Judi Dench to Receive the Donostia Award at the San Sebastian Festival
The British actress Judi Dench will receive the prestigious Donostia Award at the 66th edition of the San Sebastian Festival next month. The Festival's highest honorary award will be presented on Tuesday, September 25th, prior to the screening of Trevor Nunn's Red Joan, in which Dench plays a woman whose tranquil life is suddenly disrupted when she's arrested by MI5 and accused of providing intelligence to Communist Russia.
Hampstead Theatre Announces Upcoming Season
Artistic Director Edward Hall announces Hampstead Theatre's spring/summer season. The UK premiere of Rajiv Joseph's darkly comic post-truth play Describe the Night will be directed by Lisa Spirling. The world premiere of Jemma Kennedy's blisteringly entertaining Genesis Inc. will be directed by Laurie Sansom. The world premiere of Fiona Doyle's haunting and provocative new drama The Strange Death of John Doe will be directed by Artistic Director Edward Hall for Hampstead Downstairs. The production is a Hampstead Theatre commission and a finalist for The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Under 30s can access Priority Booking for all shows via The Downstairs Club - Hampstead's free membership scheme to allow better access to the cheaper seats.
BWW REVIEW: Jonathan Leaf's DECONSTRUCTION Bravely and Brilliantly Delves Into The Difficulties of Truth
Over halfway through DECONSTRUCTION, Jonathan Leaf's remarkable play about Paul De Man, Mary McCarthy (Fleur Alys Dobbins) tells Hannah Arendt (Karoline Fischer) that she sees no morality 'worthy of the name' in the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. 'There's a need to find authenticity,' McCarthy concedes, 'But it seems to me that you can be genuinely and perfectly evil.' However one feels about deconstruction as a method of reading--I happen to be a fan--we should all agree that De Man was a bad guy: a thoroughgoing liar, a bigamist, a swindler, a manipulator, and the author of some 200 pieces for the Nazi publication in Belgium, Le Soir. I've lingered over this literary-historical context (ironic, given that deconstruction deemphasizes extra-textual material, including authorial intent) because while Leaf's play works beautifully as a story about the (alleged) affair between De Man and McCarthy, the play's real triumph is how deftly it evokes the intellectual minefields on which these personal relationships developed. DECONSTRUCTION is far better, to say nothing of smarter, than most of the ideologically-driven caricatures of the play suggest. This is all the more remarkable given the play runs a mere 75 minutes.
Danny Lee Wynter, Tom Varey & Joseph Quinn Lead Jean Genet's DEATHWATCH at the Print Room
The full cast is announced for the final production in the Coronet's spring season, DEATHWATCH, from April 11 to May 7. This new Print Room production of Jean Genet's powerful and provocative first play, in a translation by David Rudkin, marks its first major revival in almost 30 years. Deathwatch stars Danny Lee Wynter, Joseph Quinn, Tom Varey and Emma Naomi, and is directed by Geraldine Alexander, who received critical acclaim for the direction of her own play, Amygdala, at The Print Room's former space in 2013. The Coronet is also working with playwright David Rudkin on complementary activity around the production.
LAINA AND THE VAMP is Released
Following 'Just Desserts,' which focused on a young Jewish woman's descent into madness, in B.K. Smith's 'Laina and the Vamp' our attention is now drawn to Laina, a dancer who lives in Fantasy Noir, and Vladimir, your basic vampire and smooth operator.
FALLEN ANGELS, TRANSLATIONS & More Set for Rose Theatre Kingston's January - May 2014 Season
Today the Rose Theatre Kingston announced its 2014 Season. 2014 will see the theatre continue to produce Rose Productions as well as embarking on new and exciting partnerships, sharing skills and resources with other theatre companies and venues to create top quality theatre. Visiting companies including Propeller and the Royal Shakespeare Company, touring family productions and one night events complete the season.
Washington Stage Guild Announces 2013-14 Season: THE OLD MASTERS, THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA & More!
The Washington Stage Guild announces its 28th Season of our distinctive repertory, an array of eloquent plays of idea and argument, passion and wit - smart theatre for a smart town. The Washington Stage Guild's 2013-2014 season will focus on the fundamental basis of all art - the imagination. We will present four plays that examine the need to see beyond the mundane in order to create, to survive, to develop, to live. The Season of Dreams will travel from Vincent van Gogh's studio to Bernard Berenson's villa, and from the apartment of two fragile lives to as far as thought can reach. All four plays are Washington area premieres, and among the four is the first installment in a multi-year cycle leading up to our 30th anniversary, as we inaugurate our production of George Bernard Shaw's rarely seen Back to Methuselah.