Ken Bones joins the regular cast of Atlantis, Little Monster Film’s new mythical drama series currently shooting for the BBC. Dan Rabin films Game of Thrones the ever popular fantasy adventure now into its 4th season. Vincenzo Nicoli joins Hank Zipzer as regular character Papa Pete in this new show for Kindle Entertainment exec produced by Henry Winkler. Pooky Quesnel signs up as regular new character Olga in the next series of Waterloo Road and can currently be seen on screen, alongside Jay Simpson, in new ITV drama The Guilty which starts Thurs 5th Sept. Also featuring heavily on screen at the moment is Daniel Coonan whose character Carl continues to wreak havoc in Eastenders. Finally, watch out for Max Fowler in The Killing [US Version] coming soon to Netflix
Author: Eamonn
On Film:
Lisa Palfrey joins director Matthew Warchus for Pride shooting in London and Wales from September and depicting a gay and lesbian group in the 80s who find solidarity with the striking miners. Ken Bones joins the cast of Exodus, Ridley Scott’s latest feature with 20th Century Fox with Christian Bale portraying Moses. Having wrapped on the recent Mike Leigh feature, Tom Edden starts shooting Cinderella in September with Ken Branagh directing whilst Colm Gormley films the next Ken Loach feature Jimmy’s Hall. Just wrapped are Max Fowler on Tokarev opposite Nick Cage and Robert Hands on Eliza Graves. Watch out for Jay Simpson who will be appearing in Rush, the hotly anticipated new Ron Howard movie set in the intirguing world of Formula 1 and Vincenzo Nicoli who is in in the next Paul Greengrass feature Captain Phillips both on general release very shortly.
Summer Theatre Blog:
Tom Edden returns to stage in his first role since playing Alfie in One Man 2 Guvnors (NT,West End, Broadway: Tony, Critics Circle Noms, Drama Desk Winner). He opens at Theatre Royal Bath in Feydeay farce A Little Hotel on the Side with Lindsay Posner directing. Richard Dempsey joins the Michael Grandage Company for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the next in a hugley popular season of plays currently resident at the Noel Coward Theatre. Plans have been announced for a revival and New York transfer of the Tricyle’s Red Velvet with Natasha Gordon reprising her role as Connie whilst Gavin Spokes joins Headlong Theatre’s exciting adaptaion of 1984 which Robert Icke directs. Stephen Wilson, meanwhile, continues at The National shifting focus to Joe Hill Gibbin’s revival of Marlowe’s Edward II.
Openings include Shawshank Redemption in Edinburgh with Vincenzo Nicoli, Too Clever By Half at The Royal Exchange with Nitin Kundra, as well as Molly Logan in Blue Stockings and Jess Murphy in The Lightning Child both at The Globe. Amy Cudden continues her successful run in The National’s One Man 2 Guvnors (Haymarket) as do Geraldine Alexander in Strange Interlude (Lyttleton) and Scott Karim in Othello (Olivier).
Summer Nights
HBO’s mockumentary series Family Tree directed by Christopher Guest and featuring Lisa Palfrey as Luba, Chris O’Dowd’s Moldovan stepmother also tx’s BBC2 10pm from Tuesday July 16. Regular viewers of Eastenders will have seen Carl’s dramatic arrival in the square – watch out for Daniel Coonan whose storylines in the show promise to be huge this summer. And Jay Simpson and Vincenzo Nicoli can both be seen in exciting new Channel 4 drama Run which begins txs July.
Summer Shoots
Robert Hands is filming the feature Eliza Graves. Directed by Brad Anderson and based on an early work of Edgar Allen Poe. Robert will be appearing alongside Kate Beckinsale and Jim Sturgess and is currently shooting in Sofia. Amy Marston has just been cast in New World by Peter Flannery and Martine Brant. This four parter for Channel 4, the next chapter of The Devils Whore, will be directed by Charles Martin for Company Pictures. Also for Company Pooky Quesnel is filming Truckers, a five-part drama written by William Ivory set in Nottingham with Sue Tully directing. Also Richard Teverson and Hermione Gulliford are filming guest roles on series two of The Bletchley Circle. Rocky Marshall shoots legal drama Silk for the BBC and Derek Hutchinson films By Any Means a new Tony Jordon drama for the BBC.
Summer Fun
ITV has commissioned Hartswood to make a 6 x 60 minutes comedy drama series titled Edge Of Heaven starring Nitin Kundra in the role of Tandeep Chatterjee. Written by Robert Evans the series follows the organised chaos of the Taylor-Chatterjee family and shoots starts late August. Cosima Shaw is filming Toast a new 6 part sitcom for Channel 4, directed by Michael Cumming, written by Arthur Matthews (Father Ted) and Matt Berry. Roger Sloman and Richard Dempsey both film guest roles in the new series of Doc Martin which Nigel Cole directs.
Theatre Round-up:
The Royal Court is taken over by writers in Vicki Featherstone’s opening season, as a weekly rep of new plays move into the theatre downstairs. Natasha Gordon, Ferdy Roberts and Angela Terence will all join the Open Court ensemble for its summer season of plays. Nitin Kundra starts rehearsals for The Royal Exchange/Told By an Idiot co production of Too Clever By Half directed by Paul Hunter for the main house this summer whilst Gavin Spokes plays Oliver Hardy in The Watermill’s Laurel & Hardy directed by Paul Foster. Vincenzo Nicoli heads to the Edinburgh Festival where he plays Bogs Diamond in Lucy Pittman’s Wallace’ s revival of Shawshank Redemption alongside Omid Djalili.
