Brenda Blethyn News

In the seventeen years between his first two theatrical features (1971’s BLEAK MOMENTS and 1988’s HIGH HOPES), Mike Leigh, the great humanist of British cinema, sharpened his distinctive voice and famously improvisatory process at the BBC, where he directed a string of striking, bittersweet slice-of-life dramas built on sharply etched characters.

Austin Pendleton  & Barbara Bleier will make their London cabaret debut with 'Barbara and Austin Sing Steve & Oscar, and then some……' at The Pheasantry in Chelsea. The show will run for two nights only, on Friday and Saturday, January 13th & 14th, 2023.

BroadwayWorld catches up with KT Tunstall to chat about bringing Saving Grace to the stage at Riverside Studios.

Casting has been announced as rehearsals begin for the previously announced intimate first run of the new musical Saving Grace.

The first run has been announced of the new musical Saving Grace which will have twelve performances only at the Riverside Studios from Tuesday 22 November – Sunday 4 December 2022.

Film at Lincoln Center announces Human Conditions: The Films of Mike Leigh, a retrospective of the widely lauded director’s career, running from May 27-June 8. For over half a century, Mike Leigh has directed films suffused with emotion and the realities of working-class struggle. From his debut feature, Bleak Moments (1971); to his ’70s television work for the BBC; to the breakout mid-career successes of Life Is Sweet (1990), Naked (1993), and Secrets and Lies (1996); through the historical films that have marked his output more recently, like Mr. Turner (2014) and Peterloo (2018), a Mike Leigh film always has an unmistakable energy and feeling for the triumphs and tragedies of everyday life.

New photographs and a trailer have been released from the rehearsal room of the UK touring production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright.  The new production opens on 23 March at MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton and tours until 16 July. 

Rehearsals have started this week for the new UK touring production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright.

Full casting has been announced for the brand-new touring production of Jim Cartwright’s The Rise And Fall of Little Voice, produced by Katy Lipson and Glass Half Full Productions, directed by Bronagh Lagan (Cruise, West End; Little Women The Musical, Park Theatre/ Hope Mill) and starring international YouTube sensation Christina Bianco in the title role. 

Shannon Hayes will join the previously announced Niamh Cusack in the world premiere of Colin Teevan's The Seven Pomegranate Seeds directed by Melly Still.  This will be the second Rose Original production in Christopher Haydon's inaugural season as Rose Theatre's Artistic Director.

In Leopards, by rising playwright Alys Metcalf, Niala will be played by Saffron Coomber. Niamh Cusack will be reuniting with director Melly Still in the world premiere of Colin Teevan’s The Seven Pomegranate Seeds.

Learn more about the cast, production, tour dates, and how to purchase tickets here!

BritBox, the subscription streaming service from BBC Studios and ITV with the largest collection of British television content in North America, will launch the full BBC Television Shakespeare Collection on May 26.

The theatre landscape has changed dramatically since the 1977 premier of Abigail's Party but Leigh remains as real, raw and relevant as ever before. At 77 the writer / director shows no signs of slowing down. After venturing into period pieces with Topsy-Turvey and Mr Turner, Leigh's most recent picture Peterloo is his most ambitious yet. We've put together a list of Leigh's top ten works.

For the first time, North America's leading streaming service for television from Britain and beyond, AMC Networks' Acorn TV will be available in the UK starting Wednesday, April 29. With more than one million paid subscribers in the U.S., Acorn TV is the ultimate destination for high-quality, world class dramas, mysteries and comedies from around the world without advertising. Acorn TV UK will be available in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Starting April 29, consumers can visit acorn.tv to subscribe and watch Acorn TV online with an extended 30-day free trial for a limited time. The service will also be available on your favorite devices, Roku, Fire TV, Android and Apple mobile and Apple TV and coming soon to Amazon Channels and Apple TV Channels. Acorn TV will add exclusive new programmes every subsequent Monday, and all programmes will include English subtitles. After the free trial, Acorn TV will be £4.99 GPB per month or £49.99 per year.

Variety reports that Brenda Blethyn will star in 'Kate and Kolo,' ITV's newest sitcom. The news was announced at the Edinburgh TV Fringe Festival.

'night, Mother by Marsha Norman on stage at Chapel off Chapel - The Loft Theatre from 6 to 7 August 2019. 'night, Mother is the turbulent tale of a mother-daughter relationship rejuvenated by the daughter's admission she will kill herself that evening.

Racing into the record book to set the mark as the longest-running primetime live-action series in television history, NBC has renewed “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” for a 21st season.

BritBox, the streaming service from BBC Studios and ITV with the largest collection of British TV in the U.S., announced today during its TCA presentation an expanded commitment to delivering the best of British TV's past, present and future. Leading off the announcements was the reveal of the service's next new original series - Dark Heart, a TV adaptation of popular literary series featuring Detective Will Wagstaffe, played by Tom Riley (Da Vinci's Demons) and also starring Charlotte Riley (Peaky Blinders) and brought to you by the creators of Vera & Shetland. In addition, BritBox will add content from some of the biggest actors and creators from across the Atlantic including the exclusive premiere of the heartbreaking five time BAFTA Award winning drama mini-series Three Girls from director Philippa Lowthrope (The Crown) and writer Nicole Taylor (The C Word), Bancroft featuring Sarah Parish (Broadchurch) and and Shakespeare & Hathaway which was the biggest drama launch for a BBC daytime series in the last five years.

KCET, the nation's largest independent public television station, announced today that season eight of VERA will premiere on KCET in June. Multi-award-winning Brenda Blethyn returns as the unorthodox but brilliant DCI