Rigg and Manville Set for Old Vic's All About My Mother

Whatsonstage.com reports that Tony Award-winner Diana Rigg and Lesley Manville will headline the cast of the Old Vic's stage adaptation of  Pedro Almodóvar's acclaimed film All About My Mother.

All About My Mother starred Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes and Penelope Cruz, and won the 1999 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.  The stage production will begin previews August 25th, open on September 4th and run through November 24th. The play will be adapted by Samuel Adamson and directed by Tom Cairns, with Almodóvar having some creative involvement in the production.  It will also feature the film score by Alberto Iglesias with some new stage music by Ben and Max Ringham. 

"Following the tragic death of her beloved teenage son Esteban, Manuela (Manville) goes to Barcelona in search of the father he never knew. But before she can exorcise her guilt, she gets caught up in the lives of three women: Agrado, a long-lost transvestite friend, Sister Rosa, a young nun in search of love, and Huma Rojo (Rigg), the famous actress her son so admired. Just as Manuela's life begins to have meaning again, her son's father returns and her journey of discovery and forgiveness comes full circle," as the show is described by the UK theatre website. The production will also feature Colin Morgan as Esteban, Joanne Froggatt as Sister Rosa and Charlotte Randle as Nina.   All About My Mother marks the first time that a film by Almodóvar - known for his colorful films that mix melodrama and wild humor - has been presented on stage in English, and the first stage adaptation of his work in 20 years.

"I have been a fan of Diana's for all these years, and I am thrilled that she is playing Huma," said the Spanish filmmaker.

Rigg, one of the UK's foremost stage actresses and well-known to TV audiences for her work as Emma Peel on "The Avengers," won a Tony Award for her work in Medea.  She has also been seen on Broadway in Abelard and Heloise and The Misanthrope, as well as on West End stages in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Mother Courage, Humble Boy, Suddenly Last Summer, Follies and Honour.  She has appeared in numerous films, most recently The Painted Veil.

Manville's London stage credits include Pillars of the Community, The Alchemist, His Dark Materials and Some Girls.  She has been seen in such Mike Leigh films as Secrets and Lies, Topsy-Turvy and Vera Drake.  Other film and TV credits include Sparkle, "The Cazalets" and "Coronation Street."

All About My Mother will be designed by Hildegard Bechtler, with lighting by Bruno Poet and sound by Christopher Shutt. 

Visit www.oldvictheatre.com for more information.

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