News Release Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Presents the Exclusive U.S
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Brooklyn 30 I Cl filyelle /\venue Communications Department Academy l~r oo t..l yn NY 1 l ; 1/ 1 · l ~b I lena Park of lelcpllone: /18 GJ6 ,II 1 1 Melissa Cusrck Music I ax: ll8.851.20? I /\my 11ugl1es larnara McCaw Krla Packell 118.636.4129 News Release Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Presents the Exclusive U.S. Engagements of Almeida Theatre Company's Richard II and Coriolanus Ralph Fiennes will perform the title roles in repertory, leading a stellar cast including Linus Roache, for a limited run at the BAM Harvey Theater, September 6-0ctober 1 Almeida Theatre Company in association with HoriPro Inc. Written by William Shakespeare Directed by Jonathan Kent Scenic and costume design by Paul Brown Lighting design by Mark Henderson Music by Jon a than Dove Sound design by John A. Leonard BAM Harvey Theater Richard II 14 performances: September 6 at 8pm (gala); September 7 (press opening), 12, J 3. 16, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27 & 30 at 7:30pm; September 17, 24 & October I at 3pm Coriolanus 12 performances: September 9 (press opening). 14, 15 21, 22. 28 & 29 at 7:30pm; September 9, 16, 23 & 30 at I :30pm; September 10 at 3pm tickets: $25, 45, 75 (availability is extremely limited) September 6 gala performance: $25 (performance-only ga ll ery seating). 500, I 000 BAMdialogue with Ralph Fiennes, Linus Roache, and Jonathan Kent fo ll ows the 7:30pm performance on September 12 (open on ly to that evening's ticketholders; free) BAMcinbnatek presents screenin gs of One[?in on September 18 and Priest on September 25 (with a Q&A with Linus Roache) BROOKLYN, February 18, 2000 (revised 9/1/00)-Brooklyn Academy or Music (BAM) announces the exclusive U.S. engagements of the Almeid a Theatre Company'. Richard II and Coriolanus, directed by Jonathan Kent and featuring Tony Award-winning actor Ralph Fiennes in the title roles. The cast also in cludes Linus Roache (The Winf?s of the Do1•e, Priest) as his rivals Henry Bolingbroke and Tullus Aufidius; the engagement marks hi s U.S. stage debut. BAM will present fourteen performances of Richard !! and twelve performances of Coriolanus at the BAM Harvey Theater (65 1 Fu lton Street), September 6- 0ctober I. The acclaimed British theater company, in association with HoriPro Inc., returns to BAM fo ll owing last January's hi ghl y-successful engagement of Jean Racine's more ... Brooklyn Academy of Music Richard II and Coriolanus 2 Phec!J-e and Britannicus, featuring Dame Diana Ri gg and staged by Kent, which opened BAM's 1999 Spring Season. In addition to Fiennes and Roache, the company features David Burke, Oliver Ford Davies, and Barbara Jefford (who won accolades for her performances in Phedre and Britannicus at BAM). The Almeida Theatre Company engagement is sponsored by Time Warner Inc. Ticket availability is limited. Remaining tickets are available through BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or Ticketmaster (2 12. 307.4100), or by visiting BAM's website at www.bam.org. In the Almeida's most ambitious project to date, the company presented Richard II and Coriolanus this spring and summer at the Gainsborough Studios in London, a former generating station that has been closed fo r fifty years. The studios-where Alfred Hitchcock created hi s classic films Th e Lodger and The Lady Vanishes-housed a temporary auditorium created specifically for these Shakespeare productions. The cast has dedi cated more than eight months to the project. Following the opening performance of Richard If on April 12 (previews began March 30), The Guardian stated that Ralph Fiennes gave "an unequivocal star performance." Coriolanus, which the Daily Mail described as "superbly rendered in Jonathan Kent's production," began previews on June I , and opened on June 14; both plays ran in repertory at Gainsborough Studios until August 5. Together, th e plays mark the third collaboration between director Jonathan Kent and Fiennes: the actor played the title roles in Kent's renderings of Hamlet (a 1995 production that transferred to the Belasco Theatre on Broadway) and Ivanov (a 1997 project that traveled to Moscow after a run at the Almeida). Following the September BAM engagement, the plays will be presented at the Akasaka Theatre in Tokyo from October 11 -29. Shake, peare' hi storical verse tragedy Richard II traces the decline and fall of a yo ung, willful ruler. Coriolanus, set in the same volatile Rome as Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, is the story of a legend ary Roman warrior whose obstinate nature and obsessive sense of honor lead to exile, revenge and, ultimately, hi s own death. The plays will run in repertory at BAM; on three Saturdays (September 16, 23, and 30), it will be possible to attend both