The Stage

Becket abdicates from West End run

Published Tuesday 16 November 2004 at 15:00 by Alistair Smith

John Caird’s revival of Jean Anouilh’s Becket will end less than halfway through its intended West End run, citing low ticket sales as the reason for its closure.

The production, starring Scottish actor Dougray Scott in the title role and Jasper Britton as Henry II, opened at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket on October 27 and had been booking up to February 12. It will now close on December 11, after a run of only seven weeks.

In a statement issued as closing notices were published, producer Kim Poster said: “Despite some positive reviews, ticket sales have not been sufficient and therefore I have made the very difficult decision to close the show early while audiences are still healthy, for the benefit of both the paying public and indeed the Becket cast. I would like to thank the very talented creative team and company for their tireless efforts and the beautiful production that is currently playing at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.”

The production is the first in London since the 1991 revival starring Derek Jacobi and Robert Lindsay, which was also at the Haymarket. No further productions have yet been announced for the Haymarket.

• Bob Marley is to become the subject of a West End musical. David Ian, the producer behind The Producers, which is currently showing at The Theatre Royal Drury Lane, has said that he has secured a deal to use Marley’s music as part of a London show.

He said: “I’m not aware that there has ever been a musical using reggae before, even though it is so hugely popular. Marley is still an icon around the world and I’m a big fan myself, which is a good reason to do the show. I think a lot of his lyrics and ideas would really service the idea of a musical. Now we are going to get on with thinking about storylines and writers.”

• Sheila Hancock will star in the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse production of The Anniversary when it transfers to the Garrick theatre early next year.

Hancock, who played the young daughter-in-law Karen in the 1966 West End premiere of Bill Macllwraith’s play, will now take the role of Mum in this new production. The cast also features Rosie Cavaliero, Liam Garrigan, Tony Maudsley and Madeleine Worrall, who will all be repeating their roles from the Liverpool Playhouse season. The Anniversary is directed by Denis Lawson and will open at the Garrick on January 26, following previews from January 20.

• The National Theatre has announced its January to April 2005 season. The bill includes Caryl Churchill’s new adaptation of August Strindberg’s A Dream Play, The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca newly translated by David Hare and A Minute Too Late devised by the theatre ensemble Complicite. Meanwhile, Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman and Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Elmina’s Kitchen will both start national tours.

• Michael Grandage’s Sheffield Theatres production of Don Carlos will transfer to the Gielgud Theatre for a limited 12-week run in the new year. Richard Coyle will appear in the title role, alongside Claire Price, Derek Jacobi and Una Stubbs, in what will be Grandage’s final production as associate director of Sheffield Theatres. The world premiere of Mike Poulton’s new adaptation of Friedrich Schiller’s play will open at the Gielgud on February 3, following previews from January 28, and is scheduled to run until April 20.

• Following a sell-out season at The Little Angel Theatre in Islington, puppet show Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis will transfer to The Other Place Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. This new performance of Shakespeare’s poem is a co-production, inspired by Japanese Bunraku puppets and Jacobean Court Masque, between the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Little Angel Theatre and will run in Stratford from November 10 to December 18.