Blethyn and McDiarmid to star in Manchester Royal Exchange new season

Published Wednesday 14 November 2007 at 13:15 by Lalayn Baluch

Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre has announced that Brenda Blethyn and Ian McDiarmid are to appear in its 2008 spring-summer line-up.

The new season will open with Lillian Helman’s The Children’s Hour, directed by Royal Exchange associate artistic director Sarah Frankhom, and will run from March 5 to April 5.

Following this, double Oscar nominee and Bafta award-winning actress Blethyn will play Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. The play, which will run from April 9 to May 24, will be directed by the venue’s co-artistic director Braham Murray.

Guest director Jonathan Moore will take the helm of Thomas Middleton’s Jacobean drama The Revenger’s Tragedy, from May 28 until June 21. The venue’s second artistic director Greg Hersov will wrap up the season with Noel Coward’s Hay Fever, which will play from June 25 to August 2.

Meanwhile, Star Wars actor McDiarmid - former associate artistic director of the Royal Exchange - will appear in the world premiere of Jonah and Otto by Robert Holman. The production, directed by Clare Lizzimore, will be the first of two shows presented in the studio space, and will run from March 12 until April 5.

Dr Korczak’s Example by David Greig will also play in the studio from June 2-21, and will be directed by Amy Leach.