Sam Wanamaker News

In 1920, the Russian writer Isaac Babel reports on a Red Cavalry campaign in Poland. In 1936, Stalin's NKVD chief Nicolai Yezhov unleashes the Great Purge. In 1989, a mysterious KGB agent spying on a woman in Dresden falls in love. In 2010, an aircraft carrying most of the Polish government crashes near the Russian city of Smolensk…

The final new production in The Winter Selection at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is a daring masterclass in puppetry from Gyre & Gimble. They have used Max Richter's recompositions of Vivaldi's classic 'Four Seasons' concertos as a basis to tell an original story about 'life, death and renewal', focusing on the human angle rather than nature, taking the audience on an adventure with them. It will play alongside Emma Rice's The Little Matchgirl and Other Happier Tales to close the season.

International touring theatre company Kneehigh return to Manchester with The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, playing at HOME, Tue 3 - Sat 7 April 2018. Marc and Bella Chagall were the flying lovers of Vitebsk. Partners in life and on canvas, they are immortalised as the picture of romance. But whilst on canvas they flew, in life they walked through some of the most devastating times in history.

The epic story returns. Tony Kushner's two-part play, ANGELS IN AMERICA makes its way back to Broadway tonight! A cast led by Tony nominee Andrew Garfield and two-time Tony winner Nathan Lane will begin previews tonight at the Neil Simon Theatre with Part 1: Millennium Approaches. Get to know the cast below as they begin Broadway performances!

Following a sell-out season at the Abbey Theatre as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the 1916 Easter Rising, as well as a successful Irish and US tour, The Plough and the Stars comes to the Lyric Hammersmith as a co-production with the Abbey Theatre.

NOTHING - THE MOD MUSICAL stars Carol Harrison as Kay Marriott and Chris Simmons as Steve Marriott, as well as Samuel Pope as Young Steve Marriott, Stefan Edwards as Kenney Jones, Stanton Wright as Ronnie Lane, Alexander Gold as Ian McLagan, Edward Elgood as Jimmy Winston, Karis Anderson as P.P. Arnold and Russell Floyd as Don Arden. Also in the cast are Daniel Beales, Alfie Harrison-Foreman, Dani Acors and Emily Daniels. David Shute and Danielle Johnson will play Steve Marriott and Kay Marriott at certain performances. ALL OR NOTHING's limited season will run at the Arts Theatre, London from 6 February to 11 March.

A retitled production of John Dryden's 1675 play Aureng-zebe, The Captive Queen continues the Globe's winter season and acts as a swansong for Northern Broadsides' Barrie Rutter. The artistic director takes the role of the Emperor and also directs for the company for the final time. A rarely performed play, this project has been in the works for some time and is something of a labour of love for Rutter and his company.

The Board of Shakespeare's Globe has appointed Margaret Casely-Hayford as its new Chair. The Globe is recognised internationally as the authority on Shakespeare's work in performance. Its operation includes the iconic Globe Theatre, candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, exhibition and tour, as well as extensive education resources and research. Commercial and development activities contribute to the organisation's £27 million turnover, which continues to operate without annual public subsidy. Margaret Casely-Hayford takes over from Lord Bichard, who has served three years as Chair and ten years as a Trustee.

Theatr Clwyd and the National Theatre today announce star of Welsh crime drama Hinterland, Richard Harrington will join the previously announced Katherine Parkinson in the world premiere production of Laura Wade's Home, I'm Darling. Making her National Theatre debut, Tamara Harvey, Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd, will direct this first-time co-production which opens in the Emlyn Williams Theatre on the 3 July with previews from the 25 June ahead of transferring to the Dorfman Theatre in July.

The magical world of artist Marc Chagall and his wife Bella will be tenderly brought to life onstage at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis) next month in director Emma Rice's production of Daniel Jamieson's The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk.  Partners in life and on canvas, Marc and Bella are immortalized as the picture of romance. On the painter's canvas they flew, but in real life they walked through some of the most challenging times in 20th Century history-navigating the devastation of war, the Russian Revolution and each other. Following the artistic heights of Brief Encounter and 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, Kneehigh and Rice return to The Wallis with a production that combines the visuals of Chagall's paintings with the music and dance of the Russian-Jewish tradition. Performances begin February 23 and run through Sunday, March 11, 2018 with opening night set for Saturday, February 24 at 7:30pm. The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is made possible in part by the generous support of Camille and Arnon Adar. Theater @ The Wallis Series is sponsored by Montage Beverly Hills and Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills.

