Kirsty Bushell News

The Bristol Old Vic has opened it's 'Year of Change' in spectacular fashion in this riveting new translation of Chekhov's final play The Cherry Orchard.

Michael Boyd's much anticipated production of The Cherry Orchard has begun rehearsals for the Bristol Old Vic and Royal Exchange Theatre co-production. Rory Mullarkey's brand-new translation will be directed by Boyd, celebrated former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Having studied Russian and trained as a director in Moscow, extraordinarily, he will be directing Chekhov - the literary love of his life - for the first time.

Full casting for Michael Boyd's much anticipated production of The Cherry Orchard is announced today as rehearsals begin for the Bristol Old Vic and Royal Exchange Theatre co-production. Rory Mullarkey's brand-new translation will be directed by Boyd, celebrated former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Having studied Russian and trained as a director in Moscow, extraordinarily, he will be directing Chekhov the literary love of his life for the first time.

Tom Morris and Emma Stenning today outlined the 2018 programme of work from Bristol Old Vic, under the banner Year of Change, which was suggested as a theme for 2018 by Roger Griffith of Bristol Old Vic Associate Company, Ujima Radio.

'We that are young Shall never see so much, nor live so long...' 2017 has been dubbed a year of Hamlets (too many, even), with Andrew Scott and Tom Hiddleston both taking on the role. If one play has experienced a renaissance, however, it would surely be King Lear. Indeed, it seems the UK stage will 'never see so much' King Lear as it has in the last twelve months (Timothy West, Antony Sher, Glenda Jackson and Kevin McNally all playing the eponymous King/Queen). Jonathan Munby's production at Chichester Festival Theatre is the latest, which sees Ian McKellen revisit the role he played a decade ago at the RSC.

The Daily Mail has reported that Sinead Cusack is set to star alongside Sir Ian McKellen an upcoming production of Shakespeare's King Lear. Cusack will portray Lear's loyal courtier Kent. The Mail describes her approach as playing the Earl as 'an Angela Merkel-esque, straight-talking woman.'

If there was controversy surrounding the use of light and sound at the Globe Theatre, the opening production of Emma Rice's second and final season as Artistic Director can only fuel the multi-hued fire. Romeo and Juliet directed by ENO's Daniel Kramer is an irreverent feast of colour and music but at times misses the truth and beauty of Shakespeare's timeless story.

Unusually, actress Kirsty Bushell comes to Juliet later in a stellar career; her work includes everything from the title role in Salisbury Playhouse's Hedda Gabler to Disgraced at Bush Theatre and Ivo van Hove's Antigone. English National Opera boss Daniel Kramer's production, co-starring Edward Hogg and opening Emma Rice's second and final Globe season, begins previews on 22 April.

London is never short of theatre temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From a mammoth Tony Kushner revival to an unusual Romeo and Juliet and tap-happy musicals, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews…

Shakespeare's Globe is delighted to announce casting for Romeo and Juliet directed by Daniel Kramer, and Twelfth Night directed by Emma Rice.

Salisbury Playhouse and Bristol-based Living Spit present a new comedy adaptation with songs of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Salisbury Playhouse and Bristol-based Living Spit present a new comedy adaptation with songs of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

TORN and FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3) will play at the Royal Court Theatre in September 2016. Torn explores a family broken by secrets and the scars left of things left unsaid. Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)tackles the legacy of slavery in the US and its influence on the African-American experience.

?Niamh McGrady and Will Featherstone will star as Olivia and Dan respectively in the national tour of Emlyn Williams's psychological thriller, NIGHT MUST FALL, directed by Luke Sheppard, joining the previously announced Gwen Taylor as Mrs Bransom and Daragh O'Malley as Inspector Belsize, along with Alasdair Buchan as Hubert, Anne Odeke as Nurse Libby, Mandi Symonds as Mrs Terence and Melissa Vaughan as Dora. 

Stripped to the essentials - a stage, a handful of actors, a rapt audience - ANTIGONE recently proved once again its place in the pantheon of the world's finest tragic plays. The international production of the Sophokles drama made a short stop in Washington for the last leg of a national tour of select American cities, helmed by the Belgian theatre wunderkind Ivo van Hove. French film and theatre star Juliette Binoche led an ensemble of U.K.-based actors who clearly illuminated the timeless tale of family devotion versus the law.

As previously announced, the Kennedy Center will present a Barbican and Les Theatres de la Ville de Luxembourg, in association with Toneelgroep Amsterdam, production of ANTIGONE by Sophocles, in a new translation by T.S. Eliot Prize-winning poet Anne Carson from tonight, October 22, through October 25, 2015 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.

The cast also includes Obi Abili, Kirsty Bushell, Samuel Edward-Cook, Finbar Lynch, Patrick O'Kane, and Kathryn Pogson.

Full casting is announced for Maria Aberg's production of Webster's violent tragedy The White Devil, which continues the Royal Shakespeare Company's 'Roaring Girls' season in the Swan Theatre, revealing some of the great parts written for and about women.

Today HighTide Festival Theatre's Artistic Director Steven Atkinson announces the complete line-up for the eighth HighTide Festival, taking place April 10 - 19 2014 (Press Day Saturday April 12) in the idyllic Suffolk market town of Halesworth. Tickets are on sale now.

Following two previous much-acclaimed seasons of American drama, the Ustinov now presents The American Season 2014: three brand new works, all UK premieres. The three plays are Dan LeFranc's THE BIG MEAL, directed by Michael Boyd, Keith Huff's gritty two-hander, A STEADY RAIN, directed by David Grindley and Lynn Nottage's multi award-winning INTIMATE APPAREL, directed by Laurence Boswell.