Stage and screen star Ralph Fiennes will return to the National Theatre in spring 2015 to appear in Man And Superman as part of Nicholas Hytner’s final season as the venue’s Director.
Reported today by the Daily Mail’s Baz Bamigboye and confirmed by the NT, Fiennes will lead George Bernard Shaw’s drama in a production directed by Royal Court regular Simon Godwin. The director made his NT debut last year with the critically acclaimed epic Strange Interlude.
Bernard Shaw’s tragicomedy, which originally opened at the Royal Court Theatre in 1905, tells the story of two men, Roebuck Ramsden and John Tanner, who must care for orphaned girl Ann. After welcoming the progressive Tanner as her guardian, the relationship becomes romantic as she attempts to manipulate her way into his heart.
The Academy Award nominated actor, who can currently be seen at the cinema in Wes Anderson’s latest eccentric offering The Grand Budapest Hotel and boasts appearances in more than 30 major films including the Harry Potter series, will lead the cast as Tanner.
His sixth performance at the National Theatre follows appearances in Oedipus, The Talking Cure, Six Characters In Search Of An Author, Fathers And Sons and Ting Tang Mine.
Away from the Southbank venue, West End credits have included The Tempest, God Of Carnage, Brand and The Play Wot I Wrote. Fiennes has also worked extensively for the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred in numerous productions at Islington’s small but mighty Almeida Theatre, including Jonathan Kent’s acclaimed Hamlet, which earned Fiennes a Tony Award for its Broadway transfer.
The Daily Mail’s scoop, which also claimed incoming Director Rufus Norris would stage a new World War I-set play by Billy Elliot’s Lee Hall in 2016, comes just days before Hytner’s final season announcement at the NT is due to take place.
Full details of which shows the director has programmed to mark his last months at the venue following his hugely successful tenure will be revealed at a press conference on Thursday 20 March with Official London Theatre in attendance.
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