Congrats nominees!

Hamlet has been nominated for Best Shakespearean Production for the 2012 What’s On Stage awards! Plus Kyle Soller, seen in our productions of Government Inspector and The Glass Menagerie, has been nominated for London Newcomer of the Year.

Separately, Michael Sheen and Bill Mitchell’s The Passion for the National Theatre of Wales has been nominated for Theatre Event of the Year.

Congratulations to all the nominees. We have our fingers crossed for you.

Q’s with the cast of Government Inspector: Simon Müller

You may recognize Simon from Shakespeare’s Globe’s productions of Love’s Labour’s Lost,  In Extremis,  Antony & Cleopatra and  Romeo & Juliet; Traverse Theatre / Southwark Playhouse’s Markings, TV show The Bill or The Changeling on BBC Radio 3.

Tell us about your character
Khlopov is in love with one of the other characters… he’s bright but thinks he’s always one step behind everyone else. He’s very insecure and has a speech defect…

Favourite word?
Palimpsest.

Proudest moment?
Getting my degree (1st class honours!!)

If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be?
Yorkshire pudding & gravy.

If 28 hour days existed, what would you do with the extra four hours?
Play more computer games.

Favourite holiday?
Norway, 1990.

Weirdest quirk?
Picking other people’s spots.

Favourite play?
Anything by Chekhov.

If you had one super power, what would it be?
Flight.

Do you have any regrets?
YES!!!

Favourite midnight snack?
Welsh rarebit. Or cheese on toast. Or left over curry.

Q’s with the cast of Government Inspector: Louise Brealey

Next up is Louise Brealey, much envied for all the frocks she got to wear for Government Inspector! You may have seen her on stage – Country Music (West Yorkshire Playhouse) ,  The Stone and Sliding with Suzanne (Royal Court),  Pornography (Traverse),  Uncle Vanya (English Touring Theatre), Arcadia (Bristol Old Vic/Birmingham Rep); on TV - Law and Order, Sherlock, Casualty,  Hotel Babylon; on the big screen - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Reuniting the Rubins; or heard her on radio – BBC Radio 3′s  The Wall, BBC Radio 4′s Fair Stood the Wind for France.

Tell us about your character
Marya is the only daughter of Doon (Mayor’s wife) and Julian (Mayor). She has some splendid frocks.

Favourite word?
Louche (French for both suspicious and cross-eyed).

Proudest moment?
A story by my small niece.

If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be?
Rembrandts.

If 28 hour days existed, what would you do with the extra four hours?
Learn bass guitar.

Favourite holiday?
Normandy 1999.

Weirdest quirk?
Dessert first.

Favourite play?
Uncle Vanya.

If you had one super power, what would it be?
I’d like to fly.

Do you have any regrets?
Should not have worked in a sandwich factory during university holidays.

Favourite midnight snack?
Chicken legs.

Third and final…

The third and final video of our series with Julian Barratt, Doon Mackichan and Kyle Soller! We still have 12 handful of tickets for the next two Wednesday matinees of Government Inspector, otherwise we’re returns only (call us 020 7922 2922). Buy your tickets here!

Hope you’ve enjoyed our chats with Julian, Doon and Kyle. We had a great time.

Part 2:

Part 1:

Zesty, zany, magnificent and bizarre. And some photos.

Great reviews are pouring in for Government Inspector! Here are some…

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
‘A zany, zesty new version… magnificent and bizarre.’ 
What’s on Stage

★ ★ ★ ★
‘Thrillingly original… Barratt’s delivery is perfectly judged.’ 
Evening Standard

★ ★ ★ ★
‘Kyle Soller is extraordinary’ 
The Guardian

‘Doon Mackichan is magnificent’ 
Daily Express

And check out the production photos!

Government Inspector, 3 June - 9 July (c) Keith Pattison

Q’s with the cast of Government Inspector: Bruce MacKinnon

Next up, the hilarious Bruce MacKinnon who plays the town’s judge!  Perhaps you’ve seen him in… Women Beware Women (National Theatre); The Office (BBC 1); The Catherine Tate Show; Smack the Pony (Channel 4); Rome (HBO); Miss Marple – The Body in the Library (ITV); Vanity Fair (dir. Mira Nair) or  The Duchess (dir. Saul Dibb)?

Tell us about your character
I am playing the judge in town. He loves animals, dead or alive and has an unhealthy obsession with Borzoi Pedigree Puppies.

Favourite word?
Plinth.

Proudest moment?
Being pulled up from the audience to assist Paul Daniels in a magic trick (aged 6).

If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be?
Talisker Whiskey.

If 28 hour days existed, what would you do with the extra four hours?
Sleep.

Favourite holiday?
Cyprus 1983 – I went on a banana boat. It was amazing.

Weirdest quirk?
I manage to look like every character created by Dr. Seuss… apparently.

Favourite play?
Loot by Joe Orton.

If you had one super power, what would it be?
To fly.

Do you have any regrets?
None. My life is amazing. I am amazing.

Favourite midnight snack?
Glass of milk and a Kit Kat Chunky.

Government Inspector has started and is running until 9 July. Read more or buy your tickets here!

