The Almeida Theatre Announces a New Season for 2016 – 2017
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PRESS RELEASE Friday 1 April 2016 THE ALMEIDA THEATRE ANNOUNCES A NEW SEASON FOR 2016 – 2017 Ralph Fiennes takes the title role in Shakespeare’s RICHARD III, directed by Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold. Vanessa Redgrave makes her Almeida debut as Queen Margaret THEY DRINK IT IN THE CONGO, a provocative new play by Adam Brace will be directed by Michael Longhurst OIL, an explosive new play by Ella Hickson, directed by Carrie Cracknell drills deep into the world's relationship with the finite resource Andrew Scott will play the title role in HAMLET in a production directed by Almeida Associate Director Robert Icke. Juliet Stevenson returns to the Almeida to play Gertrude The Almeida’s Participation department, led by new Director of Participation Dani Parr, will produce three major projects in the next year: PLAY ON in partnership with Arsenal in the Community, WE KNOW BEST: THE SMALL HUMANS’ GUIDE TO BIG HUMAN PROBLEMS with 5-14 year olds in Almeida Academy, and FROM THE GROUND UP with 16 - 25 year olds in Almeida Young Company, in association with Shoreditch Town Hall The Almeida embarks on a collaboration with photographer Miles Aldridge which will see him produce exclusive images for productions throughout the season The Almeida’s Olivier Award-winning production of KING CHARLES III, now seen by more than 350,000 people around the world, will be adapted as a television film for BBC Two, written by Mike Bartlett and directed by Rupert Goold KING CHARLES III is currently playing at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney until 30 April AMERICAN PSYCHO: A NEW MUSICAL THRILLER, currently in previews at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway, has its opening night on 21 April. The Original London Cast Recording is now available to buy Robert Icke and Duncan MacMillan’s adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984, a co- production with Headlong and Nottingham Playhouse, will return to the West End in June for a 12 week run The Arts Council awards the Almeida a grant of £336,000 to contribute to making the theatre significantly more energy efficient, resilient and able to deliver a better audience and artist experience. The Almeida is awarded a three star Creative Industry Green (IG) certification, the highest IG rating by environmental sustainability charity Julie’s Bicycle Rupert Goold said: “We’re thrilled to present a season of plays which, whether classic drama or new writing, ask the big questions the Almeida is renowned for. How far will someone go for power? And what can one person do about global, international problems? We’re reviving two of Shakespeare’s most potent and political tragedies with some of our greatest actors. We welcome Ralph Fiennes back to the Almeida as Richard III, a character at once Machiavellian and totally recognisable to a modern audience. To see the man who has played both Voldemort and Amon Göth in this role in our intimate space will be an extraordinary event. We’re delighted he will be joined by Vanessa Redgrave in her Almeida debut as Queen Margaret. Andrew Scott will provide a startlingly fresh take on Hamlet, a tragedy which needs no introduction to modern audiences: and with Juliet Stevenson as Gertrude, in a production directed by Robert Icke, we’ll see the latent theatricality of the play laid bare. Adam Brace’s They Drink It In The Congo and Ella Hickson’s Oil are urgent and anarchic new plays about the increasingly small, fragmented world we live in. Playful in approach and epic in form, they take us on international journeys, exploring our dependency on limited resources and the costs of modern living. Photographer Miles Aldridge will capture the vivid, subversive spirit of the characters that will be seen on the Almeida stage this year. Our Participation team continues their work with more than 3,000 young people in the borough of Islington. Our partnerships with Arsenal in the Community and Shoreditch Town Hall ensure we reach the greatest number; opening up our theatre to anyone aged 5 to 25. The Almeida’s work can now be seen around the world: in the West End, on Broadway, on tour in Australia and the USA, and now for the first time on television with King Charles III on BBC2.” THE SEASON RICHARD III by William Shakespeare directed by Rupert Goold Tuesday 7 June – Saturday 6 August Press Night: Tuesday 14 June at 7pm Ralph Fiennes returns to the Almeida Theatre to play Shakespeare’s most notorious villain, RICHARD III, directed by Artistic Director Rupert Goold. Vanessa Redgrave makes her Almeida debut as Queen Margaret in a cast which includes David Annen, Tom Canton, James Garnon, Mark Hadfield, Scott Handy, Finbar Lynch, Aislίn McGuckin, Joseph Mydell, Joshua Riley, Lukas Rolfe and Joanna Vanderham. A peaceful England. Family. Small