- Title: THEATRE-WOLF HALL London's smash play 'Wolf Hall' crosses the pond to Broadway
- Date: 10th March 2015
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MARCH 09, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** ACTORS NATHANIEL PARKER, LYDIA LEONARD AND BEN MILES (RIGHT TO LEFT) POSING FOR PICTURES MORE OF ACTORS NATHANIEL PARKER, LYDIA LEONARD AND BEN MILES POSING FOR PICTURES PARKER POSING FOR PICTURES MORE OF PARKER (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATHANIEL PARKER, ACTOR, SAYING: "This is a new play, and I sat down and I thought, 'This is a hit.' It's not a matter if you go from Stratford to London, which is what most of the cast who haven't done West End we're thinking, 'Oh, are we going to make it to the West End, yay?' I said, 'No, no, whether or not we go to Broadway is the key.' And this has been my focus for the last year and a half and it's such a thrill to be here." MILES POSING FOR PICTURES MILES SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) BEN MILES, ACTOR, SAYING: "I know the buzz in New York about theater but I haven't experienced this kind of excitement with a show. And I'm really looking forward to telling the story." LEONARD POSING FOR PICTURES LEONARD SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) LYDIA LEONARD, ACTRESS, SAYING: "Yes, I'm absolutely terrified. You think it would get easier as it sort of grows with - you know, people have liked it and things. But I personally feel it gets more and more terrifying. I keep thinking, 'This will be the time we get found out won't we? Everyone is great, I get found out.'" MILES SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) BEN MILES, ACTOR, SAYING: "It's not entirely the same show. It is in that it's the same show but the script has kind of changed and improved and developed, the staging is different. The stage here is fantastic in the Winter Garden (theater). I think this is the best version of the show we've ever had." ACTORS NATHANIEL PARKER, LYDIA LEONARD AND BEN MILES POSING FOR PICTURES WITH BOOK AUTHOR HILARY MANTEL AND DIRECTOR JEREMY HERRIN MANTEL SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) HILARY MANTEL, AUTHOR, SAYING: "We have to choose, we have to select, we have to trim. We have to cut a clear path through the complexities for the audience. Bring them fun and entertainment." MEN IN CAST POSING FOR PICTURES, PARKER LAYING ON GROUND (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATHANIEL PARKER, ACTOR, SAYING: "Heavy, actually because he's so unusual that people - everybody has an image of Henry. And his picture is recognized by everybody, I mean, even kids from whatever country, they recognize Henry VIII. So he's the most famous king on the planet, so no responsibility there or anything." LEONARD POSING FOR PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (English) LYDIA LEONARD, ACTRESS, SAYING: "I think all the themes are so modern and fascinating. Because, yes they are centuries old, but they're nuts, they're kind of crazy people who you still see the same kind of types around today. The kind of megalomania , all the kind of sexual lust factors of it. It's kind of mixed with sex and politics, which is fascinating. And power which is, any situation it's about who has the power base in the room." MORE OF ACTORS NATHANIEL PARKER, LYDIA LEONARD AND BEN MILES POSING FOR PICTURES WITH BOOK AUTHOR HILARY MANTEL AND DIRECTOR JEREMY HERRIN CLOSE-UP OF LEONARD TO MERRIN GROUP PICTURE WITH ENTIRE CAST OF "WOLF HALL" MORE OF GROUP PICTURE WITH ENTIRE CAST OF "WOLF HALL"
- Embargoed: 25th March 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA22ZF5PREUDHPP5FDIDGJMTS1P
- Story Text: Five centuries after Henry VIII ruled the roost in Tudor England, and one year after a successful run on London's West End, the king's chief minister Thomas Cromwell is preparing to hit Broadway.
"I know the buzz in New York about theater but I haven't experienced this kind of excitement with a show. And I'm really looking forward to telling the story," said Ben Miles who plays Thomas Cromwell.
The show will consist of two plays based on the best-selling novels of Hilary Mantel, which the author condensed.
"We have to choose, we have to select, we have to trim. We have to cut a clear path through the complexities for the audience. Bring them fun and entertainment," explained Mantel.
For Nathaniel Parker, appearing on Broadway in this role is a dream realized.
"This is a new play, and I sat down and I thought, 'this is a hit.' It's not a matter if you go from Stratford to London, which is what most of the cast who haven't done West End we're thinking, 'Oh, are we going to make it to the West End, yay.' I said, 'No, no, whether or not we go to Broadway is the key.' And this has been my focus for the last year and a half and it's such a thrill to be here," Parker said with a smile.
And while Parker is thrilled, Lydia Leonard, who plays Anne Boleyn, said she is terrified.
"You think it would get easier as it sort of grows with - you know, people have liked it and things. But I personally feel it gets more and more terrifying. I keep thinking, 'this will be the time we get found out won't we, everyone is great, I get found out."
Cromwell rises from humble origins as a blacksmith's boy to become richer, more powerful and more dangerous as the years advance, after securing Henry his wished-for divorce from Katherine of Aragon and overseeing the trial and execution of Anne Boleyn.
Miles, who makes him both charming and frightening, is a truly morally ambiguous character in the murky world of the Tudor court.
The combined six-hour drama transferred from London's West End and after a sell-out run in Stratford-upon-Avon and will officially open on April 9th.
"It's not entirely the same show. It is in that it's the same show but the script has kind of changed and improved and developed the staging is different. The stage here is fantastic in the Winter Garden (theater). I think this is the best version of the show we've ever had."
The story of the matching and dispatching of the king's wives - and the resulting political earthquake as Henry breaks with Rome to create a new Church of England - speaks across the ages.
"I think all the themes are so modern and fascinating. Because, yes they are centuries old, but they're nuts, they're kind of crazy people who you still see the same kind of types around today. The kind of megalomania, all the kind of sexual lust factors of it. It's kind of mixed with sex and politics, which is fascinating. And power which is, any situation it's about who has the power base in the room," said Leonard.
"Wolf Hall" will be directed by Jeremy Herrin. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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