Openings include Sara Powell in Disgraced at The Bush, Geraldine Alexander in Strange Interlude at The National, Molly Logan in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Globe and Jess Murphy in Macbeth also at The Globe. Amy Cudden continues her West End run in One Man 2 Guvnors as does Derek Hutchinson in Cocktail Sticks which completes its run.
Screen Update:
Film:
Tom Edden is currently filming with Mike Leigh on his Untitled 13 project
and then goes on to work with Kenneth Brannagh in his live action movie
version of Cinderella. Confirmed cast include Cate Blanchett. Max Fowler,
meanwhile shoots his debut US feature Tokarev, an action thriller in which
he is cast opposite Nicolas Cage and shoots through July in Alabama with
Paco Cabarez directing. Fast & Furious 6 has also opened in both London & LA with Benjamin Davies in the role of Adolfson. Also on current general release in UK is the ‘sleeper’ hit indie film Papadopoulus & Sons in which Cosima Shaw plays Sophie.
Television:
Royal Welsh College graduate Chris Gordon starts filming the last ever Poirot, Dead Man’s Folly with Tom Vaughan directing. Filming takes place in London and Cornwall through June. Richard Dempsey and Joseph May film guest roles this month on NBC/Carnival’s reimagining of Dracula whilst Jay Simpson shoots Talking to the Dead a 2 part drama for Sky directed by China Moo Young. Catch up to with Broadchuch, ITV’s hugely successful crime drama which is released on DVD this week featuring new client Joe Sims as suspect Nigel Carter.
Regulars:
Eastenders has announced the planned arrival of a new bad boy in Walford! Congratulations to Daniel Coonan who has been confirmed in the role of Carl Parker and will land in Albert Square early summer. Daniel was last seen in BBC’s May Day as well as recently working with Mike Leigh on his stage revival of Ecstacy. Vincenzo Nicoli, meanwhile, joins Mr Selfridge for Series 2 of the popular ITV drama set in and around the world famous department store. Playing the regular new character of Uncle Giovanni, the first block will be directed by Anthony Byrne and shoots this month. Also returning, shooting in London and LA from May is Episodes, the Hatrick/HBO co production which sees Joseph May reprise his role as Andy Button for Season 3.
Theatre Updates
In Rehearsals:
Geraldine Alexander returns to The National Theatre in a revival of Eugene O’Neils Strange Interlude with Simon Godwin directing. Sara Powell will be appearing in Disgraced at The Bush Theatre, a new play by Ayaad Aktar which premiered at The Lincoln Centre, New York and now comes to London with Nadia Fall directing. Daniel Rabin takes on the title role in Oedipus which Steven Berkoff directs for The Spoleto Festival whilst Colm Gormley joins the company of Dancing At Lughnasa with Richard Beecham directing for Northampton and Oxford. Jess Murphy and Molly Logan, meanwhile, start rehearsals for The Globe season where they will be performing in Macbeth & Lightning Child and A Midsummer Night’s Dream & Blue Stockings respectively.
Openings:
The Winslow Boy at The Old Vic with Richard Teverson has opened to wonderful reviews. Cocktail Sticks featuring Derek Hutchinson has also received high praise for its West End transfer. The Low Road has premiered at The Royal Court with Natasha Gordon part of a brilliant ensemble in Dominic Cooke’s ambitious production. Next up, Children of the Sun (Stephen Wilson) and Othello (Scott Karim) both April openings at The National.
Spring Shoots:
Ken Bones has been confirmed for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary episode, details of which are being kept a closely guarded secret but has been written by Steve Moffatt and will be directed in 3D by Nick Hurran. Pooky Quesnel and Jay Simpson have both signed up to Hartswood Film’s The Guilty, a 3 part drama for ITV directed by Ed Bazalgette which deals with the fall out after the disappearance of a 4 year old boy. Del Synnott joins the cast of The Great Train Robbery playing gang member Brian Field and featuring in Julian Jarrold and James Strong’s separate films for World Productions charting The Robber’s Tale and The Policeman’s Tale. Cosima Shaw, meanwhile, shoots new Warner Bros pilot The Selection set in an apocalyptic world and helmed by Alex Graves. Sara Powell and Robert Hands film guest roles in Love & Marriage, Tiger Aspects news comedy drama whilst Rocky Marshall completes filming on Montana, a British vigilante thriller set in London’s East End and directed by Mo Ali.
Spring Watch
A young girl disappears from an idyllic community and so begins Mayday, the BBC’s absorbing new five part drama beginning Sunday 3 March and continuing. Max Fowler plays the juvenile lead Linus with Daniel Coonan as PC Simmons. Also starting this week on the History Channel is the epic miniseries The Bible featuring Ken Bones as Ira. Coming soon to Fox UK, also with Ken Bones, is Da Vinci’s Demons which reveals the secret history of Leonardo Da Vinci. Over on ITV, bestselling novel Ice Cream Girls has been adapted and will screen this Spring with Sara Powell in the role of Fez. Also on ITV, set against the backdrop of the London Blitz, Daniel Rabin will be appearing as Granger in Murder on the Home Front. We’re also looking forward to Channel 4’s new drama Run in which Jay Simpson and Vincenzo Nicoli will appear. This fast-paced contemporary narrative is directed by Bafta winning Charles Martin.