Royal Shakespeare Company News

The world's most celebrated dancing partners, Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev are re-united for this summer's hottest ticket, at the London Coliseum, Wednesday 6th - Saturday 9th August in producer Sergei Danilian's presentation of SOLO FOR TWO.

Today in 1982, Macbeth opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where it ran for 21 performances. Written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. The earliest account of a performance of what was probably Shakespeare's play is April 1611, when Simon Forman recorded seeing such a play at the Globe Theatre.

Gina McKee (Di & Viv & Rose, King Lear, Ivanov, Our Friends In The North, Notting Hill) will play Queen Elizabeth, alongside the previously announced Martin Freeman

According to published reports, playwright Charles Marowitz passed away on May 2 in Agoura Hills from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 80 years old.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's world premiere production of Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical has captured the imagination of young and old alike and continues to play to packed houses at London's Cambridge Theatre. Sweeping the board at the 2012 Laurence Olivier Awards, winning a record-breaking seven awards, the Broadway production has taken the US by storm winning four Tony Awards® and a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theater for each of the four girls sharing the title role. Below, check out new phots of the current cast in action!

59E59 Theaters welcomes KPS Productions, in association with the Pleasance Theatre in Edinburgh to Brits Off Broadway & supported by Jersey Arts Trust, with PLAYING WITH GROWN UPS by Hannah Patterson, directed by Hannah Eidinow. PLAYING WITH GROWN UPS began performances on Tuesday, April 29 for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 18. Press opening is today, Tuesday, May 6 at 7:15 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:15 PM; Friday at 8:15 PM; Saturday at 2:15 PM and 8:15 PM; and Sunday at 3:15 PM and 7:15 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $35 ($24.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279- 4200 or visit www.59e59.org.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) has announced that its 2014 Spring Gala will honor Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff and President of The Dodgers Michael David. Both are founding partners of Dodger Properties, which is responsible for over 150 productions of some of the most successful theatre on Broadway (56 Tony Awards), Off-Broadway and internationally. The gala will take place on Monday, May 12 at The Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel, beginning at 6:30pm.

Nonesuch Records will release Natalie Merchant's new self-titled album today, May 6, 2014.

Stage Left Theatre has announced added performance for their hit production of Principal Principle by Joe Zarrow, as well as the programming for its 33rd season - Against the Grain. The company will offer three mainstage productions that center on characters who choose to fight against the expectations placed on them by others - for better or for worse.

From May 10 to June 7, 2014, SpeakEasy Stage Company will present the New England Premiere of one of the most talked-about shows in theatre history: CARRIE the musical.

Renowned Ulster playwright Stewart Parker's Spokesong - which won him the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright - opens at the Finborough Theatre for a limited run of nine Sunday, Monday and Tuesday performances from Sunday, 25 May 2014 (Press Night: Monday, 26 May 2014)

Scenic designer, writer and professor, MARJORIE BRADLEY KELLOGG, and costume designer DEBORAH M. DRYDEN are among the 2014 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony tonight, May 2, at 6:30pm, at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street).

Neil Morrissey will join the cast of RELATIVE VALUES, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, from Monday 26th May until Saturday 21st June, taking over the role of Crestwell from Rory Bremner, whose 10 week run ends on Saturday 24th May.

59E59 Theaters will welcome New Perspectives back to Brits Off Broadway with the US premiere of David Rudkin's THE LOVESONG OF ALFRED J HITCHCOCK, directed by Jack McNamara. THE LOVESONG OF ALFRED J HITCHCOCK begins performances tonight, May 1 for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 25. Press opening is Wednesday, May 7 at 7 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7 PM; Friday at 8 PM; Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM; Sunday at 3 PM & 7 PM.

Playful Productions and the Royal Shakespeare Company's sell-out productions of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies transfer to the Aldwych Theatre from tonight, 1 May, for a strictly limited season until 6 September.

In its tenth anniversary year, YOUTH MUSIC THEATRE UK (YMT) launches a groundbreaking season of international work in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland to be produced during the summer of 2014. Contemporary classical music rubs shoulders with dubstep, jazz and Persian mugham. Musical theatre songs are juggled with polyphonic singing, and both physical theatre and actor musicianship are centre stage. Young talented composers, directors and writers stand alongside icons of the theatre.

Variety reports that theater veteran Christopher Plummer has joined the cast of Atom Egoyan's upcoming thriller REMEMBER.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for recent Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Appearing in titles roles are Resident Actor Jeffrey Bean as Vanya, Sharon Lockwood returning to the Alley as Sonia, Alley Artist Josie de Guzman returning as Masha, and Resident Actor Jay Sullivan as Spike. Rounding out the cast and making their Alley debuts are Rachael Holmes as Cassandra and Sarah Nealis as Nina. Jonathan Moscone, Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, helms the production and returns after having directed the Alley's 2011 production of Amadeus.

Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) plays Berenger in Eugene Ionesco's The Killer in a production that also features Kristine Nielsen, Paul Sparks and Robert Stanton. The Killer is newly translated by Michael Feingold and is directed by Darko Tresnjak (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder). Last produced Off-Broadway in 1960, The Killer is the final production of Theatre for a New Audience's inaugural season at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place. Previews begin Saturday, May 17, at 7:30pm for an opening Thursday, May 29, and a scheduled run through Sunday, June 29. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast and creative team in rehearsal below!

Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) plays Berenger in Eugene Ionesco's The Killer in a production that also features Kristine Nielsen, Paul Sparks and Robert Stanton. The Killer is newly translated by Michael Feingold and is directed by Darko Tresnjak (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder).