Al Pacino's Obsession with Salome Will Take Him to London; Could Broadway Be First? | Playbill

News Al Pacino's Obsession with Salome Will Take Him to London; Could Broadway Be First? Al Pacino, the two-time Tony Award winner who recently starred on Broadway as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, will return to the London stage for the first time in 30 years, according to the Daily Mail.

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Al Pacino

The Academy Award winner told the Mail he will star in a full production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome in spring 2016.

This production will not be the first time Pacino has performed in the play. "There will be make-up, sets, costumes... and decadence. It will be a whole different thing to what we did in America," he told the Mail.

After starring in Broadway productions of Salome in 1992 and 2003, Pacino directed and starred in a film, with Jessica Chastain playing the title role; the documentary "Wilde Salome" chronicled his fixation with the play and the challenges he faced in performing in the play while also directing the two features. The two films were screened as part of a special event at the British Film Institute Southbank complex; they will be released on DVD/download Nov. 10.

Oscar Wilde's play follows the legend of King Herod and his desire for his young stepdaughter, Salome, as well as her sexual baiting of John the Baptist. It is Wilde's most controversial work and was banned in London in the late 19th century.

Pacino first saw the play performed in London in 1988 with Steven Berkoff in the role of Herod, and the performance inspired an obsession for Pacino with the work. Pacino told the Daily Mail that he is hoping to appear in a new play, possibly by David Mamet, in New York before doing Salome in London the year after next.

Pacino is a two-time Tony Award winner and Academy Award winner. He made his Broadway debut in 1969 with Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, which won him a Featured Actor Tony Award. His screen credits include "The Godfather" and "Scent of a Woman."

Other credits include Camino Real, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (Tony Award), King Richard III, American Buffalo, Chinese Coffee, Hughie, The Merchant of Venice and Glengarry Glen Ross.

 
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