Cheek by Jowl Announces International Tour of THE WINTER'S TALE

As the company's production of Measure for Measure prepares for performances in Denmark and Edinburgh, Artistic Directors Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod announce their production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.

Following performances in Brooklyn in December, the production tours to Chicago, and then on to Europe where The Winter's Tale will play in Nice, Glasgow, Cambridge and Oxford. Further venues will be announced shortly. One of Shakespeare's greatest plays, The Winter's Tale, though written at the same period as The Tempest, smashes all the rules that The Tempest follows. Unity of time, place and action are hurled aside as the action ranges across Europe, from court to country, from high tragedy to low comedy, across a time span of sixteen years.

The Winter's Tale tells of a delusional and paranoid king who tears his family apart. But this is the new Shakespeare, after he completed his great tragedies, and the tough struggle for redemption yields flickers of hope. Initial darkness gives way to joy as Time leads the characters to a shattering conclusion... Declan Donnellan directs The Winter's Tale. He is joint founder of Cheek by Jowl with Nick Ormerod. As joint Artistic Director of the company, he has directed over 30 productions. In 1989 he was made Associate Director of the Royal National Theatre in London where his productions have included Fuente Ovenjuna, Sweeney Todd, The Mandate and both parts of Angels in America. His other directing credits include for the Royal Shakespeare Company The School for Scandal, King Lear (Academy 2002) and Great Expectations; Le Cid for the Avignon Festival, Romeo and Juliet (Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow), The Winter's Tale (Maly Drama Theatre of St Petersburg). In 1999 he was invited by Valery Shadrin to form a company of actors in Moscow under the auspices of The Chekhov International Theatre Festival; this company's productions include Boris Godunov, Twelfth Night, Three Sisters and The Tempest.

These productions have already been seen in 48 cities of 25 countries. He has received awards in Moscow, Paris, New York and London, including three Laurence Olivier Awards - Director of the Year (1987), Best Director of a Play (1995) and the Olivier for Outstanding Achievement (1990). He has been awarded a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his work in France. His first film was Bel Ami, co-directed with Nick Ormerod. His production of Shakespeare in Love recently played at the Noel Coward Theatre. NOTES TO EDITORS: Cheek by Jowl was formed in 1981 by Joint Artistic Directors Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod. An international company, they stage work in three languages - Russian, French and English.

The company has performed in over 300 cities in over 40 countries, spanning six continents and has received numerous international awards. They are Artistic Associates of the Barbican, London. Their production of Measure for Measure with the Pushkin Theatre, Moscow is on at the Edinburgh International Festival in August.

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