John Heffernan News

As 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, we will be treated to a year of exciting and innovative programming inspired by the Bard. Macbeth, directed by Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin, is the first of three Shakespearean productions at The Birmingham Rep this year. Explored using a combination of the original text and dance, this adaptation focuses on Macbeth's breakdown, the supernatural forces behind it, and the ensuing chaos.

John Heffernan and Anna Maxwell Martin lead the company in Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin's ambitious new staging of Macbeth at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 26 - 30 January. This powerful interpretation is the first of three Shakespeare plays to be presented at The REP in 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of his death.

Golden Globe(R) winner Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation, Star Trek Beyond) returns to his iconic role as a self-destructive near-genius detective on the edge of law enforcement.

Jonathan Coe's The Rotters' Club, Gareth Farr's The Quiet House and Tom Wells' Folk will receive their stage premieres at Birmingham Repertory Theatre next year. The new Spring and Summer 2016 season also features a ground-breaking new production of The Government Inspector, Don Warrington as King Lear, plus a major revival of Alan Bennett's Single Spies alongside a compelling mix of drama, comedy and family shows.

A company of more than 60 artists will bring The Iliad to life in a durational reading on Friday 14 August. The reading will begin at the British Museum and culminate on the Almeida stage. The marathon reading is the latest event in the theatre's Almeida Greeks Festival which has so far seen Robert Icke's critically acclaimed production of Oresteia transfer to Trafalgar Studios in the West End and James Macdonald's production of Bakkhai play to sold out houses at the Almeida.

The RSC brings Tom Morton-Smith's new play Oppenheimer to the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End this month for a limited run of eight weeks.

Luther's back. Pitted against his most chilling adversary yet, haunted by the ghosts of his past and hell-bent on retribution, he's drawn into a terrifyingly complex case that pushes him closer to the edge than he's ever been.

The RSC announced today that Tom Morton-Smith's new play Oppenheimer will transfer into the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End in March for a limited run of eight weeks.

The longlist for the annual Evening Standard Theatre Awards has been announced, and includes Dame Judi Dench, Dame Helen Mirren, James McAvoy and Dominic West.

Dialogue with Three Chords (D3C) teams with BrooklynONE productions (bkONE) to present "The Collective Consciousness of Connected Memories (like times B4)." The anthology of consist of short one acts plays dealing with dreams, our memories and their effect on our experiences. "Collective Consciousness… " includes two scenes from playwright Aaron Jaros, a scene by the late BrooklynONE co-founder Tom Kane, and marks the playwriting debut of BrooklynONE Artistic Director Anthony Marino. The performance is on June 27th at 8pm at Mr. Dennehy's on 63 Carmine Street in Manhattan. Admission is free and donations are welcome.

John Heffernan will soon lead the National Theatre's production of Christopher Marlowe's EDWARD II, which is set to run at the NT Olivier beginning August 28- with opening night set for September 4. Joining him will be Ben Addis, Alex Beckett, Paul Bentall, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Bettrys Jones, Vanessa Kirby, Nathaniel Martello-White, Matthew Pidgeon and Kyle Soller as Gaveston.

An exciting programme of platform events has been scheduled to run in conjunction with The Hothouse, Jamie Lloyd Productions' second show for Trafalgar Studios. The programme includes: A pre-show Q&A with award winning designer Soutra Gilmour; post show Q&As with the cast and director Jamie Lloyd; a Pinter workshop hosted by director Jamie Lloyd; two Pinter shorts - Family Voices and Victoria Station performed by a cast including Joanna Lumley and Andrew Scott; and three panel discussions: the first with Michael Billington, Nick Payne and Jamie Lloyd followed by a second with Harold Pinter's wife, Lady Antonia Fraser - in conversation with Jamie Lloyd, and finally a panel event to discuss abuse of human rights.

Harold Pinter's macabre tragicomedy returns to London's West End in this new production directed by Jamie Lloyd (Donmar's Passion, Broadway's Cyrano de Bergerac, National Theatre's She Stoops to Conquer, Royal Court's The Pride). It follows the critically acclaimed and sold out Macbeth, starring James McAvoy, in a thrilling season of work for Trafalgar Transformed. Starring Simon Russell Beale (Privates on Parade, National Theatre's Timon of Athens and Collaborators) and John Simm (Elling, Sheffield Theatres' Hamlet and Betrayal), The Hothouse opened tonight, May 9, 2013, and BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities below!

An exciting programme of platform events has been scheduled to run in conjunction with The Hothouse, Jamie Lloyd Productions' second show for Trafalgar Studios.

John Heffernan (Lush), Harry Melling (Lamb), Clive Rowe (Tubb), Christopher Timothy (Lobb) and Indira Varma (Miss Cutts) will join the previously announced Simon Russell Beale (Roote) and John Simm (Gibbs) to complete the cast for The Hothouse, Jamie Lloyd Productions' second show for Trafalgar Studios.

John Heffernan (Lush), Harry Melling (Lamb), Clive Rowe (Tubb), Christopher Timothy (Lobb) and Indira Varma (Miss Cutts) will join the previously announced Simon Russell Beale (Roote) and John Simm (Gibbs) to complete the cast for The Hothouse, Jamie Lloyd Productions' second show for Trafalgar Studios.

Forthcoming productions at the National Theatre, announced today by Nicholas Hytner, include plays familiar, rare and new: Shakespeare's Othello, Gorky's Children of the Sun,James Baldwin's The Amen Corner;Marlowe's Edward II, Pirandello's Liola, Eugene O'Neill's Strange Interlude and Georg Kaiser's From Morning to Midnight. Tori Amos and Samuel Adamson's musical The Light Princess will premiere in October, and there will be a new adaptation of Emil and the Detectives for family audiences at Christmas.

Watch the Donmar Warehouse's exclusive and rather cool animation on the 'holy grail of physics,' with commentary from The Physicists' cast members Paul Bhattacharjee (Einstein) and Obioma Ugoala (Fantam Murillo) to help grapple with the big questions. Still trying to get your head round it all? Watch below!

The Daily Mail UK reports that Miranda Raison will star in Donmar Theatre's Physicists. The actress will play a physicist's wife and nurse in the stage version of Friedrich Durrenmatt's Cold War satire. Josie Rourke will direct the show, which begins rehearsals April 23 and starts performances May 31.

National Theatre Live continues its third season with Oliver Goldsmith's SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER.