Tag: Robert Hands

Screen 2024

Posted on | by Eamonn

All ‘guaranteed bangers’ according to The Guardian. Its Must See TV List for 2024 begins with a show that could not have caused more of a stir. Despite being one of the biggest miscarriages of justices in history, the British Post Office scandal in which nearly a thousand sub-postmasters were privately prosecuted for theft or fraud in error, has only now gained the public traction it deserves. Watch Amy Cudden as solicitor Izzy Hogg in Mr Bates vs The Post Office streaming now on ITVX. We finally get to see Masters of the Air; the Spielberg/Hanks second world war extravaganza featuring EBA clients Jakob Diehl, Benjamin Dilloway and Robert Hands which will be streaming on Apple TV from January 26th. Jakob Diehl can also be seen as the mysteriously titled Professor in Apple’s The New Look, a drama about how Christian Dior and Coco Chanel created modern fashion from the embers of the second world war, streaming in February. Russel T Davies is back in charge of Doctor Who and whilst we are sworn to secrecy, we can promise some spectacular drama featuring EBA clients in guest roles. Michelle Bonnard will be returning to House of the Dragon on Sky Atlantic in the summer as Madame Sylvie and in what is described as his biggest show yet, Joe Barton’s (Girl/Haji and The Lazarus Project ) new political thriller, Black Doves for Netflix will feature Thomas Coombes.

Other must see shows include James Doherty in Sexy Beast, a prequel series to Jonathan Glazer’s 2000 crime film of the same name, which is set to arrive on Paramount+, late January; Jodie McNee in Breathtaking, Jed Mercurio’s real time drama about being on the on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic on ITVX; Alex Blake in Joan, a new crime drama about notorious jewell thief Joan Hannington also for ITV X; Derek Hutchinson in The Way about a civil uprising that begins in Wales, written by James Graham and directed by Michael Sheen. Sophie Stone who has filmed the comedy horror series Generation Z for Channel 4 and finally Jake Cecil makes his professional debut as Gustave in Season 2 of Interview With A Vampire later this year.

In film news, Josie Walker stars in Kneecap opposite Michael Fassbender, directed by Rich Peppiatt which will receive its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 18th January whilst Gavin Spokes will next be seen in upcoming thriller Cold Storage, directed by Jonny Campbell and expected to be on Studio Canal’s 2024 slate of releases. Happy New Year!

2023 Preview

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Steven Spielberg’s Masters of the Air marks the completion of a trilogy two decades in the making following Band of Brothers and The Pacific. This second war drama, about the air force this time, includes EBA clients Jakob Diehl, Robert Hands and Benjamin Dilloway and will premiere on Apple TV+ . All the Light We Cannot See is another World War II drama and follows the lives of two teenagers Marie-Laure, a blind girl and Werner Pfennig, a German boy whose paths cross in occupied France. Jakob Diehl this time plays Nazi Colonel Mueller in a 4 part adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel adapted by Steven Knight for Netflix. Rain Dogs is written by Cash Carraway, described as a “wild and punky tale of a mother’s love for her daughter, of deep-rooted and passionate friendships, and of brilliance thwarted by poverty and prejudice”. Starring Daisy May Cooper and featuring Thomas Coombes, it will be shown on the BBC. We can’t wait to see Thomas too in the highly anticipated Luther: The Fallen Sun, a feature film adaptation of the TV show which is scheduled to premiere on Netflix in March. Watch out too for Jodie McNee in Culprits, a new comedy heist drama for Disney Plus, John MacKay in Nolly, ITVX’s big launch show about Crossroads legend Noele Gordon and Gavin Spokes in Better, BBC’s new crime thriller from the creators of Spooks and Humans.

Returning dramas we can’t wait to catch up with in 2023 include Warrior Season 3 for HBO Max which will see Andrew Koji back as Ah Sahm in San Francisco’s 19th Century China Town. Also, Oliver Dench is returning as Lucian in Hotel Portofino , the lavish period drama set in a hotel on the magical Italian Riviera during the ‘Roaring 20s’ and set against the rise of Fascism in Mussolini’s Italy. The second season of Hotel Portofino is set to premiere in 2023 on ITVX in the UK and on PBS in the US whilst Season 1 will be shown on ITV. There are returns too for Sophie Stone as forensic pathologist Ashley Wilton in The Chelsea Detective and Nicholas Lumley will reprise his role of Larry in the 2nd season of Screw to be broadcast later this year

BBC Films have a busy release schedule this year including two features in which Josie Walker takes leading roles. Naqqash Khalid’s debut feature In Camera is set in Manchester and follows the life of an aspiring actor and Knockers explores the strange hinterland between childhood and adolescence in a Britain set in the early 90’s ; written and directed by Lucy Cohen. Also on BBC Films slate is Starve Acre; dark and sinister forces are at work in this upcoming feature where Melanie Kilburn plays the mystic Mrs Forde opposite Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark. Natalie Radmall Quirke plays Eileen Gray in a biopic of the architects life titled Life is Everything – directed by Christoph Schaub for Das Collective with an autumn release anticipated. Described as a dystopian fever dream action thriller, we can’t wait too to see Andrew Koji star opposite Bill Skarsgard in Boy Kills World due for release later this year with Moritz Mohr directing.

Autumn Stage

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Jodie McNee joins the Michael Grandage Company who are bringing Orlando to the West End stage for a strictly limited run. Virginia Woolf’s gender defining historical fiction has been adapted by Neil Bartlett with Emma Corrin in the title role and will play at The Garrick Theatre until February 2023. Mariah Louca, John Mackay and Dan Rabin are all appearing in The Doctor, Robert Icke’s brilliant reimagining of Schnitzler’s 1912 play originally for The Almeida and now playing at the Duke Of Yorks. Also currently appearing in the West End are Tamsin Carroll in 2:22 at the Criterion, Jason Callender in Upstart Crow at the Apollo and Robert Hands and James Doherty in Come From Away at the Phoenix Theatre.

Hayley Carmichael in rehearsals for “Super High Resolution”

Gavin Spokes is in rehearsal at The National Theatre for Kerry Jackson, a biting new comedy by April de Angelis whilst Jay Simpson and Colm Gormley also return to The National in Clint Dyer’s Othello playing in The Lyttleton from November. Richard Dempsey has opened in The Almeida’s hit new musical Tammy Faye which runs until December and Hayley Carmichael opens in Soho Theatre’s Super High Resolution, Nathan Ellis’s debut play about being a doctor in the NHS with Blanch McIntyre directing.

Tom Edden has joined Josie Rourke’s production of As You Like It which will open Soho Place , London’s newest theatre. Greg Hick‘s brings Dinner With Groucho Frank McGuinness’ new play to London after its successful premiers at the Dublin and Belfast International Festivals and Justin Avoth joins Witness For the Prosecution at County Hall. Further afield, Jenna Augen has opened on Broadway in Leopoldstadt, Tom Stoppard’s latest play whilst across the Channel Oliver Dench takes on the role of Cliff in Cabaret at the Lido Theatre, Paris and Daniel Crossley joins the cast of 42nd Street at Theatre du Chatelet.

Summer Stage

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Gavin Spokes returns to the National Theatre in Kerry Jackson, a new play by April de Angelis with Indhu Rubsingham directing.  Jay Simpson is also going back to The National joining Clint Dyer’s cast of Othello.   John Mackay joins the Almeida Theatre’s production of The Doctor with Robert Icke directing the West End transfer and joins Mariah Louca and Daniel Rabin who reprise their original roles. Kate Fahy is back in the London revival of Moira Buffini’s award winning play Handbagged and Jenna Augen returns to Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt for the Broadway transfer.

Olivia Onyehara is in RSC rehearsals for Blanche McIntyre’s All’s Well That Ends Well in which she plays Diana and Guy Rhys will play Benedict in Sheffield Theatre’s Much Ado About Nothing with Rob Hastie directing.  Openings include Sara Powell in Jamie Lloyd’s The Seagull, Tom Edden in Chichester Festival Theatre’s Crazy For You and Stephen Kennedy and Derek Hutchinson in Deborah Warner’s The Tempest playing at Bath Ustinov.   Robert Hands and James Doherty continue in Come From Away at The Phoenix Theatre and Richard Teverson is at London County Hall in the ever popular Witness For the Prosecution.

Autumn Shoots
Part I

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TV

Latest casting news has been announced on HBO’s much anticipated Game of Thrones prequel ‘House of the Dragon’ and we’re thrilled to confirm that Gavin Spokes is playing the role of Lord Lyonel Strong, Master of Laws to King Viserys and Lord of Harrenhal.  Filming will continue for the rest of this year. Amy Cudden joins the cast of The Midwich Cuckoos playing the regular role of Sarah McLean as David Farr teams up with Sky to adapt John Wyndham’s original sci-fi novel based in a sleepy English village with Alice Troughton directing. 

Eugene O’Hare is filming Season 2 of HBO’s Industry and Robert Hands will appear in Noughts & Crosses 2 for Mammoth Screen before going on to film Masterpiece/ ITV’s new remake of the classic Tom Jones. Ben Dilloway, meanwhile, will play the role of Col Bill Airing in the epic Whirlwind: Masters of the Air for Apple TV with Dee Rees directing his block.

Also filming this autumn is Joseph  May in the return of Toast of Tinseltown with Michael Cumming directing for Objective /BBC, Aleksandar Mikic in Stay Close with Lindy Heyman directing for Red Productions, Guy Rhys in The Witcher: Blood Origins with Sarah O’Gorman directing for Netflix and Alex Blake as Father Augustin in Dangerous Liaisons with Leonora Lonsdale directing for Starz.  Kate Fahy will play the mother of Kim Philby in a new ITV drama centred around the Cold War’s most infamous spy in A Spy Among Friends and Olwen May is currently filming the second season of Miss Scarlett and the Duke for PBS. Charlie Field has been filming a guest lead role in Season 3 of Amazon’s Jack Ryan Series and Hywel Morgan films a new 6 part drama Tell Me Everything for ITV exploring the mental stress on today’s teens . Jimmy Walker  plays Mr A in the Amazon Originals Series The Devil’s Hour from the creators of Sherlock whilst Lochlann O’Mearain joins the cast of Holding, Graham Norton’s successful novel that is being adapted for the screen and directed by Kathy Burke,  filming on location in Ireland. Sara Powell joins the cast of Murder In Provence, Britbox’s first US and global commission and Sally Scott completes filming on The Tower which Jim Loach directs for Mammoth. Jack Sandle joins season 2 of BBC’s The Capture. Kate Maravan guests in The Split 3 for Sister Pictures/BBC and Emma Handy plays new regular Mrs Cook in the popular revival of The Beaker Girls with John McKay directing for BBC. Look out as well for Roger Sloman who returns to the BBC in Mandy written and directed by the brilliant Diane Morgan and for Cosima Shaw who will be returning to the screen in German/CBS co-production Ze Network. More to follow.

Film


On film Lochlann O’Mearin has just wrapped Joyride opposite Olivia Colman and directed by Emer Reynolds. Josie Walker shoots Netflix feature The Wonder adapted from the acclaimed novel by Emma Donoghue and directed by Sebastian Leilo and plays Sister Michael with Florence Pugh in the leading role. Eugene O’Hare shoots Lady Chatterley’s Lover, the first film collaboration between Netflix and Sony Pictures with Emma Corrin and Jack O’ Connell in the title roles and Leah Gayer has just filmed The Prizefighter with Russel Crowe.  Graham Turner films  The Last Voyage of the Demeter with Andre Ovredal at the helm and Thomas Coombes films Living for Number 9 Films in an adaptation of the Ishiguro novel.

2019 Olivier Awards

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Congratulations to our 2019 Olivier Award Nominees, Robert Hands who is nominated in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical category for Come From Away and Natasha Gordon whose debut play Nine Night is nominated for Best New Comedy.  