plays, with Coriolanus at I :30pm and Richard If at 7:30pm. Two special performances will take place during the engagement. A gala benefiting BAM will take place in conjunction with the September 6 performance of Richard fl. Gala tickets for $1000 include a pre-performance dinner in BAM's Lepercq Space at 6pm, premium seating at the 8pm performance, and a post-performance dessert reception with the company. Gala ti ckets for $500 include preferred seating at the performance and the post-performance dessert reception with the company. For gala tickets, call BAM Patron Services at 718.636.4182. On September 27 at I :30pm, the company will give a special Richard If performance fo r an audience comprised of New York City hi gh school student (not open to the general public). About Almeida Theatre Company The Almeida Theatre Company, led by Artistic Directors Jonathan Kent and Ian McDiarmid, has been called "the most impressive achievement of the Nineties ... British theatre would be impoverished without it" (Lond on Daily Telegraph). Since 1990, the Almeida has established an international reputation, wi nning more than 40 major theater award s, including the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement. Its more than 70 acclaimed productions have put the Almeida at the forefront of British theater, and its home in Islington attracts capacity audiences as well as many of today' s leading actors, writers, and directors. According to Wall Street Journal Europe, over the past ten years Kent and McDiarmid "have transformed [the company] from an obscure fr inge theater into arguably the most glamorous, exciting, and influential theater venue in London." Fourteen of its productions have played in London 's West End; four have moved to Broadway, including Homier with Ralph Fiennes and Medea featuring Dame Diana Rigg (both productions directed by Jonathan Kent), a we ll as last season's The Iceman Com eth with Kevin Spacey. more ... Richard II and Coriolanus 3 About Ralph Fiennes Ralph Fiennes' last New York appearance, as Hamlet in the 1995 Almeida produ ction on Broadway, resulted in Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actor. His theater credits include Chekhov' s Ivanov (Almeida); Six Characters in Search of an Author, Father and Sons, Ting Tang Mine (Royal National Theatre); and Th e Man Wh o Came to Dinner, Troilus and Cress ida, and Love's Labour's Lost (Royal Shakespeare Company). In addition to hi s work on stage, Fienn es has performed numerous roles for the screen, including the recently-released feature films Sunshine, Th e End of th e Affair, and Onegin (of which he is also executive producer). Other television and film credits include The Baby qfMacon , Schindler's List (Oscar nominati on), Quiz Show, Strange Days, Oscar and Lucinda, The English Patient (Oscar and Golden Globe nominations), Th e A vengers, Prime Suspect, A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (BBC), and Th e Cormorant (BBC). About Linus Roache Linus Roache, whose notable credi ts include the films Priest and Wings of th e Dove, makes hi s U.S. stage debut with Richard ll and Coriolanus. Roache has worked with some of Britain's most acclai med theater companies, including the Royal Shakespeare Company (Uncle Vanya, Richard ll, King Lear, Th e Last Days of Don Juan , Diving Gossip, Julius Caesar, Keeping Tom Nice, Titus Andronicus, Indigo, A Question of Geography) and the Royal Exchange Manchester (Richard ll, Love's Labour's Lost, Th e Glass Managerie). Other theater work includes This is a Chair, A Colder Climate (Royal Court Theatre); The Deep Blue Sea (Almeida Theatre, Apoll o Thatre); Juno and the Paycock (Royal National Theatre); A Taste of Honey (Theatre Royal Northampton); Th e Mother (Contact Theatre, Manchester); and Five Finger Exercise (The Cambridge Theatre Company, nati onal tour). Hi s credits also include the films Pandemonium (premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 15). Th e Venice Proj ect, Best, and Siam Sunset as well as numerous television appearances. About Jonathan Kent Jonathan Kent's productions of Phedre and Britannicus opened BAM's 1999 Spring Season. Kent is joint arti sti c director of the Almeida Theatre Company, where he has directed All for Love, The Rules of th e Game, Medea (also West End and Broadway), Chatsky, Th e School for Wi ves, Th e L~fe ofGalileo, Gangster No. 1, Ta rh~tfe, Ivanov (with Ralph Fienn es, also presented in Moscow), The Government Inspector, and Naked. His Hamlet, also featuring Fiennes, enj oyed West End and Broadway engagements. For the Royal Nati onal Theatre, he directed Le Cid and Mother Courage and Her Children; and hi s Almeida production of Plenty recentl y completed a run at the Albery Theatre on the West End. Cast info rmation Performer, Roles in Richard II Roles in Coriolanus Scan Baker Bagot 2nd Citizen/Soldier Ian Barritt Lord Marshall/Lord