Samuel West - TV, culture campaigns, Scene & Heard

Sam plays Eliot Vincent in The Crimson Field, a six part series for BBC One which premiered last Sunday (United Agents). Presumably he will appear between episodes 3 and 6; cast listings have yet to be released.
He plays Norman Skinner in D Day: Last Letters Home, a drama documentary written and directed by Marion Milne. Produced for ITV1, it will be broadcast later this year (United Agents and Marion's ShowFolio).

Screencaps of Sam and his parents Timothy West and Prunella Scales from episode 2 of Great Canal Journeys (they are thumbnails - click them for full size). The episode is available on 4oD for 7 more days.

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The NCA has launched a campaign called 50p for Culture. It suggests that local councils should budget at least 50p per person every week on arts, museums and heritage (The Stage). In mid March, Carl Woodward tweeted some pictures of Sam (chair of the NCA) speaking about the campaign at UK Theatre headquarters 1|2
Sam gave a speech about My Theatre Matters at Hull Truck Theatre last Wednesday. The theatre, @sarahbrigham and @derbytheatre posted some pictures of him on Twitter 1|2|3

On 28 March, Sam read a poem by Mark Hurst, "50 Shades of Grayling" at Pentonville Prison (All That's Left). His reading was part of a protest which opposed new rules preventing prisoners from being sent items such as books. Prisoners' access to books would be limited to gaol libraries or earning money to buy books (BBC, Islington Gazette, Islington Tribune, Evening Standard).

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Sam presented the DVD award (the Royal Opera House's production of Tosca) at the BBC Music Magazine Awards yesterday (@PrestoClassical). The magazine tweeted a picture of Sam at the ceremony.

"...you're not a police officer; you're the emu who killed my sister": some dialogue from a Scene & Heard performance in late March (Sam's Twitter, @exitthelemming). Scene & Heard produces plays written by children in Somers Town. A registered charity, its patrons include Sam, Hugh Bonneville, Anna Chancellor, Tom Goodman-Hill, Damian Lewis, Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen.

Guests at the Royal Court pub quiz fundraiser (18 March) included Benedict Cumberbatch and Romola Garai. Sam's team won the quiz (Tatler).

Ruth Wilson, Andrea Riseborough, Parade's End, BBC Radio

Series 2 of Luther begins Tuesday 14 June (BBC press office). A bit of publicity - Stylist has an interview with Ruth. And she appears briefly in this trailer for the show (click the thumbnail for full size):

Ruth took part in the Josephine Hart poetry week at the Donmar Warehouse this week. She read "Train" by Helen Mackay (@lawyercatrin, Ought to be Clowns).

Owen Sheers has written about Andrea's research for Resistance, in which she plays Sarah (Telegraph).
Andrea will play Princess Betsy in the film adaptation of Anna Karenina directed by Joe Wright. Tom Stoppard wrote the script (Daily Mail).

Another Stoppard script - Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall will star in a BBC/HBO adaptation of Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford (Deadline Hollywood).

BBC Radio

• Rupert Penry-Jones, Ruth Wilson, Rory Kinnear and Tom Goodman-Hill star in the Drama on 3 Flare Path
• Sam Troughton and Hattie Morahan star in the Classic Serial Plantagenet "Edward II - The Greatest Traitor". The BBC Radio 4 blog has a post about the series.
• Jason Isaacs stars as Lieutenant Clancy in the Friday Play Bullitt, which is available on iPlayer for six more days
• Juliet Stevenson stars in the Afternoon Play The Apple Tree
• Hugh Bonneville and Helena Bonham Carter are the readers for Words and Music "Turning Points"

Samuel West. Radio - Lost Voices. Scene & Heard. Arts funding. Berry Theatre opening gala.

(My screencap; video source - Sky News)
Sam is the reader for an episode of Lost Voices about Herbert Read - it will be broadcast next Sunday on BBC Radio 4 at 4.30pm.

Scene & Heard has shared pictures of Sam, Tom Goodman-Hill, Hugh Bonneville and other patrons attending a performance of Twist and Turn.

On Friday morning, Sam appeared on BBC Breakfast to talk about cuts to arts funding (his Twitter, @exitthelemming). Afterwards, he went to Downing St to deliver an anti-cuts letter, with Patrick Stewart, Penelope Wilton, Malcolm Sinclair, Maxine Peake and Christine Payne (video from BBC News, the Press Association, Sam's live tweeting 1|2|3).

