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

Pierce Brosnan takes role as sex-obsessed professor WITH Kristen Scott Thomas

Irish actor Pierce Brosnan has taken a new role to play a college professor sexaholic in a movie titled How To Make Love Like An Englishman.

Brosnan will play opposite Jessica Alba and Kristin Scott Thomas in Tom Vaughan's film, according to Collider.com. He'll also co-produce through his Irish DreamTime company.



Brosnan's character, a Cambridge University professor, is forced to re-evaluate his life when a girlfriend (Alba) falls pregnant with his baby. Scott Thomas will play the Fantastic Four star's sister


READ MORE: http://www.9wsyr.com/entertainment/story/Pierce-Brosnan-takes-role-as-sex-obsessed-professo/3Zs4Z6W7h0eAH-lgiCp2QQ.cspx

James McAvoy, Hugh Bonneville: Nominees for Olivier AWards 2013 (ZIMBIO)

Nominees for the Olivier Awards 2013 with MasterCard pose on stage for a celebratory group photo, back row stage standing (L to R) Jon Morell, Lee Curran, Nica Burns, Kyle Soller, Dawn Reid, Emma Turner, Marianela Nunez, Hattie Morahan, Stephen Boswell, Alex Gaumond, Bill Deamer, Hildegard Bechtler, Gareth Owen, Paul Chahidi, Jenny Tiramani, Adrian Sutton, Miriam Buether, Nick Payne, Ked Mather, Olivia Jacobs, Annette McLaughlin and Alexandra Isaacs, front row stage sitting (L to R) David Wood, Kim Poster, John Miller, Billy Piper, Elliot Davis, David Garrud, Scott Graham, Luke Treadaway, Rafe Spall, James McAvoy, Hayley Flaherty, Leigh Zimmerman, James Graham, Deka Walmsley and Marcus Lovett, back row stalls standing (L to R) Caroline Horton, Debbie Kurup, Edward Snape, Matthew Mitchell, Heather Headley, Tom Chambers, Morgan Lloyd, Kate Bond and Anthony Ward, front row stalls sitting (L to R) Louise Dearman, Gina Beck, Summer Strallen and Kenny Wax, at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket on April 9, 2013 in London, England. The ceremony hosted by Sheridan Smith and Hugh Bonneville will take place at the Royal Opera House on Sunday 28 April.

READ MORE:http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/-n6GbSg5Xh7/Nominees+Laurence+Olivier+Awards/oSC-NCk0_iC/Hugh+Bonneville

Colin Firth: Dorian Gray Bloopers & Easy Virtue Bloopers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ajQnutoZg&feature=related





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hICcWZ1cdlM&feature=related

Ewan McGregor: “Salmon Fishing” delivers laughs and tears By Jimmy Graner (THE ROCKET)

For most people, fishing is just a popular past time, but for a Sheik in Yemen, it’s more than that. “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” is a comedy/drama/romance that brings together the enjoyment of fishing and experiencing it wherever one might be.

Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor), a fisheries expert, is put with the task of trying to bring salmon to Yemen so the Sheik (Amr Waked) can show his people that his hobby is more than just a favorite past time. Although Jones is very distraught over the whole idea and believes that whatever the Sheik is trying to do is just a waste of time, he decides to go along with it after the British Prime Minister’s press secretary, Patricia Maxwell (Kristen Scott Thomas), gives him a grant and says that this project may just help out in more ways than others

The Sheik, who has spent precious time and money building a dam to keep his dream alive, uses faith to help him get by and believes that if one understands faith, one can understand meaning. The Sheik builds a special bond between his consultant Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt) and Dr. Jones, and without their company and expertise in what they do, the plot would only sicken with broadness.

It’s hard to do that when half the people assume what he is doing is a waste of time and precious resources. Maxwell is faced with the challenge of producing a story to enlighten the British people with news other than the usual news of soldiers dying in the war. She portrays her character very well by acting like she should, not only as a mother but also as a strict secretary who knows how to handle people.


READ MORE:  http://www.theonlinerocket.com/campus-life/salmon-fishing-delivers-laughs-and-tears-1.2840782#.T3-T5_tSTiY