Theatre Royal Haymarket

Marguerite Blog 1

The first blog and behind the scenes footage of the new production at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

The World Premiere of a New Musical

 A love story set in Paris during the Second World War, Marguerite draws inspiration from one of the greatest of romantic novels, La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas. Marguerite is the beautiful and notorious mistress of a high ranking German officer. Armand is a young musician half her age who falls obsessively in love with her. Their dangerous love story is played out against the background of Occupied Paris.

Marguerite is the World Premiere of a collaboration between Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and Martin Guerre), the triple Oscar winning musical legend Michel Legrand (Windmills Of Your Mind, Yentl, Summer of ’42) and lyricist Herbert Kretzmer (Les Misérables).

Ruthie Henshall, the award-winning West End and Broadway actress, returns to the London stage to play the title role, with Julian Ovenden as Armand and Alexander Hanson as the German officer Otto.

Marguerite is the final production in Jonathan Kent’s acclaimed launch season for the Theatre Royal Haymarket Company.

The Sea - Video 4

Intro by Jonathan Kent - the director of THE SEA.

The Sea - Video 3

David Haig talk about his role in the Theatre Royal Haymarket's production The Sea.

The Sea - Video 1

The Sea - Video 2

THE SEA

EILEEN ATKINS leads the cast in Edward Bond’s black and riotous comedy, The Sea, the second production in Kent’s Haymarket season.  The Sea will run from 17 January – 19 April with press night on 23 January.  Designs are by Paul Brown, with lighting by Mark Henderson and sound by Paul Groothuis.

A wild storm shakes a small East Anglian seaside village and sets off a series of events that changes the lives of all its residents.  Set in the high Edwardian world of 1907, The Sea is a fascinating blend of wild farce, high comedy, biting social satire and poetic tragedy.

Multi award-winning actor EILEEN ATKINS, recently seen in the BBC drama Cranford, will play Mrs Rafi.  As well as extensive work for the National Theatre (including Honour) and the Royal Shakespeare Company (including The Unexpected Man, which later transferred to Broadway), she has most recently been seen on stage at the Almeida Theatre in Michael Attenborough’s critically acclaimed production of Frank McGuinness’s There Came a Gypsy Riding.  Her other theatre work includes The Birthday Party at the Duchess Theatre, A Delicate Balance at the Haymarket and Vita and Virginia, her own play, which premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre and then transferred to the West End.  In 2006 she played Sister Aloysius on Broadway in John Patrick Shanley’s award-winning Doubt.  Her many film credits include Wolf, Vanity Fair, Ask The Dust, Cold Mountain, The Hours, Jack and Sarah and Gosford Park.  On television her credits include Cold Comfort Farm, The Maitlands and Bertie and Elizabeth. 

DAVID HAIG – who has been hailed in The Country Wife as ‘one of the greatest comic stage actors of his generation’, stars alongside a large and distinguished cast.

EDWARD BOND’s The Sea received its world premiere at the Royal Court Theatre in 1973 directed by William Gaskill, starring Corale Brown and Ian Holm.  His other plays include the award-winning Saved, Early Morning, Bingo, The Fool and The Pope’s Wedding.  Bond’s screenplays include Tony Richardson’s Laughter in the Dark and Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout.  He collaborated on the English dialogue for Michaelangelo’s Blow-Up and co-authored Days of Fury, directed by Antonio Calenda.  The last major revival of a Bond play was Jonathan Kent’s production of Lear, presented at Sheffield Theatres in 2005 starring Ian McDiarmid.

THE COUNTRY WIFE - Video blog 6

Single ladies and the 17th Century.

THE COUNTRY WIFE - Video blog 5

Costume fittings and tight corsets.

THE COUNTRY WIFE - Video blog 3

Members of the cast talk about class and nobility.