The previous evening, Sam gave a speech at the Berry Theatre opening gala (pre event tweets from @HiccupTheatre, @exitthelemming). Security guards danced during the gala! (live tweeted by Sam). @PointEastleigh and @HiccupTheatre complimented him on his "inspirational" and "inspiring" speech, which was about the importance of theatres in people's lives (@TheatresTrust). @theberrytheatre reflected on the event as "a night we won't forget"; Sam has described the theatre as "a ray of hope in dark times."

Scene & Heard, BBC Radio

Patrons Hugh Bonneville and Sam West attended a performance of the Scene & Heard production Twist and Turn. Tweets:

@hughbon: "Fabulous eve with @exitthelemming & other proud patrons at http://t.co/8hJGUpU - 11 yr olds writing astonishing short plays."

@exitthelemming: "Beautiful evening at @SceneandHeardUK. Simon Scardifield played 10 parts. Countess of Wessex, @hughbon & other supporters v pleased & proud."

BBC Radio

• Claudie Blakley and Tony Haygarth are the readers for Words and Music "Idleness"
• Dan Stevens, Malcolm Sinclair and Tom Goodman-Hill star in the Drama on 3 A Thousand Kisses
• Sean Gallagher and Fenella Woolgar star in the Afternoon Play My Life Is a Series of People Saying Goodbye
• Toby Jones reads the Book of the Week Ken Campbell: The Great Caper
• Matt Smith, Tamsin Greig and Alan Bennett will be guests on The 4 O'Clock Show
• Roger Allam, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephanie Cole and John Finnemore star in series 2 of Cabin Pressure {repeat}
• Alex Jennings and Imogen Stubbs star in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Samuel West. Radio. Narration - The Soldier's Tale.

The cast for Sam's radio directorial debut includes Ian McDiarmid, Celia Imrie, Roger Allam, Bertie Carvel, Blake Ritson and Tom Goodman-Hill (via Sam's Twitter, @exitthelemming). Previous tweets from Sam about the play have hinted at recording on location and research.

He will narrate The Soldier's Tale by Stravinsky at the Kew Music Festival on 26 June (via sheengate.co.uk).

Reminders:

• Sam, Janet Suzman and Timothy West will read from Shakespeare's First Folio at a Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass at the V&A, this Friday, 25 March at 7pm.
• He will open the Berry Theatre at a gala on 7 April.

The Big Red Nose Show, Any Human Heart, BBC Radio

Samuel West, Dan Stevens, Hugh Bonneville and Tom Goodman-Hill have tweeted that they will participate in the Big Red Nose Show on 14 March - they will play kazoos as part of a Guinness World Record attempt to create the largest kazoo orchestra on the planet.

Any Human Heart will be broadcast on PBS 13-27 February (via M&C). The miniseries stars Tom Hollander, Samuel West, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Hayley Atwell.

BBC Radio

• Toby Stephens stars as Philip Marlowe in the Saturday Play The Big Sleep, which is part of BBC Radio 4's Classic Chandler 
• Carey Mulligan will be interviewed on Front Row
• Shirley Henderson reads the Big Toe book A Hat Full of Sky

Ruth Wilson - Television - Small Island. Rosamund Pike - Film - Barney's Version. Andrea Riseborough - Film - Brighton Rock. BBC Radio.

Ruth Wilson attended the International Emmy Awards on 22 November (via Momentary Bursts of Enthusiasm). Winners included Small Island (TV movie/mini-series) and Helena Bonham Carter (Enid; Best Performance by an Actress). Pictures: the Telegraph, Rex Features, Getty (press room and arrivals) and WireImage.

