Gregory Doran directs Coriolanus - final show in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre prior to its transformation
21 February 2007
William Houston, Janet Suzman and Timothy West make a welcome return to the Royal Shakespeare Company to perform in Gregory Doran’s new production of Coriolanus which opens in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) on 23 February 2007 and runs until 31 March 2007.
Part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works Festival, Coriolanus is the final show in the RST before work starts on the major transformation of the building, with the season continuing in the Swan and Courtyard theatres.
RSC Chief Associate Director, Gregory Doran said: ‘It is an honour to direct the final production of a Shakespeare play in the RST as it stands today. I have worked in that theatre both as a director and an actor, and have seen many productions there over the years. I hope that Coriolanus will be a fitting stage to this chapter in the life of the RSC, and add to the many memories which have accrued since the theatre opened in 1932. Looking ahead to 2010, I look forward to working in the newly transformed theatre when it re-opens.’
William Houston plays Coriolanus. His extensive career at the RSC includes King James in Speaking Like Magpies, Titus Flaminius in Believe What You Will and the title role in Sejanus (all part of the RSC’s Gunpowder Season at the Swan Theatre in 2005). Other RSC credits include: the title role in Henry V, Hal in Henry IV parts I and II, Laertes in Hamlet and Troilus in Michael Boyd’s Troilus and Cressida. His films include: Merchant Ivory’s Surviving Picasso, The Gambler and The Odyssey.
Honorary Associate Artist Janet Suzman, who takes on the role of Volumnia in this production, recently directed Hamlet for the South African Baxter Theatre Company. She brought the production to Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the RSC’s Complete Works Festival. Her acting credits for the company include Iris in The Tempest, Lady Anne in Richard III and Joan La Pucelle in Henry VI (1963/4), Celia in As You Like It (1967/8), Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing (1968/9), Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1972/3), Clytemenestra in The Greek Murders (1980) and The Hollow Crown (2003). Other stage credits include: Peter Hall’s Whose Life is it Anyway, and Jonathan Miller’s The Three Sisters. Film and TV work includes: Alexandra in the Academy Award nominated Nicholas and Alexandra, The Draughtsman’s Contract, The Singing Detective and Hedda Gabler.
Playing Menenius is Timothy West, who last worked for the RSC in the 1960s and 1970s. Productions included: The Comedy of Errors, The Government Inspector, Mr Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Socrates in The Peloponnesian War, Tubal in The Merchant of Venice and Judge Brack in a tour of Hedda Gabler. Other theatre credits include: Gloucester in Richard Eyre’s King Lear for the National Theatre, the title role in Stephen Unwin’s King Lear and Solness in The Master Builder for English Touring Theatre and Sir Joseph Porter’s HMS Pinafore for Carl Rosa Opera, a production which he also directed. His films include: Beyond Borders and Luc Besson’s Joan of Arc and TV credits: Bleak House, New Tricks, Colditz, Bedtime (with Sheila Hancock) and The Alan Clark Diaries.
The cast also includes: Guy Burgess (Volscian Senator), Ricky Champ (Volscian Senator), Curtis Flowers (Volscian Senator), Michael Hadley (Cominius), Arthur Kohn (Roman Senator), Jonathan Melia (Senator), Robert Orme, Richard Pepple, Fred Ridgeway (Sicinius Velutus), Luke Rutherford, Danny Seldon, Oliver Senton (Titus Lartius), Jonty Stephens (Citizen), Darren Tunstall (Junius Brutus), Steve Varnom (Citizen), Trevor White (Tullus Aufidius), Frances Jeater (Citizen), Darlene Johnson (Valeria), Eleanor Matsuura (Virgilia) and Riann Steele (Gentlewoman).
Joining Gregory Doran on the creative team are: Richard Hudson (designer), Tim Mitchell (lighting), Martin Slavin (sound), Paul Englishby (music).
Further information
For more press information please contact:
Nada Zakula
01789 412622
nada.zakula@rsc.org.uk
For Midlands media enquiries and press tickets, contact:
Dean Asker
01789 412660
dean.asker@rsc.org.uk
Notes to editors
CORIOLANUS by William Shakespeare, directed by Gregory Doran
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
23 February – 31 March 2007
Press Night: Tuesday 6 March, 7pm
Box Office: 0844 800 1110 or www.rsc.org.uk
After its run in Stratford-upon-Avon, the production plays Newcastle Theatre Royal from 16 – 19 May, The Teatro Albeniz, Madrid from 23 – 26 May and at the Eisenhower Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington, USA from April 13 – May 6, 2007 as part of the citywide festival Shakespeare in Washington.
Production images will be available to download from 23 February by registering free on the EPO (Electronic Press Office) www.epo.online.com. A preview image is already available to download from this site.
NB: Please note the change in Box Office number.
