Following up the critical enthusiasm for his New York Theatre Workshop production of Caryl Churchill's Far Away, director Stephen Daldry told the New York Times he is looking to bring over the other Churchill hour-long work that he helmed for London's Royal Court Theatre, A Number. This time, with an eye to Broadway.
The British director, also known for his film work on "Billy Elliot," told The New York Times that he will soon cast a Broadway production of the two-hander which plays in London. He was just in London recasting the work in which a father clones his son. Michael Gambon plays the patriarch as Daniel Craig plays three of a score of his multiple sons.
Daldry made a name for himself as a director at London's Royal Court Theatre and on Broadway with An Inspector Calls and Via Dolorosa. He then went on to direct films, most notably, his feature film debut "Billy Elliot." He is currently working on a Billy Elliot musical with composer Elton John and the film's screenwriter Lee Hall — who will provide book and lyrics — as well as choreographer Peter Darling. His upcoming film "The Hours" stars a number of actor who also work in both genre: Nicole Kidman (The Blue Room), Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep (The Seagull), Allison Janney (A View from the Bridge), Ed Harris, Claire Danes, Toni Collette (Wild Party), Eileen Atkins (Indiscretions), Stephen Dillane (The Real Thing), John C. Reilly (True West) and Miranda Richardson.
Far Away is an anti-utopian look at the future as discovered one night by a girl's visit to her aunt's house. The play, which originally opened in London in 2000, stars Academy Award winner Frances McDormand, Alexa Eisenstein, Marin Ireland, Chris Messina and Gina Rose. The production, which runs 50 minutes with no intermission, has sold out its currently scheduled run in the downtown Manhattan venue through Dec. 22.
For more information on Far Away at NYTW, 79 East Fourth Street (between Bowery and Second Ave.), call (212) 460-5475. Also visit their website at www.nytw.org. — by Ernio Hernandez
