In a press statement, artistic director Edward Hall commented, "After a sell out summer it is a delight to be able to announce three major events here at Hampstead as part of our new autumn season. These productions will give our audiences a powerful mix of the new and the known produced by some of our greatest writers, actors and directors."
Hare's The Judas Kiss, which premiered at the Almeida Theatre in a production that subsequently transferred to Broadway in 1998 starring Liam Neeson and Tom Hollander, will begin performances Sept. 6 prior to an official opening Sept. 12, for a run through Oct. 13. Australian director Neil Armfield will direct Everett as Oscar Wilde and Freddie Fox as Lord Alfred Douglas, known to Wilde as "Bosie," whose relationship led to Wilde's arrest and imprisonment. The play focuses on two critical moments - the eve of his arrest and one night after his release from two years imprisonment. According to press materials, the play speculates on the consequences of his self destructive fatalism, betrayal and love without trust.
Howard Brenton's 55 Days, which begins performances Oct. 18 prior to an official opening Oct. 24 for a run through Nov. 24, will be directed by Howard Davies. It is described as a vivid account of the one of the most tumultuous periods of English history capturing the events leading up to the execution of Charles 1. The political upheaval of the mid-seventeenth century has no parallel in English history. In these dangerous and dramatic times, in a country exhausted by Civil War, the great men of the day were trying to think the unthinkable – to create a country without a king. Oliver Cromwell struggled to invent a political future for his beloved country as he presided over the death of medieval England and the birth of the modern state.
Sarah Wooley's Old Money, which begins performances Nov. 29 prior to an official opening Dec. 5 for a run through Jan. 12, 2013, will star Maureen Lipman and Tracy Ann Oberman under Robin Lefevre's direction. For 30 years Joyce has done her domestic duty – played the part her husband, mother, father and daughter thought appropriate. Now she is free – and as realization dawns a chance meeting with a stripper opens her eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.
To book tickets, contact the box office on 020 7722 9301 or visit www.hampsteadtheatre.com for more information.
