King Lear opens...

A new production of Shakespeare's 'King Lear' is opening in the West End. Starring Derek Jacobi, it is the tale of an ageing king, who, after a contest of superficial love, divides his kingdom between two of his daughters with tragic consequences. Alongside Jacobi is Shakespeare debutant Gina McKee, who in an interview this week, has admitted she is 'nervous' about playing elder daughter Goneril. The production opens at the Donmar Warehouse on December 3rd, and runs until February 5th.

Live theatre attracts success...

The National Theatre's 2009 live theatre project has been rewarded with a prize for innovation at the Arts and Business Awards. Audiences could pay £10 to see live plays in over 300 cinemas all around the world. Including a portrayal of 'All's Well That Ends Well' and Bennett's 'The Habit of Art', the selection boasted a notable performance from Helen Mirren in Racine's 'Phedre'. The judges said that 'the project had helped break new markets and attract new audiences'.

I am Dracula and I bid you welcome...

Seen by many as the epitome of gothic fiction, Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' has horrified some, inspired others, and entertained many. Although written in 1897, the story has seen new life breathed into it by Sell a Door's theatrical version, based on Liz Lochead's adaptation.

Boasting a wonderful cast, including names such as Louis J. Parker, Matthew Grace and Sophie Holland, the performance is one of raw emotion, conveying an intensity that brings the evil Transylvanian count to life. Yet it is more than simply a piece of artistic brilliance - it is a profound psychological exploration. The charcter of Renfield, powerfully depicted by Kieran Hennigan, provides a constant commentary, as the facade of his insanity proves a cover for alarming insight that ultimately goes unheeded.

'Dracula' is a play based around love, be it sisterly affection, Harker's romantic intentions, or the pure lust of the title character, and it is here that Sell a Door excel themselves. The sincerity in each relationship is evident and acted with such passion that it intensifies the tragedy of the production's conclusion.

Sell a Door's performance will be on at the Greenwich Playhouse in London until December 5th, with tickets available here. A trailer for the production can be seen here

The National starts its transformation...

Llloyd Dorfman is not a name which many theatre-goers would recognise. However, it is sure to become much more well-known, after the founder of Travelex made a donation of £10 million to the National Theatre. The 'supremely generous gift' marks the beginnings of the £70 million redevelopment of the Grade II listed building, which will include gardens and an education centre. The Cottesloe Theatre, the smallest of the three auditoria, will now be renamed after its benefactor.

Knightley's West End return...

Following her success in an adaptation of Moliere's 'The Misanthrope', Keira Knightley is once again to take to this stage. Assuming the role of a teacher, Knightley will be performing in 'The Children's Hour', a play written by Lillian Hellman in 1934, and last produced in London by the National in 1994. She will be joined by Elisabeth Moss, best known from American drama series 'Mad Men' and 'The West Wing', and the two will open the production early next year.

RSC return to the Roundhouse...

Following a successful season in 2008, the Royal Shakespeare Company will be returning to London's Roundhouse theatre. Replicating the temporary Courtyard Theatre which is currently being used by the company in Stratford-upon-Avon, the 750 seat 'intimate auditorium' particularly lends itself  to spectacular historical staging, based around the two central columns of the building. The six play tour, opening with Romeo and Juliet and also comprising of Antony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Winter's Tale and King Lear, will boast a 44 member cast who will aptly demonstrate 'the broadest scope of human experience' that artistic director Michael Boyd believes the reportoire encompasses. The eagerly awaited season is set to start in November of this year. 

Sound of the Underground...

Theatre can be staged almost anywhere - in purpose-built auditoria, in classrooms and parks - the possibilties are practically endless. However, when Beth Steel penned her debut play, she probably did not imagine that it would be performed in underneath the West End. 'Ditch', a dystopian work set after the collapse of civilisation, has become the first play to be staged in a labyrinth of disused tunnels under London's Waterloo Station. The tunnels, which are frequently penetrated by the sounds of passing trains, were obtained by the Old Vic earlier this year, and boast seats donated by graffiti artist Bansky.