Robert Hands

Natasha Gordon

Special mentions as well to Hywel Morgan in Home I’m Darling, Dan Rabin in King Lear, Gavin Spokes in Company & Quiz and Melissa Vaughan in The Wider Earth whose shows have all received nominations this year. 

Stage News 2019

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RADA graduate Leah Gayer makes her professional debut in Always Alys a gripping new psychological thriller by Lucinda Coxon playing at The Bridge Theatre and directed by Nicholas Hytner.  Lyndsey Turner directs  RWCMD grad Ashna Rabheru as Kit and Charlotte Lucas as Win in a revival of Caryl Churchill’s landmark play Top Girls at The National Theatre. Stephen Kennedy joins Josie Rourke at The Donmar for her final show as Artistic Director.

West End transfers include Robert Hands in Come From Away opening at The Phoenix Theatre from The Abbey, Dublin;  Sophie  Stone as Margaret Clifford in The Globe’s Emilia at The Vaudeville, Hywel Morgan as Marcus in Laura Wade’s Home I’m Darling at The Duke of York’s and Daniel Crossley who joins The Almeida’s production of The Twilight Zone at The Ambassadors.

Jodie Mc Nee returns to The RSC in 2019 to play Belvidera in Venice Preserved with Prasanna Puwanarajah directing and Patrick Brennan also joins the company in As You Like It  directed by Kimberley Sykes and Measure for Measure with Greg Doran.  Colm Gormley joins Julie Hesmondhalgh in Mother Courage at The Royal Exchange with Amy Hodges directing whilst Trevor Nunn’s production of Agnes Colander with Sally Scott transfers from The Bath Ustinov to Jermyn Street.

Gavin Spokes continues as  Harry in the acclaimed Company playing at The Geilgud Theatre whilst Natasha Gordon performs as  Lorraine in Nine Night her award winning debut play now running  at Trafalgar Studios.

Autumn Shoots

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Peaky Blinders returns and we are delighted to confirm that Andrew Koji will play a guest lead over 2 episodes filming this autumn. Eugene O’Hare is currently shooting Dublin Murders for the BBC; adapted by Sarah Phelps this 8 part crime drama will come to our screens next year with Eugene playing series regular Detective Quigley. Oliver Dench joins the cast of Noughts and Crosses, Mammoth/BBC’s adaptation of the Malorie Blackman books now filming in Cape Town with Kibwe Taveres directing; Jordan Mifsúd plays the recurring role of Krzystof in new Tall Story Pictures/ ITV drama The Bay set in Morecambe with Lee Haven Jones directing whilst Max Fowler will join the regular cast of The Affair for the 5th and final season of the acclaimed drama from Showtime. Jospeh May will play Brett across the new series of Dark Money, a timely and evocative new drama around child abuse written by BAFTA winner Levi David Addai for BBC/The Forge. Gary Oliver, David Nellist and Rocky Marshall have all been cast in The Confession penned by Jeff Pope (Little Boy Blue, The Moorside) which details the investigation behind the disappearance of Sian O’Callaghan in 2011, Paul Andrew Williams directs. Richard Teverson will portray Colin Tenant in the much anticipated Season 3 recast of The Crown for Left Bank Pictures/Sony/Netflix whilst Joe Sims joins the Netflix Original and Emmy Winning Free Rein for Season 3. Graduate Lion Russell Baumann makes his screen debut as Prince Sigmund in Mammoth /ITV’s Victoria. Aleksandar Mikic and Robert Hands film guest roles in Paramout’s Berlin Station; Chris Harper returns to ITV screens in the ever popular Endeavour, Rebecca Johnson joins the cast of Good Karma Hospital this season playing the returning role of Lesley McConnell and Robert Cavanah will play the role of Gilbert Benson across Season 5 of BBC’s Shetland.

Comedy shoots this autumn include Melanie Kilburn in new Sky comedy Brassic; Carol Macready and Kate Fahy currently filming new BBC comedy drama Don’t Forget The Driver, written and directed by Toby Jones and set in the post Brexit world of Bognor Regis; Cosima Shaw in Home a new comedy series for Ch 4 written and starring Rufus Jones and Sophie Stone will be playing a guest lead in the next series of BBC comedy Two Door Down.

In film news Ben Dilloway shoots Rare Beasts, Billie Piper’s directorial debut, Thomas Coombes and Sally Scott film Summerland, Jessica Swale’s first feature and Robert Cavanah portrays Joe Boyle in historical drama Queen Marie of Romania.

Stage news

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Natasha Gordon’s hugely successful Nine Night which premiered at The National this spring transfers to The Trafalgar Studios from December. Natasha will take the role of Lorraine in the West-End transfer of her debut play for which she recently won the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at The Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018.

Gavin Spokes will play Harry in Marianne Elliot’s updated production of Company Stephen Sondheim’s musical comedy about life, love and marriage which will run at The Gielgud Theatre, West End from October. Tom Edden joins the Jamie Lloyd Company for Pinter at The Pinter, a season of one act plays in which he will perform Trouble in the Works, Night and Girls. Anita Reynolds joins the cast of ear for eye at The Royal Court Theatre with Debbie Tucker Green directing. Robert Hands will play Nick in the Tony Award Winning Come From Away directed by Christopher Ashley and premiering at The Abbey Theatre Dublin before transferring to the West End in January. Nicholas Lumley transfers to the Garrick, West End with the RSC’s Don Quixote with Angus Jackson directing with Richard Dempsey also joining the cast as Duke. Elsewhere graduate Patricia Allison will play Hermia in The Sheffield Crucible production of A Midsummer Nights Dream directed by Artistic Director Rob Hastie, Hayley Carmichael joins Les Bouffes du Nord’s production of The Prisoner directed by Peter Brook, Michelle Bonnard plays Darina in Iqbal Khan’s Tartuffe at The RSC, Sara Powell joins the cast of Adam Penford ‘s revival of The Madness Of George III with Mark Gatiss in the title role at Nottingham Playhouse.

Openings include Dan Rabin in the Chichester transfer of King Lear playing at the Duke of York’s Theatre and staring Ian Mckellen, Scott Karim joins the cast of The Village, Nadia Fall’s first production as artistic director at Theatre Royal Stratford East. Howard Ward, Sophie Stone and Clemmie Sveaas all join Michelle Terry’s inaugural season at Shakespeare’s Globe (in The Winter’s Tale & Eyam, Emilia and Othello. Jenna Augen and Peter McGovern, meanwhile, continue at the Criterion Theatre in the hit show The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, Jason Callender continues in the West End company of The Play That Goes Wrong.

Summer stage

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Lisa Palfrey plays Big Mamma in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the Young Vic at the Apollo Theatre, West End with Benedict Andrews directing. The Broadway hit Oslo opens at the National’s Lyttleton Theatre before transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre, West End; Geraldine Alexander and Howard Ward join the London cast with director Bartlett Sher.
Gavin Spokes returns to The Almeida over the summer in Against, Christopher Shinn’s new play with Ian Rickson directing whilst Queen Ann opens at The Haymarket, West End for the RSC with Hywel Morgan reprising his role as Prince George. Andrew Koji is at Regents Park for A Tale of Two Cities directed by Tim Shearer whilst Graham Turner opens in Dessert a new play premiering at Southwark Playhouse which Trevor Nunn directs.
In Bath, Sam Alexander and Michelle Bonnard both join Jonathan Church’s revival of Racing Demon whilst in Manchester Natasha Gordon performs What If Women Ruled the World as part of the festival with Vicky Featherstone directing. Also in Manchester, new graduate Patricia Allison makes her professional stage debut in Our Town with Sarah Frankcom as director.
The Ferryman receives its West End opening with Eugene O’Hare in the cast, The Committee opens at The Donmar with Robert Hands, Jodie McNee and Sarah Malin continue in the astounding Anatomy of a Suicide at The Royal Court whilst David Seadon Young joins Rachel Kavanaugh for Oklahoma at The Royal Albert Hall as part of this years BBC Proms season.