Search this site

Back to News & Press To Kill a Mockingbird will open at the Gielgud Theatre in May 2020 Thursday, 31 October 2019 Harper Lee’s enduring story of racial injustice and childhood innocence has sold 45 million copies worldwide. 2020 will mark the 60th anniversary of its publication. Set in Alabama in 1934, To Kill a Mockingbird centres on one of the most venerated characters in American literature, the small-town lawyer Atticus Finch. The cast of characters includes Atticus’s daughter Scout, her brother Jem, their housekeeper and caretaker Calpurnia, their visiting friend Dill, a mysterious neighbour the reclusive Arthur “Boo” Radley, and the other indelible residents of Maycomb, Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird , celebrating one year on Broadway today, has not played to an empty seat and holds the benchmark of having become the most successful American play in Broadway history. A national tour of the United States opens at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC in August 2020. The British cast and performance dates will be announced soon. Sign up at www.tokillamockingbird.co.uk for updates and priority access to tickets. Aaron Sorkin is a celebrated writer, producer and director known for his multi-award-winning work across stage and screen. Sorkin is probably best known as the creator and screenwriter of the Emmy Award-winning hit TV series The West Wing and films such as Steve Jobs and The Social Network for which he received an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Writer’s Guild Award for best screenplay. He is the writer-creator of The Newsroom and the Academy Award-winning 1992 film A Few Good Men , which he adapted from his 1989 Broadway play. His other credits as a playwright include Making Movies and The Farnsworth Invention . Bartlett Sher is the multi-award-winning Director of the Lincoln Center Theater in New York, a post he has held for over a decade. His critically acclaimed stage productions include the Tony Award-winning South Pacific and Oslo , My Fair Lady and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown . He has also worked extensively in opera, staging productions at English National Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera and New York City Opera. To Kill a Mockingbird is designed by Miriam Buether , with costumes by Ann Roth , lighting by Jennifer Tipton , sound by Scott Lehrer and an original score by Adam Guettel . Up Up

Back to Productions THE SUNSHINE BOYS – L.A. This production began performances on 24th September and closed on 3rd November 2013. Theatrical gold dust. Richard Griffiths and Danny DeVito could wring comedy out of reading the telephone directory. Sunday Telegraph Kings of comedy, Willie Clark (Danny DeVito) and Al Lewis (Richard Griffiths) aka The Sunshine Boys haven’t spoken to each other in years. When CBS call for the vaudevillian greats to be re-united for a nostalgic History of Comedy, past grudges resurface as they take centre stage once more. Ageing ailments aside, can this legendary double-act overcome their differences for one last show? Old rivalry and vintage hilarity abound in Neil Simon’s classic comedy of showbiz and friendship. Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths raise the roof in The Sunshine Boys. Glowing performances. Joyous Revival The Guardian Center Theatre Group L.A.’s Theatre Company , Ahmanson Theatre , Mark Taper Forum , Kirk Douglas Theatre , Michael Ritchie (Artistic Director), Edward L. Rada (Managing Director), Gordon Davidson (Founding Artistic Director), by special arrangement with Richard Willis , Sonia Friedman Productions , Roger Berlind Tulchin Bartner Productions , Rupert Gavin , Darren Bagert/Martin Massman presents “THE SUNSHINE BOYS ” by Neil Simon , directed by Tha Sharrock . Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths make a wonderfully ill-matched couple Metro CAST DANNY DEVITO – Willie Clark JUDD HIRSCH – Al Lewis JUSTIN BARTHA – Ben Silvermann GIBBY BRAND – Patient FRANK KOPYC – V.O. TV Director MATTHEW BOHRER – Eddie ANNIE ABRAMS – Miss MacKintosh JOHNNIE FIORI – Registered Nurse CREATIVES NIEL SIMON – Playwright THA SHARROCK – Director HILDEGARD BECHTLER – Set and Costume Designer NEIL AUSTIN – Lighting Designer ADRIAN JOHNSTON – Music CRICKET S MYERS – Sound Designer JIM CARNAHAN – Casting

