Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, JULY 5, 2009

« Back to the grid | Next story »

London's Hot Ticket Gets Mixed Reviews

(Newser Summary) – The hottest ticket in London is for a production of Othello, starring Ewan McGregor in a 250-seat theater, with the price of tickets hitting $4,000 on the secondary market. Yet the play opened this week to decidedly mixed reviews. While everyone praised Chiwetel Ejiofor as the Moor of Venice, McGregor's Iago has come in for a drubbing, with one critic sniping "I'd be reluctant to part with a tenner for his performance."

"I saw better performances than this in my cub reporter days covering local reps," writes the Telegraph's Charles Spencer, who also calls McGregor "static and dull." Ejiofor, on the other hand, "puts himself into the front rank of modern Othellos," Guardian critic Michael Billington writes. Othello will not be transferring to a larger theater due to the movie commitments of its stars.
Sources: Daily Telegraph (UK), Guardian (UK)

elsewhere: Long profile of Ejiofor before Othello's opening Daily Telegraph (UK)

More about:  London • theater • William Shakespeare • Ewan McGregor

British actor Ewan McGregor arrives at the world premiere...
British actor Ewan McGregor arrives at the world premiere of his latest film 'Miss Potter' in London, late Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006. McGregor may earn millions making movies, but the actor has decided to...   (Associated Press)
Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor arrives at the 2007 Los Angeles...
Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor arrives at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival's opening night premiere of "Talk to Me," Thursday, June 21, 2007, in Los Angeles. Ejiofor plays Othello in a new production in London.   (Associated Press)
Actor Ewan McGregor arrives for the screening of his...
Actor Ewan McGregor arrives for the screening of his movie "Cassandra's Dream" at the 64th Venice Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
0 comments
VIEWING:
 
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy

 

Related Newser Stories

374 Stories

 Law's Hamlet 
 to Go From 
 London to 
 Broadway 

Show to arrive from London in September

New York Times New York Times Jun 30, 09 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) - Jude Law is Broadway-bound as the prince of Denmark in a production of Hamlet exported from London, the New York Times reports. The show is set for a 12-week run on the Great White Way, with previews starting Sept. 12 and the official opening Oct. 6. Before it arrives Stateside, however, the show will stop at Denmark’s Elsinore Castle. More »

More about:  London • theater • Broadway • Denmark • William Shakespeare • Jude Law • Hamlet

THEATER REVIEW

 Jude Law's 
 Hamlet Slays 
 Critics 

Movie star's Shakespeare turn gets strong notices

Daily Telegraph (UK) Daily Telegraph (UK) Jun 4, 09 11:03 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) - Jude Law took to the stage last night for the opening performance of Hamlet in London, and newspapers were largely impressed by the actor's take on the melancholy Dane. In the Telegraph , Charles Spencer writes that Law showed "rare vulnerability and emotional openness" in Shakespeare's toughest role. Dressed in black jeans, a worn T-shirt, and often near tears, Law "joins the modern pantheon of spellbinding sweet princes." More »

More about:  London • theater • William Shakespeare • Jude Law • West End theater • Hamlet • theater reviews

 Early Shakespeare 
 Theater Discovered


Associated Press Associated Press Aug 6, 08 8:37 PM CDT
(AP Summary) - Archeologists think they have found the theater where Romeo and Juliet debuted and where William Shakespeare himself may have trodden the boards. The possible foundations of what is known as simply "the Theatre" were unearthed by builders excavating the London site—a vacant garage—for another structure. Museum archaeologists were called to the location and had a eureka moment when they noticed the angled walls common in the 16th century. More »

More about:  London • theater • William Shakespeare • archeology

Troop Crams 118 Years of Shakespeare Into 2 Months

RSC mounts all 8 history plays with one cast in London

Bloomberg Bloomberg Apr 4, 08 10:23 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) - Shakespeare's eight history plays cover 118 years of English royal succession, but one troop of actors is going to present the entire span in just two months. The Royal Shakespeare Company has decamped from Stratford-upon-Avon to London, where they are mounting all the plays in repertory on a single set. Bloomberg reports on the unprecedented project, which calls on a cast of 34 to master 528 roles. More »

More about:  United Kingdom • London • theater • William Shakespeare • Royal Shakespeare Company

THEATER REVIEW

 Hathaway Stuns 
 in Twelfth Night 
 Under the Stars 

Rave reviews for Shakespeare in the Park debut

New York Times New York Times Jun 26, 09 8:08 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) - New York theater critics are giving raves to this summer's free outdoor production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night , starring Anne Hathaway. For Charles Isherwood of the New York Times , Hathaway has "the unmistakable glow of a natural star" and invests the shipwrecked Viola with "a bright humor that feel spontaneous and unforced." And with Hathaway in drag, in a tight-fitting blue jacket and men's riding boots, "I probably don’t need to tell you how lovely she looks." More »

More about:  New York • theater • William Shakespeare • Anne Hathaway • theater reviews • Public Theater

374 Stories

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Articles from AP

PREMIUM NEWS ARCHIVE

Ewan McGregor Returned to the Sundance Film Festival After 14 Years to be Honored... (Science Letter)

Burns crazy England; English supper: Ewan McGregor in London Cultural icon:... (The Daily Mail (London, England))

Someone please wake Woody up; Outclassed: Ewan McGregor.(Movie review) (The Daily Mail (London, England))

EWAN'S so LIMP; LACKING CHEMISTRY: The relationship between Michelle Williams,... (The Mail on Sunday (London, England))

Hollywood? I'm happier in my shed, says movie star Ewan; Mad about bikes: Ewan... (The Daily Mail (London, England))

In a tale of desperation, Allen and his cast are in control (The Boston Globe)

Ewan McGregor is threatening.(Features) (The Mirror (London, England))

Red tape could drive me out of UK, says Ewan; Epic: McGregor and Charley Boorman... (The Daily Mail (London, England))

So has Ewan resorted to a spot of cosmetic surgery? Smoothie: Unblemished Ewan... (The Daily Mail (London, England))

Coty has signed Scottish actor and heartthrob, Ewan Mcgregor, to be the face... (Cosmetics International Cosmetic Products Report)