London's Donmar Announces West End Season, Including Jude Law Hamlet
By John Nathan
10 Sep 2007
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Jude Law will star in the Donmar's production of Hamlet in 2009.
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Michael Grandage, artistic director of London's Donmar Warehouse, the theatrical powerhouse behind Frost/Nixon, has announced that beginning in September 2008 the venue will take up residency at the West End's Wyndham's Theatre while continuing to operate its much smaller Covent Garden site.
The radical move has allowed Grandage to announce a West End season that stretches well into 2009 featuring a revival of Hamlet starring Jude Law in the title role and directed by Kenneth Branagh. Branagh's production begins previews on May 29, 2009, and officially opens on June 3.
Prior to Hamlet, Branagh will star in Tom Stoppard's new version of Chekhov's Ivanov (Sept. 12, 2008–Nov. 29) to be directed by Grandage as the inaugural production of the Donmar's West End season.
Derek Jacobi, last seen at the Wyndham's in the Donmar transfer of A Voyage Round My Father, returns to the theatre as Malvolio in a new production of Twelfth Night (Dec. 5, 2008–March 7, 2009). That is followed by Madame de Sade (March 13–May 23, 2009) by Japanese writer Yukio Mishima and translated by Donald Keene.
Grandage also announced a 2008 season for the Donmar's Covent Garden venue, including revivals of Arthur Miller, Strindberg, T.S. Eliot and Spanish dramatist Pedro Calderón de la Barca.
Following the previously announced production of Othello — starring Ewan McGregor and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Nov. 29 – Feb. 23, 2008) — the Donmar's season will continue with a revival of Miller's The Man Who Had All the Luck.
The cast for Sean Holmes' production, which runs Feb. 28–April 5, will be led by Andrew Buchan, best known for his work on TV's "Party Animals" and "Jane Eyre." Theatre credits include Posh at the Royal Court.
Following the London run, the production will embark on a three-week U.K. tour.
The Donmar season will also feature a new version of Strindberg's Creditors, Pedro Calderon de la Barca's Life Is a Dream and T.S Eliot's The Family Union. Dates and cast for these plays have yet to be announced.
Grandage also revealed plans to secure the Donmar's future at its Covent Garden site by purchasing the Earlham Street building from which it operates. As a first step, the Donmar has bought the building on a 125-year lease – the first time in the company's history that it has owned the building from which it operates.
For more on the Donmar's 2008 season, call (0)870 060 6624.
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