Daniel Radcliffe, Jude Law, Judi Dench and More Set for First Season of Michael Grandage's West End Company
Daniel Radcliffe, Jude Law, Judi Dench, Sheridan Smith and more will take part in the first season of director Michael Grandage's new West End theater company, according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail. The season will feature five plays, including two Shakespeare works and a new play by John Logan, all of which will be presented at the Noel Coward Theatre. Each production will have a run of 12 weeks.
The season begins December 1 with Peter Nichols' Privates on Parade, starring Simon Russell Beale (Spamalot, Bluebird) as Captain Terri Dennis. Set to open on December 10, the comedy follows a song and dance team during the Malaysian campaign of the final days of World War II. The production will feature a score by Denis King.
Radcliffe (Equus, How to Succeed...) will play the title role in Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan. Set in the '30s, the play follows a young, disabled Irish boy who becomes intrigued by an American documentary film crew working on his neighboring isle. No dates have been announced for the production.
As previously announced, Judi Dench (Amy's View) and Ben Wishaw (The Pride) will star in Logan's Peter and Alice. The pair play the real life inspirations for the title characters from Alice in Wonderland (Alice Liddell Hargreaves) and Peter Pan (Peter Llewelyn Davies), who have a brief encounter as children. The play deals with the idea of celebrity and how being put in the spotlight as children affects their adult years. Performances begin March 9, 2013, with opening night set for March 25. The limited engagement concludes its run June 1.
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream will feature Sheridan Smith (Legally Blonde, Flare Path) as Titania and David Williams (TV's Little Britain) as Bottom. Performances begin September 7, 2013, and the production's creative team will include Christopher Oram and Paule Constable.
Next, Law will play the title role in Shakespeare's Henry V. The production runs November 23, 2013 through February 15, 2014.
Grandage, whose work is currently represented on Broadway by Evita, served as the artistic director of London's Donmar Warehouse for nearly ten years. During that time, four of the theater’s productions have been produced on Broadway to great success: Tony winner Frost/Nixon in 2007 (earning Grandage his first Tony nomination as a director), Mary Stuart (directed by Phyllida Lloyd), Hamlet in 2009 and Tony winner Red in 2010.
