An archive of blog entries about plays and theatre production.
Just in case you’re in need of mental stimulation, here’s a trivia question for you: how many actors can you think of who have played the roles of both Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty? You can pick anyone from theatre, film or TV, but no naughty understudies doubling up.
I can think of a couple, but I won’t tell you their names until tomorrow.
Everyone’s favourite insect fan, Gil Grissom from CSI, is going to take a leave of absence for a couple of episodes this season after reaching some kind of “emotional high”. Turns out William Petersen is off to do some theatre for a bit, which is something he’s been threatening to do for some time, so the producers are going to write around his absence.
It’s been promised that a ‘big name’ is going to fill the gap left by Petersen, which is an interesting fact indeed. Consider that this coming season is going to be the seventh for CSI, which is the traditional end point for most shows after which all contracts have to be renegotiated. Petersen has been extremely vocal about his desire to head back to the theatre just as soon as contract expires.
However, CSI is still such a ratings champion, it seems unlikely that CBS will simply end the show. That means they’ll either need a new Grissom or will promote from within, given they have such a large cast. Will this ‘big name’ be a test run for Grissom’s season eight replacement?
Sometimes celebrities throw curve balls at you. Take Derren Brown, everyone’s favourite magician and fan of The Master from Doctor Who. We’re used to weirdness from him, but when he started speaking fluent German last season, I was staggered. Turns out he read German and Law at Bristol Uni. Impressive, huh?
This week, David Walliams took that a step further by swimming the Channel, raising nearly a half million pounds in the process, which was pretty awe-inspiring.
Now it’s Rory Bremner’s turn. He’s decided he’s going to translate a play by Bertolt Brecht so that it can be performed for kids at the Young Vic as part of their Big Brecht Fest (he came up with that particular pun himself).
Turns out as well that he’s a dab hand at this kind of thing. A King’s College language graduate, he’s already translated French and German texts for the opera: in 1999 he worked on Weill’s Silver Lake, and in 2001 Bizet’s Carmen, both for performances at Wilton’s Music Hall in London.
So they’re rich, successful and talented. Curse them all!
The Hoff was all up for it. He wanted to do panto this Christmas. He was all set to be Captain Hook until the unpatriotic Simon Cowell stole him away from us.
Now we have the news that Patrick Duffy – Bobby from Dallas or the eponymous Man from Atlantis if you prefer – is to appear as Buttons in Cinderella in Woking.
What is this strange allure that panto holds for these all-star, all-American actors?
Curious news. Emu is to come back in a sitcom for kids, with Toby “Son of Rod” Hull as the hand behind the beak this time. Hull has apparently already appeared on stage with the puppet bird a couple of times, so it’s not without precedent, but is licensed sexual harassment and physical assault the best thing for kids these days?
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