Monday, May 20, 2013

Tom Hiddleston cast as Coriolanus at Donmar Warehouse By Tim Masters (BBC NEWS)



Tom Hiddleston is to play the title role in Coriolanus as part of the autumn season at the Donmar Warehouse.

The Avengers star last appeared on stage at the tiny London venue in 2008.

Directed by Josie Rourke, the Shakespearean drama opens in December with Mark Gatiss also in the cast.

August sees the premiere of Nick Payne's drama The Same Deep Water As Me, about "cash for crash" lawyers.

Following in October, Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine and Linda Bassett are to star in Arnold Wesker's Roots.

"At the centre of all these plays is a sense of young people trying to find their place in the world," said Rourke, the Donmar's artistic director, announcing the season on Monday.

Describing Hiddleston "one of our leading young classical actors", Rourke said she envisaged Coriolanus would be a "contemporary" production.

She said early discussions with 32-year-old Hiddleston about the role of the Roman general had centred on "ideas about militarism and what being an extraordinary warrior does to your mind".

Since appearing in Donmar productions Othello and Ivanov in 2008, Hiddleston has gone on to achieve international fame in films such as The Avengers, Thor, The Deep Blue Sea, War Horse and Midnight in Paris.

In 2012 he played Henry V in the BBC's Shakespeare series The Hollow Crown.

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