Follow @youngvictheatre

4 weeks at the Young Vic as a Project Assistant

A few times a year, Young Vic’s Taking Part department produces parallel productions for and with young people in Lambeth and Southwark. These parallel productions are productions inspired by what is playing in our Main House, The Maria and The Clare theatres.  For more information on Taking Part please see http://www.youngvic.org/taking-part

I am currently a postgraduate student at The Central School of Speech in Drama getting my MA in Applied Theatre and I had the opportunity to work with the Young Vic as a Project Assistant on the 2011 Parallel Project. How do I even sum up my month working on the project? For three weeks I spent every Monday and Thursday evening working in a studio with fourteen adolescents culminating with a weeklong of intensive all-day rehearsals before the show was performed. I would leave each night smiling ear to ear, skipping to the Southwark station, too hyped to sit still on the journey home. For a whole month, I got the opportunity to witness fourteen immensely talented young actors rehearsing for The Government Inspector. Each night at rehearsal I would sit there thinking to myself, ‘This is exactly where I am meant to be and this is exactly what I am going to do with my life.’ I watched as these young actors honed their skills and cut their teeth on a giant, comedic Russian classic. The cast owned that play and it was a joy to see them as they progressed. Each night I thought, “what a great opportunity these youth are getting and I may or may not be slightly green with envy”. However, the Young Vic gave me an opportunity as well. I am not as young as my students, but I am also at the beginning of my career. What exactly my career is to be, or what it will look like, is still to be ironed out as my course moves on. What I know for sure is that my career will be creating theatre with young people. I knew that before going into this project, but this experience solidified it for me. The Young Vic stayed true to their mission by not only providing a creative outlet for these youth working on The Government Inspector, but also for me as a ‘young’ postgrad student. I look forward to jumping full steam into my career when I graduate this fall and know that I will look back fondly on my month at the Young Vic as a solid stepping stone in what I know will be an incredible ride.

Lauren Sale
Student, Master of Applied Theatre

More q’s for Julian, Doon and Kyle

And here is part 2 of our Julian/Doon/Kyle series. Thanks again to all our Twitter pals who helped us out with the questions.

Q’s with the cast of Government Inspector: Jack Brough

Jack in rehearsals (photo: Keith Pattison)

Sorry for the slight break… it’s madness over here with Government Inspector taking over our Main House!

Next up is Jack Brough! His TV credits include: Navelgazing Presents; Toyboize (Dave); The Impressions Show; After You’ve Gone; Bleak House; My Family; Little Britain; Green Green Grass; People Like Us (BBC); Harry Hill’s TV Burp; Hardware; Suburban Shootout (C5). We are proud to say that this is Jack’s theatre debut!

Tell us about your character
Dobchinski is a stupid, greedy, annoying, clumsy, overweight, oaf of a man who speaks with a lisp. In real life I’m nothing like him. I don’t have a lisp.

Favourite word?
FOC (Free Of Charge)

Proudest moment?
My wedding day and the birth of my children were amazing but the dad’s wheelbarrow race at last year’s sports day was a sweet victory.

If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be?
Something useful like diamond encrusted iPhones.

If 28 hour days existed, what would you do with the extra four hours?
Invent the world’s first 28 hour watch.

Favourite holiday?
August Bank.

Weirdest quirk?
Pauline?

Favourite play?
Sinderella by Jim Davidson.

If you had one super power, what would it be?
To answer questionnaires brilliantly and in a non-facetious manner.

Do you have any regrets?
I’ve had a few.

Favourite midnight snack?
Nigella Lawson (recipes, we assume!).

Government Inspector has started and is running until 9 July. Read more or buy your tickets here!

Q’s with the cast of Government Inspector: Buffy Davis

Buffy Davis in rehearsals for Government Inspector

For the lovely people who keep coming to see our works, you may recognize Buffy from when she was last here with us performing also a Richard Jones work – Annie Get Your Gun.  She’s also performed in Rose Tattoo and  Sunday in the Park with George at the National Theatre, plus a whole host of TV shows and movies (plus video game voiceovers!)

Tell us about your character
I play 2 characters in the show. Avdotya, the housekeeper of the mayor – she adores him but is rather less fond of his wife! Avdotya chooses not to speak, though you ought to know she is celebrating her birthday! The locksmith’s wife on the other hand is very verbose….

Favourite word?
Goblin

Proudest moment?
Reaching the end of that courageous climb up the Eiffel Tower.

If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be?
Air.

If 28 hour days existed, what would you do with the extra four hours?
Meditate

Favourite holiday?
Nothing can beat the paradise that is Hawaii – surfing and skiing all in one day.

Weirdest quirk?
Inability to stand still.

Favourite play?
Anything starring Buffy Davis.

If you had one super power, what would it be?
Telling the truth – especially on questionnaires.

Favourite midnight snack?
Once in a blue moon… green cheese.

Government Inspector runs from 3 June  - 9 July. To see Buffy star alongside The Mighty Boosh‘s Julian Barratt, Smack the Pony‘s Doon Mackichan, Young Vic’s The Glass Menagerie‘s Kyle Soller plus many others… buy your tickets now!