor Who star Tom Baker. In 1986, his description of what he saw as Britain's descent into the viciousness of Thatcherism - Paradise Postponed - was televised.

'This season, you'll leave the theatre feeling good about the world', says artistic director Ed Shea.