The Bridge Project: The Winter's Tale

Bank of America presents . . . The Bridge Project.

Produced by Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Old Vic, and Neal Street Productions

The Winter's Tale
By William Shakespeare

Produced in association with Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, Singapore Repertory Theatre, THE EDGE, Teatro Español.

Starring Ethan Hawke, Rebecca Hall, Simon Russell Beale, Josh Hamilton, Sinead Cusack.

Sam Mendes directs a transatlantic company of actors in a double-bill of classic works for The Bridge Project’s inaugural 2009 season, which pairs a new adaptation of The Cherry Orchard by Tom Stoppard with The Winter’s Tale. A formidable transatlantic company and creative team will create these two new productions for six internationally renowned theatres. Simon Russell Beale leads the British/American cast, playing Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard and Leontes in The Winter’s Tale. He is joined by Sinead Cusack as Madame Ranevskaya and Paulina, Richard Easton as Firs and Old Shepherd/Time, Rebecca Hall as Varya and Hermione, Josh Hamilton as Yasha and Polixenes, and Ethan Hawke as Trofimov and Autolycus.

The Bridge Project is a unique series of co-productions from Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), The Old Vic, and Neal Street Productions. Each year a single British/American company will perform a double-bill of classic works at BAM and at The Old Vic, and make several international visits. In year one, the company will travel to Auckland, Singapore, Madrid, and Recklinghausen.

The Bridge Project is presented by Bank of America and produced by Kevin Spacey for The Old Vic, Joseph V. Melillo and Karen Brooks Hopkins for BAM, and Sam Mendes and Caro Newling for Neal Street Productions. The project places the exchange of ideas, talent and creativity between London and New York at the heart of the process, and is borne out of Sam Mendes, Joseph V. Melillo and Kevin Spacey’s shared desire to produce large-scale, classical theatre for international audiences.

Rehearsals for The Cherry Orchard and The Winter’s Tale commenced in Brooklyn in October 2008. The plays will run at BAM from January–March 2009 then embark on an international tour from March–May, taking residencies in Singapore with the Singapore Repertory Theatre at the Esplanade-Theatres On The Bay, in Auckland at The EDGE Performing Arts Centre, in Madrid at Teatro Español, and in Germany at Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen before arriving for a season of both plays in rep at The Old Vic from May–August 2009.

The full company will be drawn from leading British and American actors, with further casting to be announced at a later time. The cast are appearing with the permission of American Equity and UK Equity. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association and UK Equity, incorporating the Variety Artistes’ Federation, for their assistance on this production.

Director - Sam Mendes
Set Designer - Anthony Ward
Costume Designer - Catherine Zuber
Lighting - Paul Pyant
Sound - Paul Arditti
Music - Mark Bennett
Music Direction - Dan Lipton
Choreography - Josh Prince
Casting - Nancy Piccione, C.S.A. and Maggie Lunn
Photo credits - Joan Marcus

Event listed by Josie

View their other events or contact promoter