Screencaps of Rosamund Pike from the Barney's Version trailer (click thumbnails for full size):



Interviews with Andrea Riseborough from askmen.com and Movieline, and screencaps of her from the Brighton Rock trailer (click thumbnails for full size):



BBC Radio

• Sam West reads the Oscar Wilde poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" {repeat}
• Juliet Stevenson and David Haig star in the Afternoon Play The End of the Alphabet {repeat}
• Bill Nighy stars in A Charles Paris Mystery: Murder in the Title
• Harry Lloyd reads the Afternoon Reading story "Window Washer"
• Tom Goodman-Hill, Derek Jacobi and Harriet Walter star in the Classic Serial I, Claudius 
• Ricky Gervais will be interviewed on Front Row
• John Sessions and Alex Jennings star in series 2 of Electric Ink

Theatre - Enron

[updated 9 May - tweets from Sam West and Tom Goodman-Hill]

• Broadway (Broadhurst Theatre)
• The production will close tomorrow, Sunday 9 May [link]
• Tony nominations (via Sam West's Twitter, @exitthelemming):
  Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre. Music: Adam Cork. Lyrics: Lucy Prebble.
  Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. Stephen Kunken.
  Best Lighting Design of a Play. Mark Henderson.
  Best Sound Design of a Play. Adam Cork
• Interview from backstage.com with Norbert Leo Butz, Gregory Itzin, Stephen Kunken and Marin Mazzie [link]
  
  
• West End (Noel Coward Theatre)
• Excerpts from a Guardian article about child actors:
  
  

  "...at the Noel Coward theatre, 11-year-old Ellie Bruce and her father Bill are keeping themselves busy between her three brief appearances in Enron, as the daughter of company CEO Jeffrey Skilling, played by Sam West...
  
  they prefer to pass the time downstairs, in West's dressing room, where the door is open to all. 'We used to have activities down there,' says Bill. 'First there were black-and-white drawings to colour in, then puzzles. You'd think people who are well-known would be aloof, but Sam has time for everybody.' Ellie agrees: 'Everybody is really friendly.'
  
  '...I can vary the way I say things: I can be stubborn, or cute, depending on how I feel,' she says. And, excitingly, West will vary his delivery in response..."

  The black-and-white drawings referred to are Wildergorn posters. Sam posted twitpics - Watergorn and The Cave Fishers.
• Tweets from Sam West and Tom Goodman-Hill about the final week of performances:
  
  

  Sam/@exitthelemming
  "Last week of Ye Originall Caste of #Enron. If you want to catch us, you have until Saturday."
  "Last #Enron today - 223 and out. Nearly a year with this amazing, life-affirming company. Appropriately grey day; many tears in the wings."
  "Here we go then. 'Never before, not never again.'"
  
  Tom/@tomgoodmanh
  "...#Enron has but 7 lives left. I mourn but I also toast its new lease. Xxx"
  "And for the record, these people have made #Enron a joy; @AshBoyRolfey [Ashley Rolfe] @stephenfewell @exitthelemming and the mighty @lucyprebblish [Lucy Prebble] X"
  "Right. Last one now. Emotional, wired and freaked out. Thankyou for all lovely words. You rule. #Enron for the last time... X"

  The original cast's last performance is today, Saturday 8 May.
• The new cast, which includes Corey Johnson, Paul Chahidi, Sara Stewart and Clive Francis, will perform at the Noel Coward Theatre until 14 August, then will embark on a regional and international tour [link]
  

Samuel West - Narration - Nocturne. Lucy Prebble - Theatre - Enron. Hayley Atwell - Film - Captain America. Ruth Wilson - Television - Luther. BBC Radio.

• Sam West and Harriet Walter are the readers for Nocturne: The Romantic Life of Frederic Chopin with pianist Lucy Parham at the following performances (via Lucy Parham):
  11 July, Theatre Royal Winchester [link]
  18 July, Wigmore Hall [link]
  21 July, Petworth Festival [link]
  29 July, Harrogate Festival [link]
  
  
• Enron (Broadway)
• Lucy Prebble interview [link]
• Article from Playbill about the Broadway opening night [link]
• Broadway opening night video from broadway.com [link]
  
  
• Captain America: The First Avenger begins filming 28 June. The film stars Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell and Sebastian Stan. (via MTV) [link]
  
  
• Luther
• Scans of an article from the Radio Times about the show from Momentary Bursts of Enthusiasm [link]
• Screencaps of Ruth Wilson from the trailer:
  
  
  
• BBC Radio
• Gemma Arterton will be interviewed on Woman's Hour [link]
• Peter Hall will be interviewed on Start the Week [link]
• Derek Riddell, Amelia Bullmore and Tom Goodman-Hill star in the Drama on 3 And So Say All of Us... (via Tom's Twitter, @tomgoodmanh) [link]
• Julian Rhind-Tutt and Sarah Alexander are the readers for Words and Music "May Day" [link]
• The cast of Alexander includes Geraldine James, Michael Maloney, Alex Jennings and Julian Rhind-Tutt {repeat} [link]

Hayley Atwell - Film - Captain America. Television - The Prisoner. Theatre - Enron. Theatre - The Real Thing. Film - Made in Dagenham.

