Old Vic's THE NORMAN CONQUESTS Featured In NY Times & Wall Street Journal

The Old Vic production of Alan Ayckbourn's comedy trilogy THE NORMAN CONQUESTS, directed by Matthew Warchus, opened on April 23, 2009 at Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50th Street).

The production, which received rave reviews from critics, is nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Revival of a Play, Featured Actor in a Play (Stephen Mangan, Jessica Hynes), Featured Actress in a Play (Jessica Hynes, Amanda Root), Director of a Play (Matthew Warchus) and Set Design of a Play (Rob Howell).

The production, the best reviewed play of the year, has won three Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Director of a Play (Matthew Warchus) and Outstanding Ensemble Performance; three Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Director of a Play (Matthew Warchus) and Outstanding Ensemble Performance; a New York Drama Critics Circle special citation to director Matthew Warchus and the cast and a Theater World Award for the cast, all of whom are making their Broadway debuts.

THE NORMAN CONQUESTS features Amelia Bullmore (Ruth), Jessica Hynes (Annie), Stephen Mangan (Norman), Ben Miles (Tom), Paul Ritter (Reg) and Amanda Root (Sarah). The production plays a limited run through July 25.

Here are some recent stories featuring the production:

NYTimes.com

A Day of Conquests By Erik Piepenburg

The Norman Conquests, a trilogy of plays by Alan Ayckbourn, is running on Broadway at Circle in the Square. The plays - Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden - can be seen in an all-day marathon on select weekends.

The first play starts at 11:30 a.m., and the last one ends just after 10:30 p.m. It's a long day for everyone involved, from the actors to the audience and the crew. What's it like to spend a day immersed in this play? Take a behind-the-scenes look with audio and photos.

To view the multimedia slide show, click on the following link:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/05/21/theater/20090514_NORMAN_FEATURE.html

Wall Street Journal

Double Threat By Ellen Gamerman

Among the formidable opponents Matthew Warchus is facing for a best-directing Tony: Matthew Warchus. The British director has been nominated twice in the same category, for the explosive 90-minute sprint God of Carnage and the 6½-hour madcap British trilogy The Norman Conquests.

"My immediate thought was, ‘Well, I can't possibly win because I'm splitting the vote,'" says Mr. Warchus, who has had three previous Tony nominations but hasn't yet won.

The two plays opened on Broadway a month apart. Mr. Warchus spent April trekking up and down Eighth Avenue between the two theaters, where an American cast had just opened Carnage and British actors were in previews for Norman. Sometimes Carnage was still on his mind when he reached the Norman rehearsals: "I kept saying, ‘Why is everyone talking in these funny accents?'"

The director says he approached both comedies the same way. "It's a very simple directing trick. Go for the pain, and the audience will laugh," says Mr. Warchus, who directed both plays in London last year. Amanda Root, a star of "Norman," says he urged actors to "only do things that are absolutely true to the character."

To read the complete article, click on the following link:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203771904574175720847238680.html

www.NormanConquestsOnBroadway.com