Back to News & Press Last chance to see original cast of Sunny Afternoon Monday, 28 September 2015 The new cast will have their first performance on Monday 5 October and includes Danny Horn (Doctor Who; The Dead Dogs), who will play Ray Davies, with Oliver Hoare (Antony and Cleopatra, Chichester) as Dave Davies, Tom Whitelock (Times Square Angel, Union) as bassist Pete Quaife and Damien Walsh (Dreamboats and Petticoats) as drummer Mick Avory. At certain performances, the role of Ray Davies will be played by Ryan O’Donnell (Romeo and Juliet, RSC; Quadrophenia). Sunny Afternoon is currently taking bookings until 16 April 2016. Much of the current company have been with the production since the sold-out run at Hampstead Theatre in 2014 including the Olivier Award-winning leads John Dagleish (Best Actor in a Musical) and George Maguire (Best Supporting Actor in a Musical). With a book by Joe Penhall, music and lyrics and original story by Ray Davies, and directed by Edward Hall, Sunny Afternoon has established itself as a firm favourite with audiences and critics alike since it opened at the Harold Pinter Theatre in October 2014. Up Up

Back to Productions KENREX: A TRUE CRIME THRILLER This production began performances in December 2025 and runs until 1 February 2026. ‘911, what’s your emergency?’ ‘My husband… they shot him… they all did.’ July 10th, 1981, Missouri. Smalltown bully, Ken Rex McElroy rules Skidmore with an iron fist. His ten year reign of terror has involved theft, intimidation, assault, abduction and attempted murder but, thanks to his slippery defence attorney and the rusty cogs of the American justice system, Ken has never spent a night behind bars. But, when Ken shoots pillar of the community, greengrocer Bo Bowenkamp and leaves him for dead, the good folk of Skidmore decide that enough is enough. If the courts won’t bring Ken to heel, they will. Direct from an acclaimed run at Sheffield Theatres, receiving 5-star reviews from The Daily Telegraph and WhatsOnStage, KENREX is the unbelievable true story of a community taking back control — part True Crime, part Western, with a foot-stomping live Americana soundtrack. From the Olivier-nominated creators of Cruise , comes a bold new theatrical event that grips like your favourite True Crime box set – raw, relentless and impossible to look away! Trigger warnings: This production contains haze, flashing lights, strobe lighting, loud noises, gunshot sound effects, depiction of physical violence and death, strong language, and references to grooming, rape, sexual and physical abuse. CAST JACK HOLDEN - Performer FABIAN BEVAN - Understudy CREATIVES JACK HOLDEN and ED STAMBOLLOUIAN - Writers JOHN PATRICK ELLIOT - Composer ED STAMBOLLOUIAN - Director ANISHA FIELDS - Set and Costume Designer JOSHUA PHARO - Lighting and Video Designer GILES THOMAS - Sound Designer SARAH GOLDING - Movement Director JAMES ANDERTON - Production Manager JEN DAVEY - Company Stage Manager on Book BYRON LADD-CARR - Sound no. 1 KELLY BURKE - Voice of Annette Parker JAMES SOBOL KELLY - Voice of David Baird

Back to Productions MEAN GIRLS – WEST END MEAN GIRLS began performances on 5 June 2024, and will run until 8 June 2025. “A marvel: Dazzling & hilarious" Entertainment Weekly Meet The Plastics - Regina, Gretchen and Karen. They rule North Shore High and will burn anyone who gets in their way. Home-schooled Cady Heron may think she knows a thing or two about survival of the fittest thanks to her zoologist parents, but high school is a whole new level of savage. When Cady devises a plan to end Regina's reign, she learns the hard way that you can't cross a queen bee without getting stung. "Tina Fey writes FUNNIER, SMARTER, SHARPER satire than anyone else in the business" New York Magazine MEAN GIRLS is coming to London. Broadway's hilarious hit musical from an award-winning creative team including writer Tina Fey ("30 Rock"), composer Jeff Richmond ("Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"), lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde) and director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon), comes to the Savoy Theatre next spring. Expect iconic characters, razor-sharp wit, and killer songs. Grab your friends and your cool mom, this is going to be fetch – and YES London, we're making it happen! The reign begins June 2024. If you want to sit with us, book your tickets and don't forget... On Wednesdays, we wear pink. "We'll let you in on a little secret, because we're such good friends: GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!" USA Today CAST Original West End Cast CHARLIE BURN – Cady Heron GEORGINA CASTLE – Regina George ELÈNA GYASI – Gretchen Wieners GRACE MOUAT – Karen Smith ELENA SKYE – Janis Sarkisian TOM XANDER – Damian Hubbard DANIEL BRAVO – Aaron Samules LUCCA CHADWICK-PATEL – Kevin Ganatra AKO MITCHELL – Mr Duvall ZOË RAINEY – Ms Heron/Ms Norbury/Mrs George TIA ANTOINE-CHARLES – Ensemble GEORGINA ARRON – Ensemble LIAM BUCKLAND – Ensemble SHINAH BUWU – Ensemble BAYLIE CARSON – Ensemble FREDDIE CLEMENTS – Ensemble SIOBHAN DIFFIN – Ensemble CLÍONA FLYNN – Standby Cady Heron/Regina George FERGIE FRASER – Swing ANGUS GOOD – Ensemble JENNY HUXLEY-GOLDEN – Swing HOLLY LIBURD – Ensemble COREY MITCHELL – Swing MERVIN NORONHA – Ensemle AHARON RAYNER – Ensemble TRÉZEL SERGEANT – Ensemble JOSH SINGLETON – Swing ANNIE SOUTHALL – Ensemble/Assistant Dance Captain LILLIA SQUIRES – Swing TOMMY WADE-SMITH – Swing/Dance Captain HOLLY WILLOCK – Ensemble CREATIVES TINA FEY – Book JEFF RICHMOND – Music NELL BENJAMIN – Lyrics CASEY NICHOLAW – Director and Choreographer

Back to Productions WALDEN – FILM This production was filmed for the screen at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End. ★★★★ A fresh and ambitious new play. A giant leap for the West End. The Telegraph Amy Berryman ’s debut play premiered earlier this year as part of Sonia Friedman Productions’ RE:EMERGE season. Directed by Ian Rickson , the play stars Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace), Fehinti Balogun (Juliet) and Lydia Wilson (The Duchess of Malfi) in a three-hander exploring familial love and loss amidst a climate emergency. Walden bursts with big ideas. With such a talented and eye-catching cast and creative team, Sonia Friedman has achieved a rare kind of alchemy. I urge you to see it. Evening Standard After returning from a year-long Moon mission, Cassie, a NASA botanist, finds herself in a remote cabin in the woods, where her estranged twin sister, Stella, a former NASA architect, has found a new life with climate activist Bryan. Old wounds resurface as the sisters attempt to pick up the pieces of the rivalry that broke them apart. Amy Berryman’s intelligent, soulful drama. An original play of ideas. The Guardian CAST GEMMA ARTERTON – Stella FEHINTI BALOGUN – Bryan LYDIA WILSON – Cassie CREATIVES AMY BERRYMAN – Writer IAN RICKSON – Director LIZ CLARE – Director (for screen) JOSHUA ANDREWS – Executive Producer SONIA FRIEDMAN – Producer STUART GALBRAITH – Executive Producer AUSTIN SHAW – Producer

Back to News & Press BroadwayHD Marks 10th Anniversary with Exclusive Streaming Premieres including THE SHARK IS BROKEN - October 16 Thursday, 16 October 2025 Continuing their year-long 10th Anniversary celebration, BroadwayHD has announced dates for two brand new exclusive world streaming premieres sure to excite theatre lovers. Direct from Broadway and the West End, where it earned an Olivier Award nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play , The Shark is Broken a “profound dive behind the scenes of the making of Jaws” (The Daily Telegraph,★★★★) brings the laughs beginning October 16. STREAM HERE. The Shark Is Broken is a comedic stage play written by British playwrights Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon. The play is inspired by behind-the-scenes drama that took place during the filming of the iconic 1975 film, which starred Shaw's father, Robert Shaw, as well as Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss. The playwright portrays his own father in the production, which was filmed during its recent tour of the UK and Ireland at the Lighthouse in Poole on April 30 and May 1, 2025, starring Ian Shaw, Ashley Margolis, and Dan Fredenburgh. The play originally premiered at the Rialto Theatre in Brighton, England, before transferring to the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Its West End premiere at the Ambassadors Theatre in 2021 earned a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play . It subsequently made its North American premiere at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, in 2022, before opening at Broadway’s Golden Theatre in August 2023. ABOUT BROADWAYHD Currently celebrating 10 years as the industry leader, BroadwayHD was launched in 2015 by Tony-award winning producers and filmmakers Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley. BroadwayHD specializes in bringing the best of live theater via streaming to audiences in the U.S. and across the globe. Backed by years of experience in the industry, the team at BroadwayHD has a true understanding of how to film live theater, seamlessly capturing the thrill of live performances and bringing them from stage to screen. The platform was the first to livestream a Broadway musical with She Loves Me , earning itself a Guinness World Record in 2016. From their first celebrated production of Romeo & Juliet , starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad, to their 2022 production of Mr. Saturday Night: A New Musical Comedy starring Billy Crystal, BroadwayHD has cemented itself as the go-to destination for filmed stage productions. BroadwayHD's library currently contains hundreds of full-length stage plays and musicals that theater fans can access 24/7 on their computers, phones, tablets, and other streaming devices. Up Up

Back to News & Press Last Chance to see Old Times by Harold Pinter Monday, 11 March 2013 On 6th April, the hugely successful run of Harold Pinter’s Old Times at the Harold Pinter Theatre, which has fully recouped all its costs, ends as scheduled. “A compulsive production of Pinter’s tantalisingly suggestive play” Sunday Times Starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Rufus Sewell and Lia Williams, Old Times is directed by Ian Rickson, designed by Hildegard Bechtler, with lighting by Peter Mumford, music by Stephen Warbeck and sound by Paul Groothuis. Old Times is produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Bartner & Norman Tulchin, Rupert Gavin, 1001 Nights and JFL Theatricals/Tanya Link. Locked away in a secluded farmhouse, Kate, Deeley and Anna reminisce about their early days together in London but, with conflicting memories and underlying sexual tensions, the past suddenly feels vividly present. Kristin Scott Thomas and Lia Williams alternate the roles of Kate and Anna, with Rufus Sewell playing Deeley. A detailed performance schedule is available on the show’s website, www.oldtimestheplay.com . Old Times has been the first of Pinter’s plays to be performed in the newly renamed Harold Pinter Theatre, and marks the fifth Pinter play that Sonia Friedman Productions (SFP) has produced in the West End in recent years, succeeding Celebration, The Dumb Waiter, No Man’s Land and Betrayal. “A first rate revival. Richly intriguing. Superb.” Independent on Sunday As with all SFP productions there is a range of accessible seat prices, including over one hundred £10 seats for every performance, across all levels, many bookable in advance. Up Up

Back to News & Press Casting announced for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Monday, 21 December 2015 J.K. Rowling said: “I’m so excited with the choice of casting for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I can’t wait to see Jamie, Noma and Paul bring the adult Harry, Hermione and Ron to life on stage next summer.” Directed by John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thornebased on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will receive its world premiere in London’s West End at the Palace Theatre in the summer of 2016 and is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. Further casting for the Company of over 30 will be announced at a later date. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is one play presented in two parts. Both parts are intended to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening), or on two consecutive evenings. Previews begin 7 June 2016 with the Opening performances of Part One and Part Two on Saturday 30 July 2016. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is currently booking to 27 May 2017. It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places. Jamie Parker is currently playing Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls at the Savoy Theatre, a role he previously performed at Chichester Festival Theatre where he has also been seen in Drama, Holes in the Skin, Seagulls, The Coffee House, The Commuter and The Gondoliers. His other theatre credits include High Society at the Old Vic, Assassins and Proof for the Menier Chocolate Factory, Candida for the Theatre Royal Bath, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Henry V, Henry IV Parts One and Two, A New World and As You Like It for Shakespeare’s Globe, King James Bible, The Revenger’s Tragedy and The History Boys all for the National Theatre the latter also on Broadway, Racing Demon for Sheffield Crucible, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead for the Theatre Royal Haymarket and Chichester Festival Theatre, My Zinc Bed for the Royal & Derngate Theatre, Singer for the Tricycle Theatre, At the Exit for Chichester Edge, Between the Crosses for the Jermyn Street Theatre and The Sneeze and After the Dance for Oxford Stage Company. His film credits include The Lady in the Van, Le Weekend, Valkyrie, The History Boys and Lawless. His television credits includeCount Arthur Strong, Parade’s End, Silk, The Hour, Burn Up, Horne and Corden, Imagine Van Gogh, Silent Witness, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Maxwell, As If, Wire in the Blood and Foyle’s War. Noma Dumezweni is currently playing the title role in Linda at the Royal Court Theatre for which she received outstanding reviews. Her other theatre credits include A Raisin In The Sun for the Young Vic at the Lyric Hammersmith, for which she was the recipient of the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role, Feast and Belong also for the Royal Court, A Human Being Died That Night at the Hampstead Theatre, The Fugard and The Market theatres in South Africa and Brooklyn Academy of Music, NY, Carmen Disruption for the Almeida Theatre, ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore for Shakespeare’s Globe, Henry V at the Noël Coward Theatre, President of an Empty Room and The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other for the National Theatre, Macbeth, Breakfast With Mugabe, The Winter’s Tale and Romeo and Juliet for the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Bogus Woman for The Red Room, Traverse and Bush theatres. Her film credits include The Incident, Dirty Pretty Things and Macbeth. Her many television credits include Casualty, Capital, Frankie, Dr Who, Summerhill, EastEnders andFallout. Dumezweni will make her directing debut at the Royal Court Theatre in February with I See You by Mongiwekhaya. Paul Thornley played the role of Dodge in London Road at the National Theatre before going on to play the same character in the film version, both directed by Rufus Norris. His other theatre credits include A Chorus of Disapproval at the Harold Pinter Theatre, The Three Musketeers for Kingston Theatre, It’s a Wonderful Life for the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, The Miracle for the National Theatre, Private Fears in Public Places at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, the Orange Tree in London and the 59E59 Theaters in New York, Noises Off at the National Theatre, Piccadilly and Comedy Theatres, Spend, Spend, Spend for West Yorkshire Playhouse and the Piccadilly Theatre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, All’s Well That Ends Well, The Tempest, Kiss Me Kate all for the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. On television his credits include three series of Life Begins for Granada where he played opposite Caroline Quentin, Father Brown, Doc Martin, Just William, Mutual Friends, Trollied, Big Bad World and Above Suspicion. As well as London Road, Thornley’s film credits include Man Up, Metamorphosis, The Somnambulists, Les Miserables, Camera Trap and, most recently, Grimsby, the new Sacha Baron Cohen film. Thornley is currently filming The Crown for Netflix and will also appear in the as yet untitled forthcoming James Marsh film.Previews begin 7 June 2016 with the Opening performances of Part One and Part Two on Saturday 30 July 2016. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is currently booking to 27 May 2017. In addition four special preview performances are planned for the end of May 2016 – details of where and how to obtain these tickets will be announced at a later date. Details of how to purchase late release and lottery tickets for all performances will be announced at another time. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be directed by John Tiffany with movement by Steven Hoggett, set designs by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music by Imogen Heap, lighting by Neil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, special effects by Jeremy Chernick, illusions by Jamie Harrison and music supervision by Martin Lowe. Up Up

Back to Productions FUNNY GIRL – US TOUR Following the hugely successful Broadway production, the Funny Girl US tour began on 9th September 2023. The sensational Broadway revival dazzles with celebrated classic songs, including "Don't Rain On My Parade," "I'm the Greatest Star," and "People." This bittersweet comedy is the story of the indomitable Fanny Brice, a girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed of a life on the stage. Everyone told her she'd never be a star, but then something funny happened -- she became one of the most beloved performers in history, shining brighter than the brightest lights of Broadway. Hello, gorgeous. Welcome to musical comedy heaven! Featuring one of the most iconic scores of all time by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, an updated book from Harvey Fierstein based on the original classic by Isobel Lennart, tap choreography by Ayodele Casel, choreography by Ellenore Scott, and direction from Michael Mayer, this love letter to the theatre has the whole shebang! CAST KATERINA McCRIMMON – Fanny Brice MELISSA MANCHESTER – Mrs.Brice STEPHEN MARK LUKAS – Nick Arnstein IZAIAH MONTAQUE HARRIS – Eddie Ryan WALTER COPPAGE – Florenz Ziegfeld LEAH PLATT – Emma/Mrs. Nadler, u/s Fanny, u/s Meeker CHRISTINE BUNUAN – Mrs. Meeker, u/s Mrs. Brice/Mrs. Strakosh EILEEN T’KAYE – Mrs. Strakosh, u/s Mrs. Brice DAVID FOLEY, JR. – Tom Keeney VINNY ANDALORO – Swing LAMONT BROWN – Ensemble, u/s Eddie Ryan KATE E. COOK – Ensemble, u/s Emma JULIA GRONDIN – Ensemble JACKSON GROVE – Ensemble, Tenor JORGE GUERRA – Ensemble,u/s Eddie ALEX HARTMAN – Ensemble, u/s Emma DOT KELLY – Ensemble RYAN LAMBERT – Ensemble, u/s Nick Arnstein KATHY LIU – Ensemble ZOEY LYTLE – Swing/Asst. Dance Captain MEGHAN MANNING – Ensemble BRYAN CHARLES MOORE – Swing, Dance Captain, u/s Florenz Ziegfeld, u/s Tom Keeney SAMI MURPHY – Ensemble HANNAH SHANKMAN – u/s Fanny Brice, u/s Mrs. Strakosh, u/s Mrs. Meeker JORDON TAYLOR – Ensemble RODNEY THOMPSON – Ensemble, u/s Eddie Ryan SEAN THOMPSON – Ensemble, u/s Nick Arnstein, u/s Florenz Ziegfeld, u/s Tom Keeney ANNALIESE WILBUR – Swing CREATIVES MICHAEL MAYER – Director ELLENORE SCOTT – Choreography AYODELE CASEL – Tap Choreography JULE STYNE – Music BOB MERRIL – Lyrics ISOBEL LENNART – Book HARVEY FIERSTEIN – Revised Book DAVID ZINN – Scenic Designer SUSAN HILFERTY – Costume Designer KEVIN ADAMS – Lighting Designer BRIAN RONAN – Sound Designer

Back to News & Press The Ferryman and The Jungle nominated for The South Bank Arts Awards 2018 Tuesday, 29 May 2018 A host of outstanding performers, artists, musicians, authors and films have been nominated for The South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2018. Now in its 22nd year, the prestigious annual awards ceremony will take place at The Savoy Hotel in London on Sunday 1 July 2018, celebrating the wide range of creative talent Britain has to offer, from Stormzy to Paddington 2. Hosted by Melvyn Bragg, The South Bank Sky Arts Awards this year will continue its legacy as the only awards ceremony in the world to represent the entire spectrum of the arts, with categories for TV Drama, Classical Music, Theatre, Comedy, Dance, Film, Visual Art, Pop, Literature and Opera. Christopher Nolan’s nail-biting war epic Dunkirk is nominated in an incredibly strong Film category, which includes the hilarious Paddington 2 and independent filmmaking success Lady Macbeth. Meanwhile, Olivier Award-winning productions The Ferryman and Follies are nominated in the Theatre category alongside The Jungle, while newcomer Dua Lipa caps off a barnstorming breakthrough year in the Pop category, alongside Stormzy for Gang Signs & Prayer and Loyle Carner for Yesterday’s Gone. The TV Drama category pitches the explosive Line of Duty against period pieces The Crown and Howards End. The celebration also includes The Times Breakthrough Award, recognising achievements made by newcomers across the full range of the arts; previous winners include Amma Asante, Tom Hiddleston, Billie Piper and Sheku Kanneh-Mason, a cellist whose star is on the rise following his captivating performance at the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The climax of the event is the Outstanding Achievement Award, presented for continued excellence in British culture; previous winners include Harold Pinter, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tracey Emin, J K Rowling and Helen Mirren. Melvyn Bragg said: “The Creative Industries generate £92 billion a year, and yet the funding cuts in the arts in schools are very worrying. A recent study of 1,200 secondary schools found that 90% had cut back on arts teachers, facilities and equipment. Since 2010, there has been a 28% drop in pupils taking arts GCSEs, with a corresponding drop in the number of arts teachers being trained. This means that the future of everything we stand for and everything we’re good at is being threatened. But what we also stand for are events like these awards, which show how rich and diverse the arts in this country are.” Phil Edgar-Jones, director of Sky Arts, said: “With funding for the arts and arts education facing challenging times, Sky Arts’ work supporting artists and the creative industries is more important than ever. We are proud to host The South Bank Sky Arts Awards which reflect the breadth and diversity of talent and voices in the creative industries.” Artist Yinka Shonibare MBE, Fellow of the Royal Academy, has been commissioned to design this year’s award, which he describes as an expression of how he supports the importance of the Arts as they remain of value to our humanity. An unmissable event in the British awards calendar, the ceremony will be held at The Savoy Hotel in London on Sunday 1 July 2018, and will be broadcast on Sky Arts later in the week. Up Up