• Hayley Atwell will play Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger [link]
  
  
• Ruth Wilson and Hayley Atwell interviews for The Prisoner 1|2|3
  
  
• Enron
• The original cast will leave the West End production in May [link]
• Video from nj.com [link]
• Lucy Prebble interviews from Crain's New York Business and Papermag crain's|papermag
  
  
• Scans of The Real Thing program [link]
  
  
• Dagenham Girls, starring Sally Hawkins, Andrea Riseborough and Rosamund Pike, has been retitled Made in Dagenham. The film will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. [link]

Samuel West - Narration - The Private Life of an Easter Masterpiece. Dan Stevens - Audio - Blueeyed Boy. Theatre - Enron. Theatre - Sonnet 155.

• Sam narrates The Private Life of an Easter Masterpiece "The Descent from the Cross". It is available on iPlayer until 10 April (via his Twitter, @exitthelemming). [link]
  
• Dan narrates the audiobook Blueeyed Boy by Joanne Harris. An excerpt can be heard at Audible.
  
• Tom Goodman-Hill and Tom Goodwin will leave the West End production of Enron on 8 May [link]
  
• A video about Sonnet 155, narrated by Lisa Dillon and featuring Benedict Cumberbatch [link]

Rosamund Pike. Laura Wade - Theatre - Posh. Ruth Wilson. Lucy Prebble - Theatre - Enron. BBC Radio.

• Rosamund Pike visited the Redland Children's Centre in Chippenham this week on behalf of Barnardo's - she is an ambassador for the charity [link]
• The cast for Posh has been announced [link]
• A short Ruth Wilson interview from Broadway World [link]
• Lucy Prebble video interview about Enron from Frost over the World [link]
• BBC Radio
• Jonathan Pryce, Kenneth Cranham and Romola Garai star in the Drama on 3 These Are the Times: A Life of Thomas Paine, which was originally a Saturday Play [link]
• Gareth David-Lloyd narrates the Afternoon Reading "Getting Up" [link]
• Jude Akuwudike, Liam Brennan and David Tennant star in the Classic Serial Of Mice and Men [link]
• Milton Jones and Tom Goodman-Hill star in series 4 of Another Case of Milton Jones [link]
• Michael Sheen is a reader for Kenneth Tynan's Theatre Writings [link]

Theatre - The Pride. Theatre - Enron. Dan Stevens - Film - The Winter Queen.

• The Pride
• Has been extended to 28 March [link]
• Excerpt from an NY1 review:
  "...The performances are beautifully nuanced. Adam James, in three very distinctly different roles, aces each one. Hugh Dancy as the pragmatic Philip, Ben Whishaw’s more sensitive Oliver and Andrea Riseborough’s spunky Sylvia are sensational, expertly crafting characters that tie them to their counterparts across the generational divide..."
• Opening night photos (via mcctheater) [link]
• Promotional video (via mcctheater) [link]
  
  
• Enron has been extended to 14 August, and there will be a new cast from 9 May (via The Corner Shop) [link]
  
  
• Anton Yelchin has been cast in The Winter Queen. It is currently not known whether Dan Stevens is still attached to the film. (via Milla Fan) [link]

Theatre - Enron

[updated 9 February]

• Enron's Olivier Award nominations are:
  Best Actor (Samuel West)
  Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Tim Pigott-Smith)
  Best New Play (Lucy Prebble)
  Best Director (Rupert Goold)
  Best Lighting Design (Mark Henderson)
  Best Set Design (Anthony Ward)
• Tim Pigott-Smith was interviewed on The World at One (interview starts at approximately 25:00, via The Corner Shop PR) [link]

Theatre - Enron

The Enron press trailer is here (via Enron-West End Run and FilmographySam)

Screencaps