Though some may doubt the effectiveness of such a location as a stage for drama, artistic director Sam Hodges believes that, 'the tunnels have is a sense of menace and a sense of scale that helps the drama'. However, it is the actors which have it tough says Hodges, 'there's a dank smell, it gets into your skin - and they've had to do without the traditional showers and, indeed, toilets'. A guided tour of the venue, can be seen here

Daniel Radcliffe to make musical debut...

Daniel Radcliffe is set to make his Broadway musical debut in a 2011 revival of 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'. First seen on Broadway in 1961, the show had a second revival in 1995 starring Matthew Broderick, but has since remained untouched. Yet despite the scarcity of its performances, the play was highly successful. Indeed it is only one of six musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, which it did in 1962. It will be only the second New York stage role for the Harry Potter actor, having starred in 'Equus' in 2008. Radcliffe, who is currently filming the final instalment of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows', will begin his role in spring.

Alan Bennett to be broadcast around the world...

Alan Bennett's latest play will be broadcast live across screens in the UK and Europe. 'The Habit of Art', currently showing at the National Theatre, is Bennett's first play since 'The History Boys' in 2004, and depicts an imaginary meeting between poet W.H. Auden and Benjamin Britten. Actor Richard Griffiths stars in the leading role; a role originally filled by Michael Gambon, before he was forced to withdraw through ill-health. The April 22nd performance will also be shown around the world as soon as possible.

On this day...

Today is World Theatre Day. Created in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute, World Theatre Daystates its aims to be: 'to promote international exchange of knowledge and practice in theatre arts in order to consolidate peace and solidarity between peoples, to deepen mutual understanding and increase creative co-operation between all people in the theatre arts'.

Each year, a famous personality in the field, is invited to give a message and 2010 was the turn of Dame Judi Dench. She claimed theatre to have 'the ability to make us smile, to make us cry, but should also make us think and reflect'. Her full message can be read here. In a year when Hollywood stars have graced the stage and West End theatre has undergone a near revival, it is all the more important to use theatre to help inspire those throughout the globe.

A pair of star-crossed lovers....

'Romeo and Juliet' is once again set to hit the stage in a radical modern retelling. Set in the 1980s, 'Juliet and Her Romeo' will be shown at the Bristol Old Vic from March 10th to April 24th. Both protagonists will be pensioners, whose love affair is hindered by their children, instead of their parents, due to its imprudent and costly nature. Directed by Tim Morris, who has just finished a stint on West End play 'War Horse', the play stars Sian Phillips as Juliet and Michael Byrne as Romeo. The play, and in particular the role of 76 year-old Phillips, was dicussed in a article on Newsnight yesterday, which can be viewed here

On this day...

London's Drury Theatre, already in its third incarnation, burnt down in 1809. The site itself dates back to 1663, making it London's oldest theatre, yet following first a fire, then demolition, then another fire, the building today is the theatre's fourth. The particular installment that burnt down in 1809, had only been built 15 years previously, in an attempt to increase the capacity and therefore success of the theatre. This was duly achieved, and £160,000, 3,600 spectators and five tiers of gallery later, the building was completed.

Yet disaster was close at hand. Following a failed assassination attempt on King George III in 1800, a frequent visitor to the performances, the theatre was razed to the ground only nine years later, spelling ruin for the, already financially unstable, owner, Richard Sheridan. The Grade I listed building, now owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, has received the support of aforementioned royalty, diarist Samuel Pepys, Poet Laureate Colly Cibber and, in  recent times, Monty Python. 'Oliver!' is the current production performed at the theatre.

War Horse charges on...

It is nominated for a Laurence Olivier award. The Queen, Prince Philip and Prince William have all seen it. Now, hit West End play, 'War Horse' is set transfer to Broadway. First performed at the 'National' in 2007, the adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's book generated huge success, and earned itself a booking at the 'New London Theatre' until February 2011. Yet the month after, the play will move to 'New York's Lincoln Center' and it is already reported that Steven Spielberg has bought the film rights, ensuring continuing publicity for many years to come.

What fools these mortals be....