Back to News & Press Mark Rylance to star on Broadway in Jerusalem Tuesday, 21 December 2010 The production, directed by Ian Rickson, will also star Mackenzie Crook (The Seagull, “The Office”) as Ginger and most of the original Royal Court cast, with full casting to be announced at a later date. JERUSALEM will open on Broadway on April 21, 2011 at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street). Previews will begin on April 2, 2011. The production will play a limited 16-week engagement. JERUSALEM opened at the Royal Court Theatre in July, 2009 with critics praising playwright Jez Butterworth’s beautiful and comic elegy for a disappearing way of life in rural England and actor Mark Rylance, who was lauded as delivering one of the great stage performances of our time. The production played an extended sold out run at the Royal Court, before moving to the Apollo Theatre in the West End in January, 2010, where it received an unprecedented set of five-star reviews from 12 London newspapers. In his review of JERUSALEM, Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, wrote “Mark Rylance has a magical gift that elevates him above all the competition and puts him on a par with acting legends Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and Alec Guinness.” Susannah Clapp, The Observer, said, “Jez Butterworth’s gorgeous, expansive new play keeps coming at its audience in unpredictable gusts, rolling from comic to furious, from winsome to bawdy.” Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard cheered, “In Johnny Byron, Butterworth has created a thrilling role. Rylance’s is an astonishing performance, which confirms that he is one of our finest stage actors.” Mark Lawson, columnist for the Guardian proclaimed JERUSALEM “unarguably one of the best dramas of the 21st century.” The London Times also wrote of Mark Rylance, “His performance in Jerusalem is what theatre is all about. Intelligent, primal, incredibly funny, incredibly emotional.” JERUSALEM won the 2009 Evening Standard and London Critics’ Circle Awards and the 2010 Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Play. Rylance won 2009 Olivier, Evening Standard and London Critics’ Circle Best Actor Awards for his performance. In the woods of South West England, Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron (Mark Rylance), former daredevil motorcyclist and modern-day Pied Piper, is a wanted man. The council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his son wants to be taken to the country fair, a stepfather wants to give him a serious kicking and a motley crew of friends wants his ample supply of drugs and alcohol. Mark Rylance (Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron) is an award-winning actor in theatre, film and television. He won raves earlier this season for his performance as Valere in David Hirson’s La Bête, on Broadway and in the West End, directed by Matthew Warchus. He won the 2008 Tony Award and Drama Desk for Best Actor in a Play and a Theatre World Award for his New York stage debut as Robert in Boeing-Boeing. He is a two-time winner of the Olivier Award for Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron in Jerusalem (2010) and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (1993). He also won the 2010 Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards for Jerusalem. Rylance was the Artistic Director for Shakespeare’s Globe from 1996 to 2005 and also served as an Associate Actor of the RSC, acting in 48 plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Rylance’s breakthrough role was Hamlet, which he played first at the Little Theatre of Milwaukee, followed by productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company, A.R.T. in Cambridge and the Globe, amassing more performances in the role than any other actor in history, to date. His extensive theatre credits include Hamm in Endgame (Complicite, Duchess Theatre, West End); Peer Gynt in Peer Gynt (Guthrie); Macbeth in Macbeth (Phoebus Cart, Greenwich, UK Tour); Lee and Austin in True West (Donmar, West Yorkshire); Touchstone in As You Like It and Henry V in Henry V (Theatre for a New Audience); Constantine in The Seagull (A.R.T.); Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (RSC, UK Tour); Henry in Life x 3 (Royal National Theatre, Old Vic); Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Royal Opera); Valentin in The Kiss of the Spider Woman (Bush Theatre); Peter Pan in Peter Pan, Ariel in The Tempest, Lucentio in Taming of the Shrew, Michael in Arden of Faversham (RSC); among others. His credits at Shakespeare’s Globe included Richard II in Richard II, Henry V in Henry V, Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice, Proteus in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra and Olivia in Twelfth Night, for which he received a 2002 Evening Standard Award. He is Co-Artistic Director for Phoebus Cart Theatre Company and the London Theatre of Imagination. As director, his credits include: Julius Caesar (Globe), Macbeth, The Tempest (Phoebus Cart), As You Like It (Theatre for a New Audience), co-director for Much Ado About Nothing and Othello (Theatre of Imagination). Other awards include a 2009 Sam Scripps Lifetime Achievement Award from Theatre for a New Audience, a 2006 Sam Wanamaker Award for his pioneering work with Shakespeare and a 2002 Evening Standard Award for Shakespeare’s Globe. His film work includes: Henry Condell in Anonymous, Inspector Roberts in Blitz, Frank in Nocturne, Sir Thomas Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl, Jay in Intimacy (London Film Critics’ Circle Award nomination), William in Angels and Insects, Jakob in Instituta Benjamenta, Ferdinand in Prospero’s Book and Fizz in Hearts of Fire. For television, his credits include David Kelly in “The Government Inspector” (2006 BAFTA Award), Leonardo in “Leonardo,” Charles Raunce in “Loving,” Con in “Love Lies Bleeding,” William Blake in “In Lambeth,” and John Healy in the multi award-winning “The Glass Arena”. Mackenzie Crook (Ginger) Theatre includes: Jerusalem (Royal Court, West End), The Seagull (Royal Court, Broadway), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (West End) and Exonerated (Riverside). Film includes: The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, The Adventures of Tintin, City of Ember, Solomon Kane, I Could Never Be Your Woman, Churchill: The Hollywood Years, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, The Merchant of Venice, The Brothers Grimm and Finding Neverland. Television includes: “The Office,” “Demons,” “Merlin,” “Skins” and “Little Dorrit”. Jez Butterworth (Playwright) is the author of five plays; Mojo (Royal Court 1995); The Night Heron (Royal Court 2002); The Winterling (Royal Court 2006); Parlour Song (Almeida 2009) and Jerusalem (Royal Court 2009). Mojo, The Night Heron and Parlour Song have also been produced in New York in acclaimed productions at Atlantic Theatre Company. He has written and directed two films: Mojo (1998) starring Harold Pinter and Birthday Girl (2002) starring Nicole Kidman. In 2009 he wrote and produced Fair Game, starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. He is writing the screenplay for London Calling, about the British punk rock band, The Clash. He has won two Evening Standard Awards and an Olivier, Critics’ Circle, Writers’ Guild and George Devine Award. In 2007, he received The E.M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Director Ian Rickson’s Broadway credits include the critically acclaimed Royal Court Theatre production of Chekhov’s The Seagull, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Peter Sarsgaard and Mackenzie Crook and Conor McPherson’s The Weir. Rickson was Artistic Director at the Royal Court from 1998 to 2006, during which time he directed Krapp’s Last Tape, The Winterling, Alice Trilogy, The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, Fallout, The Night Heron, Boy Gets Girl, Mouth to Mouth (also in the West End), Dublin Carol, The Weir (also in the West End and on Broadway), The Lights, Pale Horse and Mojo (also at the Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago), Ashes & Sand, Some Voices, Killers and Wildfire. Other theatre includes The Hothouse and The Day I Stood Still (National Theatre); Parlour Song (Almeida); Hedda Gabler (Roundabout Theatre, New York); The House of Yes (Gate); Me & My Friend (Chichester Festival Theatre); Queer Fish (BAC), First Strike (Soho Poly) and the upcoming West End production of Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour. Films include Fallout and Krapp’s Last Tape. He will direct Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon) in a new production of Hamlet in London next year. JERUSALEM’s Olivier Award-winning design is by Ultz, with lighting design by Mimi Jordan Sherin and sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph. Composer is Stephen Warbeck. JERUSALEM will be produced by Royal Court Theatre Productions, Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Rudin, Stuart Thompson, Roger Berlind and Robert G. Bartner. Performances are Tuesday at 7:00 PM, Wednesday at 2:00 and 8:00 PM, Thursday and Friday at 7:00 PM, Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00 PM and Sunday at 3:00 PM. Tickets are now available at www.telecharge.com . Additional casting will be announced in coming weeks. http://www.facebook.com/JerusalemBroadway Up Up