Charles Edwards - This House reviews

[updated 22 October]


Philip Glenister as Walter Harrison and Charles Edwards as Bernard Weatherill. Photo: Johan Persson (used with permission).
Guardian
"Philip Glenister, Vincent Franklin and Andrew Frame as working-class Labour whips, Julian Wadham, Charles Edwards and Ed Hughes as their smooth-suited Tory equivalents and Christopher Godwin and Rupert Vansittart amongst the role-swapping ensemble are outstanding."

Telegraph
"Special praise must go to Philip Glenister as a truculent old bruiser of a whip with a warm heart beating somewhere beneath his tough facade, and Charles Edwards as his suave, sharply suited Tory opposite number who in the grubby world of Westminster suggests a genuine generosity of spirit."

Daily Express
"Charles Edwards is hugely enjoyable as the unrufflable Tory deputy chief whip Jack Weatherill"

Financial Times
"[James Graham's] central characters are vividly, likeably detailed, brought to life by an excellent ensemble, in which Philip Glenister as Labour’s blunt Walter Harrison and Charles Edwards as the Tories’ suave Bernard Weatherill particularly shine."

Observer
"The cast is fantastic... I particularly enjoyed the complex, rather chivalrous relationship between Walter Harrison, the Labour deputy chief whip played by Philip Glenister, and his Tory opposite number, Jack Weatherill played by Charles Edwards."

The Times (Libby Purves, "Brilliant evocation of day when power hung in the balance", 10 October)
"Julian Wadham and Charles Edwards are marvellous Tory whips — Wadham unrepentantly patrician, Edwards subtle as Bernard Weatherill, whose cross-party friendship with his opponent Harrison is genuinely affecting."

The Angle News
"Edwards was mesmerising as he subtly brought out the nuances of Weatherill, the suave, competitive but ultimately humane politician."

The Spectator
"The show’s undoubted star is Charles Edwards who plays the suave and cunning Tory whip, Jack Weatherill... he can find a laugh where neither the script, nor the situation, appear to suggest it. He’s more than a gold prospector. He’s a gold mine. Invaluable to any cast."

Charles Edwards - Downton Abbey

Charles will make his Downton Abbey debut next Sunday, in episode 7 of series 3. He plays Michael Gregson (Radio Times). Thanks to @TheDoritoManiac for the heads up.

Samuel West - Uncle Vanya, Ramblings, Josephine Hart Poetry Week, Hyde Park on Hudson

Screencaps of Sam and Laura Carmichael (click thumbnails for full size. video source: BBC Breakfast)
On Tuesday, Sam and Uncle Vanya co-star Laura Carmichael discussed the play on BBC Breakfast. The play's official site has been updated with a new promo image. Also, the play's Facebook page has an album of pictures from rehearsals.

Sam and Toby Jones attended the after party for King Lear at the Almeida on Wednesday (wooller.com).

This week's episode of Ramblings, featuring Clare Balding and Sam exploring Rainham Marshes, was broadcast on Thursday. It is now available for streaming and as a podcast.

For The Josephine Hart Poetry Week, Sam, Deborah Findlay and Angus Wright read poetry by Philip Larkin at the Arts Theatre on Thursday. Pictures from the event have been posted at wooller.com.

A new poster for Hyde Park on Hudson has been released, ahead of its UK premiere at the London Film Festival (heyuguys). According to EntNewsUK, he will attend a screening of the film at the festival.

A video of his speech at Shift Happens is viewable on Vimeo (via @MarcusRomer).

Charles Edwards - Much Ado About Nothing and This House

These screencaps from Much Ado About Nothing are thumbnails - click them for 1080p full size (video source: ShakespearesGlobe)
The Globe's Youtube channel has a clip from Much Ado About Nothing. Screencaps are above. Also, hellyescharlesedwards has some fun gifs from the clip.

Charles discusses Downton Abbey, Diana and Much Ado About Nothing in an interview from the Huffington Post.

This House will transfer to the Olivier Theatre next year. Casting has not been confirmed (Official London Theatre).

Dan Stevens

A couple of interviews about series 3 of Downton Abbey: Entertainment Weekly and Ian Wylie.

A selection of recent press about The Heiress: Playbill (1|2), Entertainment Weekly, Time Out, elle.com.

A trailer for Vamps has been released (screencaps are in the galleries).
Cinematographer Mattias Nyberg's showreel has some footage from Shallow.

The Daily Express has a positive review of Casino Royale.
Audio File magazine has an interview with Dan, in which he discusses The Time Keeper.

Recent appearances and publicity: If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet opening night, profile in Vanity Fair, portrait by Anthony Osmond-Evans, New Yorker Festival (1|2).

Samuel West - Ramblings, recent narrations incl. Weltethos

Sam is Clare Balding's guest on this week's episode of Ramblings (via @clarebalding1). They went to Rainham Marshes - the RSPB website has some pictures from their ramble.

He performed at the London premiere of Weltethos on Sunday. The Evening Standard described his narration as "excellent". The conductors had similar things to say about his performance:

Great job tonight, Sam, brilliant timing! @exitthelemming
— Julian Wilkins (@JulianWilkins) October 7, 2012

Congrat's [sic] @thecbso @cbsochorus Youth Choruses @ldnvoices @batonflipper Ed Gardner @exitthelemming for monumental Harvey "Weltethos" concert!
— Julian Wilkins (@JulianWilkins) October 7, 2012

Back in Brum after tonight's concert. Bravo @thecbso @cbsochorus @exitthelemming & Ed Gardner. A very memorable occasion indeed.
— Michael Seal (@batonflipper) October 8, 2012

The St Pauls website has a picture of Sam from the recent Touching Eternity concert.

The Wildlife Trusts: 100 years of nature conservation is now available on DVD.

An excerpt from Grimm Tales for Young and Old can be played at Audible.

Sam, Carol Ann Duffy and Gina Bellman read at the press launch for IF: A Treasury of Poems for Almost Every Possibility (@IfPoems, StartJG and @SarahVine). IfPoems shared a picture from the event. In an article he wrote for the Guardian about the joys of poetry, Sam mentioned that he read "The Highway-man" by Alfred Noyes at the launch.

Charles Edwards - Dracula, Much Ado About Nothing, This House

Charles plays Dr Seward in the two-part Classic Serial Dracula, which begins this Sunday.

The Lady has an interview with Charles about the upcoming cinema broadcasts of the Globe's Much Ado About Nothing (click here for venues and dates).

londontheatre.co.uk has a gallery of pictures from This House. The Other Bridge Project reviewed the production; here's an excerpt:

"Performances are great across the board and it’s a true ensemble piece: Philip Glenister (as Walter Harrison, deputy Labour whip) and Charles Edwards (as Jack Weatherill, deputy Tory whip) make for a formidable pair: while they obviously come from different worlds, there is a natural synergy between them."