Hello, and welcome back to Week in Review, our roundup of industry-wide news. From stage to screens big and small, we’ve got you covered. It’s everything you need to know and all you can’t afford to miss.
Andrew Scott to star in the new series of Black Mirror
Fleabag’s Andrew Scott leads a host of stars in the new Black Mirror, as the acclaimed dystopian anthology show returns to Netflix for a fifth series. A trailer released this week shows Scott starring in an episode about a hostage situation and Miley Cyrus playing an imagined pop star in the second of three new stories about technology. The final part of the trilogy sees Avengers: Endgame star Anthony Mackie play a man chasing virtual excitement to distract himself from an unhappy marriage.
Scott was already trending this week as it was recently announced he is to play a bisexual in a new gender-swapped production of Noel Coward’s 1939 play Present Laughter at The Old Vic. Matthew Warchus’ upcoming production reimagines the story to uncover “what was radical about [the play] in the first place” and sees Scott play Garry, a man who’s had a series of affairs with men and women. Scott, who is openly gay, said he and Warchus, who previously collaborated on the film Pride, felt it was important that the central character was not rewritten to be a gay man. “It’s not particularly exciting to either of us to make it a gay play,” he told Radio 4’s Today programme, “because that’s not what it is, any more than it is a straight play.”
Present Laughter opens at the Old Vic from June 17 and Black Mirror series 5 drops on Netflix June 5.
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Breakthrough Brits gets boost from Netflix
BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brits initiative, which showcases and supports emerging creative talent from across film, games and television, has partnered with streaming giant Netflix to increase their reach. Now in its seventh year, Breakthrough Brits has championed over 100 newcomers, including Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth), Josh O’Connor (God’s Own Country) and Malachi Kirby (Black Mirror) as well as numerous off-screen talents. Black Panther star and BAFTA award winner Letitia Wright credited the initiative, which includes membership to the academy and mentoring, with giving her the courage to continue her career. Replacing Burberry as chief sponsor, Netflix’s support will mean the BAFTA programme can expand internationally and support talent in new areas such as the US and India.
READ: Netflix + BAFTA Announce New Partnership With Breakthrough Brits
Cush Jumbo and Ruth Negga to make Young Vic debut
The Young Vic’s new season will see The Good Fight star Cush Jumbo play Hamlet and Misfits’ Ruth Negga lead a revival of Marina Carr’s play Portia Coughlan, with both actors making their debut at the south London theatre. Jumbo has played male Shakespeare characters before, appearing as Mark Antony in an all-female production of Julius Caesar at the Donmar Warehouse. Speaking of the experience in 2016, Jumbo said: “Hamlet is absolutely on my radar,” adding that she was hoping to join the growing list of female Hamlets, from Maxine Peake to the Oscar-nominated Ruth Negga, who played the Prince of Denmark at The Gate in Dublin.
Elsewhere in the season is Nora: A Doll’s House, a reworking of the Ibsen play by Stef Smith and director Elizabeth Freestone as well as the world premiere of Orfeus: A House Music Opera, created by and starring Panamanian-American singer Nmon Ford, directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. The main house will also feature “live cinema” piece The Second Woman, co-produced with LIFT. Read more here.
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Regional funding cuts forcing actors to leave the industry
Actors in the north west of England have warned that a lack of work is forcing “talented local people to leave the industry.” A motion to Equity cited austerity and “‘theatre mismanagement” as the reasons behind struggling theatres and dwindling opportunities in the region. Actor Wright Harlow proposed Equity should campaign on the issue at the union’s annual representative conference last week, winning the support of other members. He argued: “Clearly the massive amount of funding starvation has had an impact” on the region, adding: “It’s not just theatres in the north that are suffering...ultimately, it’s a national issue brought about by flawed political decisions.”
Echoing those concerns, funding cuts have forced acclaimed Scottish theatre-maker David Leddy to close his company and leave the industry to pursue a career elsewhere the day before he is due to give evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s culture committee as part of an inquiry into the future of funding for the arts in Scotland. Read more here.
A new rock biopic
Boy George is the next in line for a coming-of-age rock biopic, following in the footsteps of Freddie Mercury with Bohemian Rhapsody and Elton John and Rocketman. The as-yet-untitled film will tell the story of how a boy from a working-class Irish family was propelled into the limelight and became one of the biggest pop stars of the 80s, bringing androgyny into living rooms around the world. MGM has hired Sacha Gervasi (Hitchcock) to write and direct the feature, shooting next year in the UK.
David Morrissey at the Royal Court
Jack Thorne’s new play the end of history... has bagged stars David Morrissey (The Walking Dead) and Lesley Sharp (Top Girls). Set in 1997, the pair play parents of children come home from university for the weekend to a house filled with leftist ideals. Writer Jack Thorne, whose credits include the ongoing Channel 4 series The Virtues, is working with director John Tiffany who directed Thorne’s script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the West End. Joining David Morrissey and Lesley Sharp and completing the cast are Zoe Boyle, Laurie Davidson, Kate O’Flynn, and Sam Swainsbury. Read more here.
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