Almost 50 years after her last performance for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Judi Dench has once again taken to the stage. Sir Peter Hall's production, at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, portrays the Queen of the fairies, Titania, as Queen Elizabeth I, who is in love with the theatre. The play, hugely popular in sales, yesterday received its first press reviews. Overwhelmingly in praise of the production, they included the such remarks as; 'Dench can send a thrill of wonder through a line of Shakespeare like wind rippling through a field of wheat' and 'Hall's latest production of A Midsummer Night's Dream is exquisitely well judged in its light-footed, lucid, poetically persuasive, wonderfully funny and brilliantly well-spoken way'.

A Red letter day for Scarlett...

In yet another Hollywood switch, Scarlett Johansson has made her Broadway debut in Arthur Miller's 'A View from the Bridge'. The ever popular play was first performed in 1955, and since then has gone up to be adapted numerous times for stage and screen. Indeed before her transferral to stage, Johansson was rumoured to have to been lined up for a film adaptation of the play with fellow actor Anthony LaPaglia. On the stage, Johansson portrays Cathy, a 17 year old orphan living in 1950s Brooklyn with her aunt; a role for which she has received rave reviews. In 'this season's most inspired piece of movie-star casting', 'Ms Johansson melts into her character so thoroughly that her nimbus of celebrity disappears'. The play, running at the Cort Theatre until April 4th, is another triumph for the theatres, and ultimately for the public, as literature once again fails to be anything but relevant to a modern day audience.

All the men and women merely players....

Booking is now open for the Royal Shakespeare Company's summer season. The productions at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, include 'King Lear', 'Anthony and Cleopatra' and 'Romeo and Juliet'. The latter is directed by Rupert Goold, who credits includes recent stage shows 'Enron' and 'Oliver!' and stars Mariah Gale, who recently appeared as Ophelia in the BBC's 'Hamlet'. Starting in February and ending in September, tickets for what's sure to be another spectacular season, can be purchased here

If music be the food of love, play on...

A highly praised adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' is currently showing in London for a limited season only. The RSC production, starrring acclaimed stage and film actor Richard Wilson, James Fleet, and many of the company's regulars, is directed by Gregory Doran, whose previous successes include the Tennant-filled award-winning 'Hamlet'. The production is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre until February 27th. Tickets can be bought here

All the world's a stage...

The Globe Theatre has announced its 2010 season, beginning on the anniversary of Shakespeare's supposed birth and death - 23rd April. Titled 'Kings and Rogues', it opens with Shakespeare's shortest, but perhaps most popular tragedy 'Macbeth'. Following close behind is three plays in his historical series, the ever popular Henry IV parts I + II, as well as the lesser known Henry VIII. Larger than life character Sir John Falstaff is celebrated in three of the plays; also reappearing in a revival of 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'. Booking for tickets opens on February 15th.

Jude, Lenny and Keira thwart recession...

Although many have felt the pinch over the last year and inevitable luxuries have had to been cut back, the theatre appears not only unaffected by it, but seems to have profited from it. The year is hailed, by the Society of London Theatre, to have been a record breaking one, with over 14 million tickets sold in the capital. The director of National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner, belives this is down to the success of 'straight plays: 'There's a huge audience...for serious theatre, that addresses head on the world that people feel they're part of, that engages with a world that at the moment appears to be spinning out of control'. And Hollywood has lent some of its most famous stars to the cause, Jude Law and Keira Knightley both taking time out from filming to revive Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' and Moliere's 'The Misanthrope' respectively. Other actors have also been at hand; award-winning Lenny Henry and Rachel Weisz have captured audiences and critics alike, ensuring that 2009 was a huge hit at the box office.

Judi Dench the fairy queen...

Judi Dench is set to star in the Rose Theatre's production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' next year. The Kingston theatre, currently showing Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island', have said they are 'delighted' by the announcement. Dench has been a long standing supporter of the theatre, having previously hosted fundraisers. She will play the part of Titiana the fairy queen, a role she assumed for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962. The production will run from 9th February until 20th March. Tickets are now on sale and can be booked here