Leanne Best News

Jez Butterworth’s new play, The Hills of California, just celebrated opening night and we've got the consensus from the critics!

All new production photos have been released for Jez Butterworth’s new play, The Hills of California. Check out the photos here!

Death comes to us all and the spectre of the end of life often brings families together who may not have met for years, even decades. Jez Butterworth’s bittersweet and bitingly funny new play, The Hills of California, draws both on this and how events are shaped by memory and by who remembers them.

All new rehearsal photos have been released for Jez Butterworth’s new play, The Hills of California. Check out the photos here!

Laura Donnelly (The Ferryman, The Nevers, Outlander), Leanne Best (Sweat, Ripper Street, Line of Duty), Ophelia Lovibond (Minx, W1A, The Effect) and Helena Wilson (Vogue World, Jack Absolute Flies Again, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern) lead the cast as the Webb family in Jez Butterworth's new play, The Hills of California.

Using the words of the late activist and poet Sandra Richardson, who passed away at Marie Curie Hospice in Liverpool last year, and the reflections of her artist wife Clare Beloved, the play weaves a testimony to the power of love and grief. 

A director with a reputation for developing new writing, Holly directed Headlong's Hedda Tesman by Cordelia Lynn at Chichester Festival Theatre and The Lowry, Salford. She was an Executive Producer on Unprecedented, the BBC Four, Century Films and Headlong critically acclaimed drama anthology, directing House Party by April De Angelis and Penny by Charlene James for the series.

Headlong today announced their plans for UK-wide touring theatre initiative Signal Fires. Originally intended as a live performance staged for audiences at St Luke's Bombed Out Church in Liverpool, the company adapted and reimagined their project following the announcement that the city would be entering a Tier 3 lockdown.

Hampstead Theatre's Associate Company, The Mono Box, has announced the launch of The Monologue Library, audio recordings of renowned artists performing their favourite theatrical speeches.

The filming of Young Wallander has just begun - the new Netflix original series based on Henning Mankell's best-selling Kurt Wallander novels. The cast includes Adam Pålsson (Kurt Wallander), Richard Dillane (Superintendent Hemberg), Leanne Best (Frida Rask), Ellise Chappell (Mona) and Yasen Atour (Reza). The series is created by Yellow Bird UK, a Banijay Group company, and the producer of the Swedish Wallander franchise at TV4 as well as the successful BBC series Wallander from 2008.

The Donmar Warehouse's production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat by Lynn Nottage will end its scheduled run at London's Gielgud Theatre on Saturday 20 July 2019.

Sweat, by Lynn Nottage, is based on interviews with steelworkers' of a small town in Pennsylvania. The play has transferred to the West End Gielgud Theatre after a sold-out, critically acclaimed run at Donmar Warehouse. We chat to Clare Perkins, who plays Cynthia.

The Donmar Warehouse's sold-out production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat by Lynn Nottage transfesr to London's Gielgud Theatre for a limited 6 week run from Friday 7 June 2019.

At a quieter moment of Lynn Nottage's Sweat, Jessie (Leanne Best) stands with a cake celebrating her 43rd birthday in Mike's Tavern. If not for the bartender Stan (Stuart McQuarrie) and his assistant Oscar (Sebastian Capitan Viveros), Jessie would be alone. Dressed in white cowgirl boots, Jessie whispers how she 'just wants to be kissed'.

The Donmar Warehouse's sold-out production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat by Lynn Nottage will transfer to London's Gielgud Theatre for a limited 6 week run from Friday 7 June 2019.

London is never short of temptations, whether splashy West End shows, epic dramas or bold fringe offerings. From a drama about Europe to immersive Shakespeare and open-air opera, here are some of this month's most eye-catching openings. Don't forget to check back for BroadwayWorld's reviews, interviews and features!

The Donmar Warehouse's production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat by Lynn Nottage announces casting for the West End transfer to London's Gielgud Theatre for a limited 6 week run from Friday 7 June 2019 for 50 performances only.

The BBC has today announced that Rufus Jones (Stan & Ollie), Stephanie Hyam (Bodyguard), Leanne Best (Line Of Duty), Samuel Barnett (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) and Robert Emms (Cleaning Up) are joining the cast of The Barking Murders (w/t).

The Donmar Warehouse today announces the extension, due to exceptional demand, for Lynette Linton's acclaimed production of Sweat by Lynn Nottage. The production will now be booking for performances until Saturday 2 February 2019.

The Donmar Warehouse presents Lynette Linton's production of Sweat by Lynn Nottage. Let's see what the critics had to say.