Kenneth Branagh News

To celebrate last week's successful release of the cast recording as well as two prestigious Critics' Circle Awards for Marianne Elliott's critically acclaimed production ofCompany, broadcaster Paddy O'Connell will be hosting a post-show Q and A at the Gielgud Theatre, with two of the show's stars - Rosalie Craig, who plays the central role of Bobbie and Patti LuPone, who plays Joanne.

Henrik Ibsen's classic examination of a country in state of political flux has been adapted by Duncan Macmillan (People, Places and Things, 1984, Every Brilliant Thing). The sharply prescient play will be directed by Ian Rickson (Jerusalem, The Birthday Party, Translations), with set and costumes by Rae Smith, lighting by Neil Austin, music by Stephen Warbeck, sound by Gregory Clarke and casting by Amy Ball CDG.

The Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA) annual conference came to Prague this year. It has an extensive performance program, crafted by host Guy Roberts and Prague Shakespeare Company, that was open to the public as well as conference attendees. The conference was all about bringing the focus back to the artistic sides of things, as theatre tries to compete in a world filled with on-demand entertainment.

Do You Love This Planet? by the playwright and philosopher Alexander Matthews will premiere at Covent Garden's Tristan Bates Theatre in February 2019. Directed by Antony Law with design by Adrian Gee, the play will star Christian James as 'Alan', Lucy Lowe as 'Rachel' and Chris Porter as 'Schumann'. Do You Love This Planet will run from 27 February to 23 March, with a press night at 7pm on Tuesday 5 March.

Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom, Jr., who originated the role of Aaron Burr in the Broadway megahit Hamilton, is coming to John Paul Jones Arena at 3PM on January 19 as the 2019 UVA President's Speaker for the Arts. The multi-talented entertainer will discuss his life and career, the impact of the arts on education, and on the world in which we live during a brief address followed by a moderated conversation with University of Virginia President Jim Ryan.

Alex Kingston (ER, Doctor Who) stars in this award-winning and bitingly funny new comedy from the writer of acclaimed hit Bad Jews, direct from New York's Lincoln Centre Theater, the producers of Oslo.

Two of the country's most exciting young stars, Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox, will join Golden Globe, Olivier and Evening Standard Award winner Tom Hiddleston in The Jamie Lloyd Company production of Harold Pinter's Betrayal at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 5 March 2019 (press night 13 March) for a strictly limited season ending on 1 June, directed by Jamie Lloyd. The production forms the culmination of the historic Pinter at the Pinter season.

American Stage is excited to continue their support of the next generation of American playwrights with their 2019 21ST CENTURY VOICES: NEW PLAY FESTIVAL. This festival is a core component of our 21stCENTURY VOICES: EMERGING PLAYS, dedicated to discovering, developing, and introducing audiences to new works for the stage. A diverse committee of 40 community members works alongside our Producing Artistic Director Stephanie Gularte each year to read and evaluate over 500 new play submissions from up-and-coming playwrights across the globe.

American Stage is excited to continue their support of the next generation of American playwrights with their 2019 21ST CENTURY VOICES: NEW PLAY FESTIVAL. This festival is a core component of our 21stCENTURY VOICES: EMERGING PLAYS, dedicated to discovering, developing, and introducing audiences to new works for the stage. A diverse committee of 40 community members works alongside our Producing Artistic Director Stephanie Gularte each year to read and evaluate over 500 new play submissions from up-and-coming playwrights across the globe.

The Muny announced today the directors, choreographers and music directors for its 2019 season, which opens on June 10 with Guys and Dolls.

The Muny announced today the directors, choreographers and music directors for its 2019 season, which opens on June 10 with Guys and Dolls.

 The 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced that the festival's opening night will be the screening of All is True directed by Kenneth Branagh on Friday, January 4.  The festival will close with Ladies in Black, directed by Bruce Beresford on Sunday, January 13. The Festival will screen 223 films from 78 countries, including 48 premieres (4 World, 13 North American and 31 U.S.) from January 3-14, 2019.  The line-up includes a focus on cinema from France, India and Mexico, Premieres, Talking Pictures, Book to Screen, Special Presentations, FLOS: Foreign Language Oscar Submissions, Gay!La, Local Spotlight, Modern Masters, True Stories, World Cinema Now, a 30-film retrospective of selections from past festivals (free screenings sponsored by Desert Care Network and National Endowment for the Arts), and more.   

Ballet star Sergei Polunin will present a new mixed programme at the London Palladium from 28 May to 1 June 2019. The programme will feature an international cast and creative team, including Polunin himself. The Box Office will open at 10.00am on Friday 14 December. Full casting and programme details will be announced early next year.

Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Martyna Majok's Cost of Living receives its highly anticipated UK Premiere at Hampstead Theatre - making it the 100th premiere since Edward Hall and Greg Ripley-Duggan took charge in 2010.

Public booking opens at 9am today for The Jamie Lloyd Company production of Harold Pinter's Betrayal starring Golden Globe, Olivier and Evening Standard Award winner Tom Hiddleston. This new production, directed by Jamie Lloyd, will run at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 5 March 2019 (press night 13 March) for a strictly limited season ending on 1 June. To celebrate, a new behind-the-scenes shot of Tom Hiddleston, taken whilst filming the production's viral announcement trailer, is released today.

Laguna Playhouse is thrilled to announce a hilarious way to start your New Year, its fifth annual New Year's Eve celebration performance of superstar comedienne Rita Rudner in RITA RUDNER: HER ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY LAST SHOW OF 2018. RITA RUDNER: HER ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY LAST SHOW OF 2018 will perform on Monday, December 31 at 7pm at Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

The McCallum Theatre presents Rita Rudner on Sunday, December 9, at 3:00pm. The nine-time Las Vegas Comedian of the Year has the longest running solo comedy show in the history of Las Vegas with over 14 years on the Strip. Known for her thought-provoking one-liners and her observations on everyday life, Rudner keeps it real talking about the things that amuse her.

Hampstead Theatre has announced the first three productions of 2019.

Forty years to the day of the first ever performance of Harold Pinter's Betrayal on 15 November 1978, The Jamie Lloyd Company announces that Golden Globe, Olivier and Evening Standard Award winner Tom Hiddleston will play Robert in Jamie Lloyd's new production at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 5 March 2019 (press night 13 March) for a strictly limited season ending on 1 June. Further casting to be announced.

Rubicon Theatre's 20th Anniversary Season culminates with a two-piano version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's soaring epic South Pacific, helmed by award-winning director KATHARINE FARMER and featuring a cast of 28 led by Tony honoree BEN DAVIS (Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme) and MADISON CLAIRE PARKS (Luisa in The Fantasticks Off-Broadway).