children. But obstacles can be overcome. RICHARD III will be designed by Hildegard Bechtler, with costume by Jon Morrell, sound and composition by Adam Cork, lighting by Jon Clark and fight direction by Terry King. Casting is by Joyce Nettles. Ralph Fiennes returns to the Almeida for the first time in 16 years, having previously played the title roles in Ivanov, Hamlet (Hackney Empire), Richard II and Coriolanus (Gainsborough Studios). Other theatre work includes The Master Builder for The Old Vic; Man and Superman, Oedipus, The Talking Cure, Six Characters in Search of an Author for the National Theatre; Brand, The Plantaganets, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Troilus and Cressida for the RSC; The Tempest, God of Carnage in the West End; First Love at Lincoln Centre Festival and Sydney Festival; The Faith Healer at the Gate Theatre Dublin and on Broadway; Julius Caesar at the Barbican. His films include A Bigger Splash, Hail Caesar! Spectre, Two Women, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Invisible Woman, Skyfall, Great Expectations, Coriolanus, Harry Potter, The Constant Gardener, The Reader, Hurt Locker, In Bruges, Schindler’s List and The English Patient. His television credits include Page Eight, Turks & Caicos and A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia. This is Vanessa Redgrave’s Almeida debut. Her many stage credits include The Aspern Papers (Olivier Award for Best Actress), Lady Windermere's Fan, Daniel Deronda, The Threepenny Opera, Design for Living and The Lady from the Sea in the West End; The Year of Magical Thinking (also on Broadway), The Cherry Orchard and Not About Nightingales at The National Theatre; Driving Miss Daisy, Long Day’s Journey into Night (Tony Award for Best Actress) and Vita and Virginia on Broadway; The Tempest, As You Like It and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the RSC; and Much Ado About Nothing at the Old Vic. Notable film appearances include Coriolanus opposite Ralph Fiennes, Evening, Venus, Howard’s End, Mrs Dalloway, Atonement, The Whistleblower, A Man for All Seasons and Camelot. Her television appearances include Nip/Tuck, The Day of the Tiffid and Call the Midwife. She is a six-time Oscar nominee and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Julia. During her career Vanessa has also won the Emmy, BAFTA, Cannes, Golden Globe, and the Screen Actors Guild awards. She received the 2010 BAFTA Fellowship, is a 2003 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee and was made CBE in 1967. Rupert Goold is the Almeida’s Artistic Director where he has previously directed Medea, The Merchant of Venice, King Charles III and American Psycho, which will open on Broadway on 21 April. He was Artistic Director of Headlong from 2005 until 2013 where his work included The Effect, ENRON, Earthquakes in London and Decade. Other theatre credits include Made in Dagenham in the West End; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Almeida; Macbeth at Chichester Festival Theatre, in the West End and on Broadway; and No Man’s Land at The Gate, Dublin and in the West End. He has twice been the recipient of the Laurence Olivier, Critics’ Circle and Evening Standard Awards for Best Director. He was Associate Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2009 to 2012 and was Artistic Director of Northampton Theatres from 2002 to 2005. On film he directed the BAFTA nominated Richard II, part of The Hollow Crown, and Macbeth for the BBC and the feature, True Story, starring James Franco and Jonah Hill. He will direct an adaptation of his production of Mike Bartlett’s King Charles III for BBC Two later this year. Every day during the production’s run the Almeida will offer an allocation of £20 tickets for that evening’s performance via theatre ticket app, TodayTix. World Premiere THEY DRINK IT IN THE CONGO a new play by Adam Brace directed by Michael Longhurst Friday 12 August – Saturday 1 October Press Night: Friday 19 August at 7pm The World Premiere of THEY DRINK IT IN THE CONGO, an anarchic, provocative new play by Adam Brace is directed by Michael Longhurst. Michael returns to the Almeida following his critically acclaimed production of Simon Stephens’ Carmen Disruption last year. What can we do for the worst thing in the world? The Congo. Home to the deadliest conflict since World War II. London. Home to a festival to raise awareness of the Congo. (That is, if Stef can get the festival off the ground.) THEY DRINK IT IN THE CONGO unpacks the problems of doing something good about something bad. The production will be designed by Jon Bauser with lighting by Jack Knowles, sound by Giles Thomas and composition by Michael Henry. Casting is by Anna Cooper. THEY DRINK IT IN THE CONGO follows Adam and Michael’s collaboration on Stovepipe, which transferred to London in collaboration with the National Theatre from HighTide Festival.