Kevin Spacey as Richard III For Exclusive Sydney Season

The eagerly awaited, exclusive to Sydney season of The Bridge Project’s Richard III will open at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre, The Star tonight (December 1, 2011), where it plays until December 11.

We are informed that a limited number of tickets will be released on the day of each performance, with best availability on Sunday 11^th December at. 2pm

Directed by SamMendes and Starring Kevin Spacey in the title role, Richard III opened at The Old Vic in London in June and has gone on to play in eight international cities, including sold-out seasons in London, Hong Kong, Istanbul and Beijing.

Of The Harbour City and in anticipation of tonight’s opening, Kevin Spacey said,
“It’s fantastic to be back in Sydney once again. It’s exciting that this time I've brought with me an incredible company of actors in Richard III and hope they too enjoy their time in Sydney as much as I know I will.”

Sydney is the penultimate city The Bridge Project will perform in before concluding the world tour at its North American home in New York at BAM (the Brooklyn Academy of Music).

Our review.

Our earlier coverage.

Due to overwhelming demand, an additional performance of the exclusive to Sydney, season of The Bridge Project’s Richard III has been added on Sunday, Dec 11 at 2pm.

The Company arrive in Sydney in three weeks and are looking forward to being a part of the rich theatrical landscape of Sydney, the penultimate city The Bridge Project will perform in before concluding the world tour at its North American home in New York at BAM (the Brooklyn Academy of Music).

Tickets for the twelfth and final performance will go on sale at 9.00am on Monday 14^th November through Ticketmaster..

November 11, 2011.

Australian Producers Andrew Kay and Liza McLean are proud to announce the theatrical event of the year exclusive to Sydney.Kevin Spacey stars in The Bridge Project’s Richard III, directed by Sam Mendes for 11 performances only at The Lyric Theatre, Star City from December 1.

This announcement came on the eve of The Bridge Project’s first performance of Richard III at The Old Vic in London. An international tour follows the London season including the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, Spain’s Centro Niemeyer, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Singapore Repertory Theatre and Sydney’s Lyric Theatre before a final season at the joint home of The Bridge Project, BAM’s Harvey Theater in New York in January 2012.
 
Led by Kevin Spacey in the role of Richard III, the company features a formidable British/American cast that includes Maureen Anderman as the Duchess of York; Haydn Gwynne as Queen Elizabeth; Chuk Iwuji as Buckingham; Gemma Jones as Queen Margaret; and Chandler Williams as George, Duke of Clarence.   

In addition, an exciting educational initiative from the Kevin Spacey Foundation, Richard’s Rampage has been announced, and is seeking exceptional actors across Australia aged 18 – 25 to participate. link
 
The Bridge Project is a unique three-year series of co-productions by The Old Vic, BAM and Neal Street, devoted to producing large-scale, classical theatre for international audiences. Richard III is the project’s final production under the Artistic Direction of Sam Mendes. 
 
On Richard III, Sam Mendes says: “I am absolutely delighted to be working with Kevin again for the first time since American Beauty, and I am doubly thrilled that he will be leading year three of The Bridge Project. Richard III is a play I love, and a role I think Kevin is born to play. I’m also thrilled that the partnership between our three entities has strengthened and blossomed over the course of this venture, along with a host of invaluable international partnerships that have enabled us to extend the reach of global touring year after year.”
 
The Old Vic Artistic Director Kevin Spacey, who will play Richard III, says: “Sam is one of the finest directors I have had the pleasure to work with and to gain this opportunity is beyond my wildest hopes. I love Sam’s perspective on a role, carving and shaping the actor. With such a remarkable character before me I have a feeling this one is going to be a memorable experience. It is also my hope to bring a comprehensive educational programme and opportunities for emerging artists along with our travels, making an argument for the living theatre in all the major cities we will visit throughout 2011. We're delighted that Bank of America Merrill Lynch has come on board for another season as our sponsor and I applaud their continued support for our work.”   
 
BAM Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo says: “The Bridge Project has been a wonderful creative adventure and an unparalleled success; its final instalment is a programmatic highlight of BAM’s upcoming 150th anniversary celebration. I am looking forward to welcoming this immensely talented, trans-Atlantic cast assembled by Sam Mendes to perform alongside Kevin Spacey as Richard III at BAM’s historic Harvey Theater in January, and to tracking the company’s progress across the globe as ambassadors for classical theatre on a grand scale.”Photographer: Tristram Kenton

London Review Quotes and Links

There is a curious grace as he minces around on his withered leg and turned-in foot and exactly the right kind of glee in his villainy. His Richard is often laugh out loud funny — just listen to the relish with which he delivers the line “So wise so young, they say, do never live long” of the doomed Crown Prince. He is superb too at moments of fake concern, bashful innocence and sudden explosions of rage.The Telegraph

'He uses his withered arm as a cosh. He lugs along his lame leg, strapped in a calliper, as if it were a giant log. His hump makes him bend not only over but into people: he looks as if he's about to peck them to death. Rarely have Richard III's disabilities looked so much like brutal assets, weapons in waiting, as they do in Kevin Spacey’s powerful, physically intimidating performance.' The Guardian

There are times when this Richard seems like a satanic second cousin of Vincent Price, with his little mocking tosses of the eyebrows, flouncily dismissive flaps of the hand, archly subversive pauses in the middle of a list or a line and in the rather camp complicity he sets up with his dupes onstage and with the audience in the theatre. The Independent

Spacey, even when cramped by a contorting leg iron and a dowager's hump, dominates the ensemble. But he doesn't always dominate this monster role. Shakespeare's Richard is the Hamlet of homicide, charming the pants off the crowd with cynical jokes and asides. When he seduces Lady Anne over her father-in-law's murdered body, Spacey makes the scene thrum with nasty sexuality … Time Out

TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 25TH JULY
STRICTLY LIMITED SEASON – 11 PERFORMANCES ONLY!

TICKETMASTER.COM.AU or 136 100

Richard's Rampage - Associated educational program launched - read more

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