In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, stage and screen star Kavin Spacey chatted about his most recent project- RICHARD III, which played London's Old Vic Theatre and will soon open at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music. Spacey told the WSJ: "If there was one play that we really, really didn't want to f— up, this was it. The expectations were so high."
On his choices for his portrayal of the title character, Spacey said, "I wanted to be uncomfortable. I wanted the audience to be like, 'Oh God, that must hurt.'"
The Bridge Project is a unique three-year series of co-productions by BAM, The Old Vic, and Neal Street, devoted to producing large-scale, classical theater for international audiences. Bank of America is the proud presenting sponsor of The Bridge Project. The final season of The Bridge Project featuring Kevin Spacey, Artistic Director of The Old Vic, in the title role of Richard III, opened at The Old Vic in London on June 29, 2011. The Bridge Project is directed by Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes with whom Kevin Spacey worked on the film American Beauty, for which they both won BAFTA and Academy Awards.
Led by Kevin Spacey in the role of Richard III, the company features another formidable British/American cast that includes Maureen Anderman as the Duchess of York; Haydn Gwynne as Queen Elizabeth; Chuk Iwuji as Duke of Buckingham; Gemma Jones as Queen Margaret; and Chandler Williams as George, Duke of Clarence.
Kevin Spacey has previously appeared in The Old Vic Productions Speed-the-Plow with Jeff Goldblum, National Anthems, The Philadelphia Story, A Moon for the Misbegotten (which subsequently transferred to Broadway), and in Trevor Nunn's productions of Inherit the Wind and Richard II. Previous theater includes The Iceman Cometh (Evening Standard and Olivier Awards for Best Actor, and Tony Award nomination) directed by Howard Davies (Almeida, The Old Vic, and Broadway), Lost in Yonkers (Tony Award, Best Supporting Actor), Long Day's Journey into Night, with Jack Lemmon, directed by Jonathan Miller (Broadway and West End). He directed The Old Vic's inaugural production Cloaca and directed Complicit starring Richard Dreyfuss.
Award-winning actress Maureen Anderman has worked extensively on Broadway in productions of Othello, Moonchildren (for which she won the Theater World Award), The Lady from Dubuque (Tony Award nomination), Social Security, and Driving Miss Daisy. Haydn Gwynne was last on stage in the West End as Mrs. Wilkinson in Billy Elliot The Musical, a role she recreated on Broadway, winning the Drama Desk, Outer Critics'Circle, and Theater World Awards, and garnering a Tony Award nomination. Her other theater credits include Merry Wives of Windsor, Peer Gynt, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night's Dream (all RSC); The Memory of Water (Hampstead); and most recently Becky Shaw (Almeida). Her television work includes Drop the Dead Donkey, Sherlock, and Rome. Chuk Iwuji won an Olivier Award in 2009 for his performance in The Histories (RSC) and recently appeared in The Misanthrope (West End) and Welcome to Thebes (National Theatre). Gemma Jones' numerous stage credits include Anthony Page's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Family Reunion (Donmar), The Masterbuilder, andMichael Blakemore's Ride Down Mount Morgan, both in the West End. She has appeared in Whistle and I'll Come to You with John Hurt and Spooks, both BBC, and can be seen in three of the hugely successful Harry Potter films and the forthcoming film Hysteria, alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy. Chandler Williams' work on Broadway includes In The Next Room, Mary Stuart, and Translations. He has appeared in the popular CBS television series The Good Wife and his film credits include Kinsey and Public Enemies.