Tonic Theatre announced that Natasha Bucknor, executive director of Talawa Theatre Company, Karena Johnson, artistic director of Hoxton Hall, and casting director Sam Jones will make up the panel for the sixth Tonic Celebrates event, which will take place at Hoxton Hall on Wednesday 21 February, as part of Hoxton Hall's all-female season.

After a short stay at the Bristol Old Vic, and an award-winning run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Daniel Jamieson's play about the life and love of Marc and Bella Chagall begins a UK/US tour at Wilton's Music Hall in east London. Directed by Emma Rice, it follows in the wake of Romantics Anonymous and precedes the return of Brief Encounter and the debut of her brand new theatre company Wise Children.

Full casting is announced for the West End season of the critically acclaimed ALL OR NOTHING THE MOD MUSICAL, based on the story of the Small Faces. Joining the previously announced Carol Harrison as Kay Marriott and Chris Simmons as Steve Marriott, will be Samuel Pope as Young Steve Marriott, Stefan Edwards as Kenney Jones, Stanton Wright as Ronnie Lane, Alexander Gold as Ian McLagan, Edward Elgood as Jimmy Winston, Karis Anderson as P.P. Arnold and Russell Floyd as Don Arden. Also in the cast are Daniel Beales, Alfie Harrison-Foreman, Dani Acors and Emily Daniels. David Shute and Danielle Johnson will play Steve Marriott and Kay Marriott at certain performances. ALL OR NOTHING's limited season will run at the Arts Theatre, London from 6 February to 11 March, with a press night on Thursday 8 February.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica and Bated Breath present the U.S. Premiere of Shakespeare his wife and the dog by Philip Whitchurch, featuring its originating cast: Whitchurch as Shakespeare and Sally Edwards as Anne Hathaway, and directed as it was in the U.K. by Julia St John, for twelve performances only, January 18 through 28 with a press opening on January 19.

The forthcoming summer programme may have been announced, but The Winter Selection at Shakespeare's Globe continues apace the latest show to open is the only Shakespeare play in the season, the rarely played All's Well That Ends Well. Caroline Byrne returns to direct, following her Irish production of The Taming of the Shrew at the Globe itself in 2016.

Due to vocal indisposition, Christine Rice has had to withdraw from singing the role of Penelope in The Return of Ulysses. The role will now be performed by Australian mezzo-soprano Caitlin Hulcup.

Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Samuel Hodges, today announces the full cast for the company's inaugural production at NST City the world premi re of Howard Brenton's The Shadow Factory, which Hodges directs. Veteran of stage and screen Anita Dobson joins the cast as Lady Cooper/Ma (Wicked, Apollo Victoria Theatre; The Merry Wives of Windsor, RSC; Frozen, National Theatre) along with Shala Nyx who plays Polly. Dobson, known for playing the iconic role of Angie Watts in EastEnders, and Nyx join David Birrell (Fred/Hugh), Catherine Cusack (Lil/Sylvia), Lorna Fitzgerald (Jackie Dimmock), Hilton McRae (Lord Beaverbrook) and Daniel York (Len Gooch) to complete the company. The Shadow Factory opens on 15 February, with previews from 7 February, and runs until 3 March.

Shakespeare's Globe is delighted to announce Michelle Terry's first season as Artistic Director. 2018's Shakespeare productions include Hamlet, As You Like It, The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Winter's Tale, Othello and Love's Labour's Lost. A premiere of three new plays, a national and international tour of Shakespeare and other performances on and off site are announced together with a year-long programme of events exploring the history and future of theatre censorship, as well as a series of events looking at race, refuge and refugees in relation to Shakespeare.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica and Bated Breath present the U.S. Premiere of Shakespeare his wife and the dog by Philip Whitchurch, featuring its originating cast: Whitchurch as Shakespeare and Sally Edwards as Anne Hathaway, and directed as it was in the U.K. by Julia St John, for twelve performances only, January 18 through 28 with a press opening on January 19.

Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Samuel Hodges, today announces casting for the theatres inaugural production at NST City the world premi re of Howard Brenton's The Shadow Factory. Hodges directs David Birrell (Fred/Hugh), Catherine Cusack (Lil/Sylvia), Lorna Fitzgerald (Jackie Dimmock), Hilton McRae (Lord Beaverbrook) and Daniel York (Len Gooch). Further casting to be announced. The Shadow Factory opens on 15 February, with previews from 7 February, and runs until 3 March.