Stephen Fry News

Last night was the press night for La Cage aux Folles [The Play] at Park Theatre.

 CW Seed, The CW's free, ad-supported digital network, has acquired the second window, non-exclusive streaming rights to 14 series from BBC Studios. The pact will bring more than 200 episodes and 150 hours of scripted library content to the platform. The announcement was made today by Rick Haskins, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital Platforms, The CW.

BBC One announces a magical new commission, Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History (w/t). Produced in partnership with Warner Bros. and London's Natural History Museum and presented by Stephen Fry, the documentary will explore the origins and stories of mythical creatures and the fantastical beasts from J.K. Rowling's stories and explore their history and connections with animals roaming the planet today.

Following her hugely successful debut UK tour in 2018 of Butterfly Effect and an acclaimed season at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019, Award-winning Comedian Juliette Burton will be setting out on tour in 2020 with her ground-breaking new show, Defined.

Jan Ravens and Julia Watson are cast in Talking Heads, three of the much-loved classic monologues from British playwriting royalty, Alan Bennett, directed by Watford Palace Theatre's own artistic director Brigid Larmour. Poignant, comic and full of humanity, Talking Heads invites us into the hearts and minds of three peculiarly English ladies - Muriel in her tweed skirt and pearls in Soldiering On, the public-spirited Miss Ruddock in A Lady of Letters, and Susan, the long-suffering Vicar's wife in Bed Among The Lentils.

Nearly 500 arts organisations, human rights charities, schools, colleges and universities came together in June to present events and activities across the UK; whilst international partners and individuals also flew Ai Weiwei's flag to mark the 70th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

West Side Story is officially in previews on Broadway! The new production is directed by Tony Award winner Ivo van Hove; and for the first time ever in the United States, will feature all-new choreography by the internationally acclaimed Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. West Side Story will begin previews on December 10, 2019 and open February 6th, 2020 at the Broadway Theatre.

 HBO Max, the upcoming direct-to-consumer offering from WarnerMedia, will be the exclusive U.S. home of the period drama, Boys (working title), in partnership with Britain's Channel 4. Principal photography on the project began in October and is scheduled to air in the UK in 2020.

Leicester legend Gary Lineker has been announced as the Patron of next year's NSDF (National Student Drama Festival), with the week-long event returning to his hometown 4 - 10 Apr 2020.

A house favourite at Vienna's Staatsoper, where she has sung over 120 performances in the past decade, Chen Reiss draws deep inspiration from the city that Beethoven called home. The Israeli soprano, praised by Gramophone for her 'supple, vernal lyric-coloratura', is set to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth with a new recording of his concert arias and orchestral songs on the Onyx Classics label, titled Immortal Beloved.

BBC AMERICA's hit action-adventure series, Doctor Who, is back! Kicking off 2020, the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) returns with the launch of the latest season on Wednesday, January 1 at 8pm ET/PT, resuming her time-and-space travels with friends Ryan (Tosin Cole), Yasmin (Mandip Gill) and Graham (Bradley Walsh). Subsequent episodes will air Sundays at 8pm ET/PT beginning January 5 on BBC AMERICA. Starting with a blockbuster, action-packed two-part episode entitled Spyfall, the Thirteenth Doctor is well and truly back with a bang.

Television and film stars Goran Višnjić (ER, Timeless) and Robert Glenister (Paranoid, Law and Order: UK) are set to appear in the upcoming season of Doctor Who, as the show makes an explosive return in early 2020 on BBC AMERICA. The news comes on the heels of the announcement that Stephen Fry (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, A Bit of Fry and Laurie) and Sir Lenny Henry CBE (Broadchurch, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) will also be joining the guest cast of Doctor Who.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced today that Graham Norton will host the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2020.

As the TARDIS hurtles through space back to BBC AMERICA, two British TV legends will be joining the Doctor and her friends in their Doctor Who debuts.

Magic Theatre has announced the creative team and performers for the Company's second production of the 2019-2020 season, a 6-performance limited engagement of Nassim Soleimanpoura??'s NASSIM, directed by Omar Elerian. NASSIM will perform from November 12 a?" 16, 2019 at Magic Theatre's Fort Mason location (Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd., Building D, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94123). Limited press tickets are available for the performances on Tuesday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m. and Wednesday, November 13 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets range from $20 - $75 and are on-sale now at MagicTheatre.org.

Almost six years since its first outing at the Tabernacle, Letters Live last night put on its biggest show yet: in the grandiose and historic setting of the Royal Albert Hall. As well as celebrating the joy and emotion of the written word, with the help of a stunning array of talent, the shows also seek to support charitable causes - this time it was the turn of the National Literacy Trust. Over the course of three hours, the audience was treated to a wide-ranging selection of correspondence, including everything from noisy neighbours and Albert Hall shenanigans, to a prolifically flatulent dog.

Neil Patrick Harris, Keeley Hawes, Stephen Fry, Tracy Ann Oberman, Shaun Dooley, Omari Douglas, Callum Scott Howells and Lydia West also star in the 5-part series charting the joy and heartbreak of four friends during a decade in which everything changed

With over 560,000 festival goers enjoying 5,534 performances of 277 productions, the Pleasance Theatre Trust celebrated its 35th year on the Fringe in great company. With a trophy cabinet that once again include Fringe Firsts and both annual Edinburgh Comedy Awards, alongside a Total Theatre Award, this year's triumphant programme has welcomed the most exciting newcomers, game-changing international artists and Pleasance stalwarts who delight audiences year on year.

Jordan Brookes has been announced as the winner of Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards for Best Comedy Show and Catherine Cohen is Best Newcomer.

Fans of the Rocky Horror Show have just three weeks left to wait until they can catch the cult stage show at Storyhouse in Chester.