London Year-End Roundup: Five Best Productions of 2013 (Matt Smith, Rupert Grint, Brendan Coyle, Rufus Sewell...)

BROADWAY BUZZ
 By Matt Wolf December 25, 2013 - 12:00AM



American Psycho, Almeida Theatre
Critics were divided on the merits of Spring Awakening composer Duncan Sheik’s stage take on the era-defining Bret Easton Ellis novel, and who can blame them? One must look back to Sweeney Todd to find a musical that makes such a compelling case for putting psychosis center-stage. In Rupert Goold’s expert production, British TV name Matt Smith (Doctor Who) makes the gym-fit Patrick Bateman a charismatic killer of anyone’s dreams…or, make that nightmares. You have until February 1 to be drawn in—and then recoil—for yourself.

Mojo, Harold Pinter Theatre
Can a play that looked show-offy and posturing in one incarnation seem mournful and even profound the next? The answer is there to be savored in Mojo, running through February 8 at the Harold Pinter Theater (an apt locale given that Pinter himself appeared in Jez Butterworth’s 1997 film adaptation of gangster low-life in 1950s London). The cast—encompassing Harry Potter star Rupert Grint, Skyfall’s Ben Whishaw and Downtown Abbey’s own Bates, Brendan Coyle—remains the starriest seen in London all year, and the peerless director is Ian Rickson.

Old Times, Harold Pinter Theatre
Two brilliant actresses, Oscar nominee Kristin Scott Thomas and Tony nominee Lia Williams, traded roles throughout the run of Ian Rickson’s quietly dazzling take on Harold Pinter’s 1971 play, which meant audiences got two chances to ponder the shimmering mysteries at the heart of the text. This was a big year on both sides of the Atlantic for the Nobel laureate, with Broadway’s starry No Man’s Land and Betrayal competing for attention, as well. But Rickson and his cast of three, including the divine Rufus Sewell, stood a league apart. Can they go to Broadway, as well, please?


READ MORE HERE: http://www.broadway.com/buzz/173767/london-year-end-roundup-five-best-productions-of-2013/harold

Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz in "Betrayal" (EYEWITNESS NEWS)

NEW YORK - Daniel Craig and his actress wife, Rachel Weisz, are teaming up on stage this year to play a married couple in a Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's play "Betrayal" about adultery.

Craig, who has played British spy 007 in the last three James Bond films including the box office hit "Skyfall", last appeared on Broadway in 2009 alongside Hugh Jackman in "A Steady Rain”.

The Mike Nichols-directed production will be the Broadway debut for Weisz, who won an Oscar for the 2005 film "The Constant Gardener" and praise for her stage performances in "Suddenly, Last Summer" and "A Streetcar Named Desire" in London.

Weisz is currently starring in the Disney box office hit "Oz the Great and Powerful."

The two British actors married in 2011 after falling for each other while working on the film "Dream House".

READ MORE: http://ewn.co.za/2013/04/06/Daniel-Craig-and-Rachel-Weisz-in-Betrayal

Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart: British actors heading to Broadway (WASHINGTON TIMES)

By Mark Kennedy-Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Serious theater fans have a reason to suddenly freak out: Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart will team up on Broadway this fall in two of the most iconic plays of the 20th century.

Producers announced Thursday that Mr. Stewart and Mr. McKellen will star in Harold Pinter’s “No Man's Land” and Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” in repertory under the direction of Sean Mathias.

The Broadway theater, performance dates, the two supporting actors and the schedule of performances will be announced later.

Mr. Stewart and Mr. McKellen starred in a production of “Waiting for Godot” in London’s West End in 2009. Prior to Broadway, they’ll tackle “No Man's Land” in an as-yet-unspecified out-of-town tryout this summer.

Mr. Mathias told The Associated Press all three men struggled to make “Waiting for Godot” as honest and realistic as possible — an approach they’ll likely replicate with Pinter’s play.

“What we tried to do, with so much effort, was make it real. Make them human beings, compassionate, funny, flawed and vulnerable and cocky — all the things human beings are,” Mr. Mathias said. “We never wanted to make it esoteric. I’m sure this is how we will approach the Pinter as well.”


Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/24/ian-mckellen-patrick-stewart-british-actors-headin/#ixzz2Ix0BkuOR 
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Colin Firth helps the people speak (BBC)

30 November 2012 Last updated at 09:44 ET Help The battle to spread the rights of individuals by standing up against authority is the subject of a new project - The People Speak - backed by actor Colin Firth.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxHB8eRmXpA

READ MORE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-radio-and-tv-20296573