Peter Hall News

THE ROYAL Shakespeare Company bring the critically-acclaimed Henry IV Parts I And II to Canterbury next month.

Bobby Cronin and NEXT UK bring the hit NYC Inspired Benefit Concert Series to London with INSPIRED UK: A Benefit Concert for Manchester Dog's Home, on SUNDAY 5th OCTOBER at 7:30pm at Freedom Bar in Soho.

Anna Netrebko sings her first North American performances of the charismatic villainess of Verdi's Macbeth this season, in starry cast that also includes Željko Lu?i? as Macbeth, Joseph Calleja as Macduff, and René Pape as Banquo. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will lead all seven performances of the opera, which opens tonight, September 24 in a revival of noted Shakespeare director Adrian Noble's 2007 production. The October 11 matinee performance will launch the ninth season of the Met's Live in HD series when it is transmitted worldwide to more than 2,000 movie theaters in 68 countries around the world.

Anna Netrebko sings her first North American performances of the charismatic villainess of Verdi's Macbeth this season, in starry cast that also includes Željko Lu?i? as Macbeth, Joseph Calleja as Macduff, and René Pape as Banquo. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will lead all seven performances of the opera, which opens September 24 in a revival of noted Shakespeare director Adrian Noble's 2007 production. The October 11 matinee performance will launch the ninth season of the Met's Live in HD series when it is transmitted worldwide to more than 2,000 movie theaters in 68 countries around the world.

Following the internationally acclaimed production with sold-out engagements on Broadway and in London's West End, television legend, Oscar recipient and five-time Tony Award-winner Angela Lansbury returns to the stage in Noel Coward's smash-hit comedic play 'Blithe Spirit' in an exciting North American tour to be launched at Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre.

Dallas Theater Center announced today that Annalee Jefferies will replace June Squibb in the theater's upcoming production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy. Jefferies, a Texas native, returns to DTC for the first time since her performance in The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead. Squibb is leaving the production due to professional conflicts.

Invitations to parties and galas at magnificent private homes in the Hamptons are always coveted but the hottest ducat last week was the lecture by architect, historian Gary Lawrance, co-author with Anne Surchin of Houses of the Hamptons: 1800-1930 held in one of the largest private residences ever built on the East End, Whitefield formerly known as The Orchard. Sponsored by the Southampton Historical Museum, the talk quickly sold out and several hundred guests filled the baronial music room at the sprawling estate. With its soaring, carved mahogany wood walls, coffered ceilings with hand painted embellishments and a fireplace that one could stand inside, the Music Room was the ideal setting for a discussion about the Gilded Age. Scroll down for photos from the event!

The 'Alley Theatre @ UH' season begins with Betty Buckley, Hallie Foote, Annalee Jefferies and Veanne Cox in award-winning Texas playwright Horton Foote's The Old Friends, a Southwestern premiere.

The London-based Shakespeare's Globe will bring their global touring production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet to Folger Theatre for three performances only this weekend, July 25 and 26, 2014, making it the only east coast stop for the company in the United States. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst, the production is a fresh, pared-down version of the classic tragedy of deferred revenge.

The 'Alley Theatre @ UH' season begins with Betty Buckley, Hallie Foote, Annalee Jefferies and Veanne Cox in award-winning Texas playwright Horton Foote's The Old Friends, a Southwestern premiere.

The London-based Shakespeare's Globe will bring their global touring production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet to Folger Theatre for three performances only on July 25 and 26, 2014, making it the only east coast stop for the company in the United States. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst, the production is a fresh, pared-down version of the classic tragedy of deferred revenge.

Picturehouse has debuted a teaser trailer for director Adam Wingard's THE GUEST, starring Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Leland Orser, Lance Reddick, Chase Williamson and Brendan Meyer.

Christopher Plummer, the Canadian actor who is most widely known for playing Captain Von Trapp in the movie version of The Sound of Music, told MetroFocus about his intention of bringing his self-assembled one-man show, A Word or Two, to New York in the near future.

In preparation for his performance in a new production of The Importance of Being Earnest, Nigel Havers gave a complete rendition of the script reading from a specially printed first edition. An audience assembled in room 118 of The Cadogan Hotel, where Oscar Wilde was infamously arrested on the grounds of gross indecency in 1895, to hear Havers' touching and emotional performance. Mary McCartney was present to photograph the event and following the reading the audience retired to the dining room at The Cadogan Hotel for cucumber sandwiches.

Inspired by the original ethos and spirit of The Other Place under the leadership of Buzz Goodbody, and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original building in 1974, the Royal Shakespeare Company presents the first Midsummer Mischief Festival, led by Deputy Artistic Director Erica Whyman. It runs 14 June - 12 July 2014.

On June 9 from 6-8 pm, The Shakespeare Society will host their second annual Playing Shakespeare Celebration at The Century Club (7 West 43rd Street). The Shakespeare Medal will be presented to Richard Easton, and The Linda Gross Playing Shakespeare Award will be presented to Hamish Linklater.

Noel Coward's fast-talking comedy of manners Private Lives will close the Shakespeare Theatre Company's 2013-2014 Season. Directed by Maria Aitken (2009-2010 Season's As You Like It), Private Lives enjoyed wild success at the Huntington Theatre Company in 2012, being deemed 'a diamond-sharp production' (The Boston Globe) and will find a home at the Lansburgh Theatre from tonight, May 29-July 13, 2014 (450 7th Street NW).

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) celebrates the enduring vitality of Chicago's Shakespeare with GALA 2014 on Monday, June 16 at its home on Navy Pier.

The Mercury Theatre continues its hugely successful Made in Colchester 2014 season with the UK premiere of the heart-warming, laugh-out-loud comedy You Can Always Hand Them Back.

Dan Stevens has signed on to star with John Travolta in Jackie Earle Haley's CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES.