Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company Plays at the Garrick in London
After the unprecedented success of Michael Grandage’s season of plays at the Noel Coward theatre in 2014, the acclaimed actor-director Kenneth Branagh presents five productions, including two Shakespeare, which will bring together the cream of British acting talent including Rob Brydon, Dame Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi plus rising stars Lily James and Richard Madden.
Romeo and Juliet
PLEASE NOTE THAT FREDDIE FOX WILL PLAY ROMEO AT CERTAIN PERFORMANCES
Romeo and Juliet runs at the Garrick theatre from 12 May – 13 August 2016
The Entertainer
The Entertainer runs at the Garrick theatre 20 August 2016 – 12 November 2016
This remarkable set of plays are on at the Garrick Theatre just by London’s famous Leicester Square – a great venue for a London theatre break as it is right in the heart of the West End, just mintes from Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus. This is where you will be able to experience this multimedia rich electrifying spectacle which takes you back to the magical sixties when all you needed was love, and a little help from your friends!
Ticket and hotel packages for Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company Plays at the Garrick Theatre Breaks are available to 12th November 2016. If you are looking for hotels close by there is the contemporary 4 star Radisson Blu Edwardian Leicester Square or the 3 star Travelodge Covent Garden. The 4 star Strand Palace Hotel is not far too and of course there is always the 5 star Savoy!
Show File
Theatre : Garrick theatre, Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0HH
Season Opened : 17th Ocotber 2015
Season Ends : 12th November 2016
Performance times : Monday to Saturday at 1930; Wednesday & Saturday at 1430
Nearest tube : Leicester Square on the Northern and Piccadilly lines
Earlier in the Season
The Winter’s Tale
The Winter’s Tale will run in rep at the Garrick theatre from 17 October 2015 – 16 January 2016
Captioned performances – 7.30pm Wednesday 9 December 2015
Audio Described performance – 7.30pm Wednesday 16 December 2015
Harlequinade
Harlequinade will run in rep at the Garrick theatre from 24 October 2015 – 13 January 2016
Audio described performance – Thursday 15 December 2015 7.30pm
Captioned performance – Thursday 10 December 2015 7.30pm
Having grown up in a time when farce, thanks to the Cooneys and Rixs of this world, was all the rage and having rather enjoyed the bit in between when farce had become a rather forgotten artform, at least in London's Theatreland, I wasn't too confident about whether I would enjoy The Painkiller. But, as the curtain rose on a split stage with the old white line down the middle, dividing two hotel rooms, with lots of doors, I became very confident indeed.
Rob Brydon is a brilliant comedy actor, although I would like to see him diversify a little. So he was very much at home with the job in hand of performing the role of hapless Welsh, Lady in Red singing, loser, Dudley.
Kenneth Branagh, on the other hand, didn't have a clue!. Rather than doing "acting" he should have just watched the masterclass given by Mark Hadfield as the hotel Porter. OK Hadfield may not be as good an all round actor as Branagh apparantly can be, but when it comes to farce he knows exactly what the job is!
The problem is that farce, above all things, is a team effort and with a weak link the whole lot becomes rather laboured.
So when all is said and done, I am looking forward to when Branagh et al, do Romeo and Juliet and The Entertainer and they all keep their trousers on!