The Stage

Jeremy Irons to receive Will Award for classical theatre

Published Monday 4 April 2005 at 17:40 by Judd Hollander

Oscar and Tony Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons has been selected as the recipient of the 18th annual William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre, commonly known as the Will Award.

Presented by the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC, Irons will receive the honour during a gala benefit for the venue on May 16, 2005. The Will Award is presented annually by the Shakespeare Theatre to a person who has made a significant contribution to classical theatre in America.

Previous winners include Dame Judi Dench, Fiona Shaw, Ralph Fiennes, Anthony Hopkins, Maggie Smith, Hal Holbrook, Patrick Stewart, Sam Waterston, Lynn Redgrave, Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman, Mel Gibson, Kenneth Branagh, Christopher Plummer, Kevin Kline, the late Joseph Papp and Shakespeare Theatre artistic director Michael Kahn.

Irons recently performed the title role in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Richard II. He also played Antonio in a screen version of The Merchant of Venice, opposite Al Pacino. Other recent work includes the films Kingdom of Heaven directed by Ridley Scott and Lasse Hallstrom’s Casanova. Irons received an Oscar in 1990 for his portrayal of Claus von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune and a Tony Award in his Broadway debut in 1984’s The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard. He began his career at Bristol Old Vic and then debuted in London in Godspell as John the Baptist.

The Will Award gala helps to fund two weeks of free Shakespeare performed by the Shakespeare Theatre each summer as well as other programmes by the organisation.