Sigourney Weaver makes West End debut in 'The Tempest'

Record ID: 1890321

  • Title: Sigourney Weaver makes West End debut in 'The Tempest'
  • Date: 20th December 2024
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 19, 2024) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** TEAM FROM "THE TEMPEST" (L-R) ACTOR OLIVER RYAN, DIRECTOR JAMIE LLOYD, ACTORS - JUDE AKUWUDIKE, FORBES MASSON, MATTHEW HORNE, MASON ALEXANDER PARK, SIGOURNEY WEAVER, SELINA CADELL, TIM STEED, MARA HUF, JAMES PHOON AND JASON BARNETT VARIOUS OF TEAM POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, SIGOURNEY WEAVER, SAYING: "I’m so glad. I've been so glad the whole time. I did have moments of terror because the theatre is so much bigger than any place I've ever worked. It is also the most beautiful theatre with such an incredible history, and you can feel the love that the theatre has for actors in the theatre, which I think is so extraordinary." VARIOUS OF WEAVER AND LLOYD POSING VARIOUS OF WEAVER POSING (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, JAMIE LLOYD, SAYING: "I’m a massive ‘Alien’ fan boy. I've seen ‘Aliens’ so many times. And, you know, I've grown up watching, as you say, and watching her movies, watching ‘Alien’, ‘Aliens’, the ‘Avatar’ movies, ‘Ghostbusters’, you know, all of those iconic movies that she's been a part of. I never dreamed that she'd say yes. And her agent was like, ‘It's never going to happen. She's not done a Shakespeare for 30 years, she's never been interested in coming to the West End’. And something about this project, this building, this play, this role instantly attracted Sigourney to the project."
  • Embargoed: 3rd January 2025 02:48
  • Keywords: Jamie Lloyd London Mason Alexander Park Sigourney Weaver The Tempest theatre
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: UK
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Theatre
  • Reuters ID: LVA001802518122024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Oscar nominated Hollywood star Sigourney Weaver has made her West End debut as powerful magician Prospero in William Shakespeare's "The Tempest". 
    The 75-year-old actor, known for films including the "Alien" series and "Avatar" franchise, said she is "so glad" she said yes to the role.
    "I did have moments of terror because the theatre (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) is so much bigger than any place I've ever worked," she said after press night in London on Thursday (December 19).
    British director Jamie Lloyd who grew up watching Weaver on the big screen said he "never dreamed she'd say yes".
    "Something about this project, this building, this play, this role - instantly attracted Sigourney to the project," said Lloyd, whose recent credits with his theatre company, The Jamie Lloyd Company, include "Sunset Boulevard" and "Romeo and Juliet".
    "The Tempest" centres around Prospero - an exiled Duchess turned sorcerer, who lives on a magical island with her daughter Miranda (Mara Huf), enslaved islander Caliban (Forbes Masson) and a spirit called Ariel (Mason Alexander Park), after her brother threw her out and took over as the Duke of Milan.
    A part often played by male actors, Weaver said she felt a woman taking on Prospero "made so much more sense".
    "In the old days they would… rip this woman away from her position and her life and put her on this island," she said.
    "It's so powerful", she said, because so many women today have "much to express about what isn't fair". It also shows how universal Shakespeare is and still relevant, Weaver added.
    American/German actor Mara Huf, who is also making her debut in the West End, said she enjoyed creating a new tougher version of her character Miranda. "I think she's played so often as very innocent and naive to the world. But I think there's so much… more to her than that."
    Mason Alexander Park, who also hails from the US and plays Ariel, said this is their first time tackling Shakespeare.
    "I’m so grateful and lucky that I trusted his (Jamie Lloyd’s) belief in me in some capacity," they said.
    After Prospero whips up a storm in the play, the story that unfolds mixes romance, revenge and forgiveness. 
    "There's something kind of like amazingly, boundlessly hopeful about this idea that from a shipwreck… from… chaos and confusion can come great sanity… clarity… and hope for the future as opposed to kind of dwelling on the problems of the past," Lloyd said.
    "I found that… very moving and (a) potent message to share with the world."
    The Tempest is playing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane until February 1, 2025.  
    (Production: Marissa Davison, Sarah Mills)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register