Lyonesse
Lyonesse - 2023 West End History , Info & More
Harold Pinter Theatre
Panton Street London SW1Y 4DN London
Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James star in Penelope Skinner’s searingly funny and passionate new play, directed by Ian Rickson.
Elaine (Kristin Scott Thomas) a reclusive and talented actress, disappears in mysterious circumstances. 30 years later, she finally feels ready to tell her story – summoning Kate, a young film executive (Lily James), to her remote Cornish home to assist with her glorious comeback.
But who really controls the stories we tell, and how we get to tell them? Will these women own their narrative, or will it be swept away from them at any given moment?
A story for our times, playing for a strictly limited season from 17 Oct – 23 Dec at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
__Assisted Performances__
Captioned - 18th November 2.30pm
Audio-Described - 30th November, 7.30pm
BSL Interpreted - TBC
Lyonesse - 2023 - West End Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Lyonesse
The best efforts of the cast cannot save the play from a meandering and confused script
4 / 10
Skinner won acclaim for her 2011 Royal Court Play The Village Bike, but while that play cleverly overturned stereotypes about expectant mothers, here the writing feels amateurish and chaotic. We feel bombarded by issues, none of which are properly explored: #MeToo, coercive control, womens’ struggles with work/life balance, comedy, drama, trauma. It’s perfectly possible to combine all these themes, just not here.
Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James do their best in another ‘all men are bad’ morality play
6 / 10
James, not a natural stage actress, gives one of her best performances here, deeply felt and relatable. Scott Thomas revels in the wacky Elaine, arriving in fur coat and swimming costume, throwing hilarious shapes to a dance track and play-acting her trauma for laughs. The actress has always excelled at flintiness, and she uses it now to refuse her character’s own tragedy, thus making her by far the most arresting thing on stage, and conjuring, in the play’s finest moments, a sense that anything could happen. Her keenness to throw Kate’s husband off a cliff makes you think she could just do just that.
Category
by Aliya Al-Hassan - November 2, 2023
Doon Mackichan has withdrawn from the role of Sue in Lyonesse due to a private
family matter.
by Aliya Al-Hassan - October 26, 2023
Lyonesse is now open. Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James star in Penelope Skinner’s new play, directed by Ian Rickson. What did the critics think?
by Aliya Al-Hassan - October 26, 2023
Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas were last seen together on screen in Ben Wheatley’s 2020 Daphne du Maurier adaptation of Rebecca. They now reunite in Penelope Skinner’s brand new play Lyonesse about a reclusive actress who is planning a movie comeback. With the brilliant Ian Rickson directing, we should be in safe hands. Unfortunately, even with their collective talent and star power, it is hard to rescue this confused and untidy play.
by Aliya Al-Hassan - September 29, 2023
Rehearsal images have been released for the world premiere of Lyonesse by Penelope Skinner, directed by Ian Rickson and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions. This searingly funny and passionate new play stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James alongside James Corrigan, Doon Mackichan and Sara Powell. It will run at Harold Pinter Theatre from 17 October – 23 December 2023. Check out the photos below.
by Stephi Wild - August 17, 2023
Full casting has been announced for the world premiere of Lyonesse by Penelope Skinner, directed by Ian Rickson at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 17 October – 23 December 2023.
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