About

My blog has quite a lot of posts about Samuel West (Julius Caesar, On Chesil Beach and Darkest Hour) and Charles Edwards (My Fair Lady Australian tour and Henry IX).

Showing posts with label Prunella Scales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prunella Scales. Show all posts

Friday, 30 December 2016

Samuel West - current radio, On Chesil Beach, projects and media October-December


Words and Music "Greeneland", with readings by Sam and Romola Garai, was repeated on Wednesday. It is available on iPlayer for 28 more days.

Sam plays Albert Tiermann in Doctor Who Demon Quest: A Shard of Ice, which is available on iPlayer for approximately three more weeks (part 1|part 2).

Sam plays Geoffrey Ponting in the film adaptation of On Chesil Beach. He started filming in early November. The cast includes Saoirse Ronan, Anne-Marie Duff and Emily Watson. The director is Dominic Cooke, who previously directed Sam in The Hollow Crown: Henry VI (his Twitter @exitthelemming and IMDB).


December

He is featured in a Guardian article about the Moomin exhibition Adventures in Moominland (until 23 April) at Royal Festival Hall:
The Moomins have many fans, including the actor Samuel West, who said he had felt at home in Jansson’s Moominvalley since he was seven.
“The sensuous melancholy, the odd cast and the wisdom of the worldview fascinates me,” he said. “This new exhibition captures both the textures and the emotions of Moominland, and the way ordinary things are transformed into magical strangeness by Jansson’s joyful sideways look.”

On 14 December, Jane Asher, Jenni Falconer, Guy Henry, Sir Richard Stilgoe, Claire Harman and Sam read at the Home-Start Wandsworth carol service in St Anne's church. A picture of them is here.
The organisation is a charity that supports families with young children under the age of five.

Sam and his partner Laura Wade went to the Evening Standard Film Awards (tweets from @exitthelemming 1|2 and pictures from Getty 1|2|3|4). Winners included Hugh Grant and Kate Beckinsale.

In early December, Sam wrote a tribute about the late Andrew Sachs for the Telegraph. Sachs worked with Sam's mother Prunella Scales on Fawlty Towers.


November

Kate Duchêne, Hattie Morahan, Giles Terera and Sam were the readers for A Poem For Every Night of the Year, a performance at the National Theatre. An audio recording of the event is available on the NT's website.

He narrated Babar (Poulenc) and Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev) at the Bath Mozartfest, with Tim Horton on piano (@exitthelemming).



October

The BBC Radio 3 website has a clip of Sam reading the text of "Alleluia! A new work is come on hand", the text for the 2016 Radio 3 Carol Competition. The competition was for amateur composers to create music for this text. Jessie Reeves was the winner and her composition was broadcast throughout the Christmas weekend.
The third and final series of Blood, Sex and Money was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October. Sam played Aristide Rougon in the episodes "Crash", "Massacre" and "Fate".
Sam reads lyrics from Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the wind" in this clip (from 0:58). The reading was featured in a BBC Radio 4 PM story about Dylan receiving the Nobel prize for literature.

The National Campaign for the Arts has relaunched with two campaigns: Local Heroes and Hearts for the Arts (The Stage). Sam is the chair of the organisation. Local Heroes highlights the role of cultural institutions in shaping the careers of people before they became famous - refer to the Campaign's website for details on how to submit nominations. Hearts for the Arts is an annual award for "councils and individual officers and Councillors who are overcoming financial challenges to ensure the arts are at the centre of community life."

Good Chance Theatre staged "Last Chance", a reading of the Dublin III Regulation at the Young Vic on 20 October (via the Evening Standard).The reading was a plea for the unaccompanied children of the Calais jungle camp. Readers included Carey Mulligan, Juliet Stevenson, Sam and Good Chance co founders Joe Robertson and Joe Murphy.

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

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).

Monday, 23 December 2013

Some radio picks for this week

Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Samuel West - Britten in Wartime and My Theatre Matters


Sam is the narrator for Britten in Wartime, which will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 this Thursday. The concert will take place at The Hallé; booking details are here.

Jamie Campbell, the Aurora Orchestra and Sam have tweeted rehearsal pictures from last Sunday's Britten Films concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall 1|2|3|4

Sam gave a speech about My Theatre Matters at the Theatre Royal in York last Friday (his Twitter, @exitthelemming). The theatre posted a picture of Sam with the cast of See How They Run on Twitter. He also discussed the campaign with Elly Fiorentini on BBC Radio York - the interview starts at approximately 1 hour 46 minutes (via @ellyfyork).

Last Wednesday, he attended the book launch for Solo, William Boyd's new Bond novel (Getty Images and the Evening Standard).

In September, Sam and his parents Timothy West and Prunella Scales did some filming for a Channel 4 documentary about the Rochdale Canal (Todmorden News).





Sunday, 25 November 2012

Samuel West - Track to Track, upcoming narrations, Theatre Awards UK


Screencaps from Track to Track (video source: The Space).

The Space has a video from the world premiere of Track to Track (via their Twitter, @thespacearts).

This week, Sam recorded a narration for a BBC4 documentary about Tove Jansson, who created the Moomins. It will be broadcast in late December (his Twitter, @exitthelemming 1|2)

Sam and Eleanor Bron are the reciters for a concert at the Wigmore Hall on 16 March 2013 (subject to availability). The program includes Night Mail (Britten) and Henry V (Walton).
On 23 April 2013, he will be the narrator for "Heart of Darkness", a performance at the Cadogan Hall.

A tweet about the Bath Mozartfest (11 November)


At the Theatre Awards UK (28 October), Sam presented The Stage Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre to his parents Timothy West and Prunella Scales. Here's an excerpt from The Arts Desk's article about the awards:
"The well-loved husband and wife Timothy West and Prunella Scales were given a standing ovation... He [Sam] remarked that last week was Timothy West's 78th birthday - when he rang to wish him happy birthday, his father "was on his way out to do two shows in Richmond, next date Oxford. The previous year he spent his birthday on tour in Cape Town. The year before that he was at the Menier Chocolate Factory. My mother at the moment is doing her Queen Victoria tour in 100 cities, more than 200 venues, and every continent except Antarctica. When it comes to touring, these guys have put in the hours."
Pictures from the event can be viewed at wooller.com

Saturday, 14 July 2012

Samuel West - Shift Happens, Equity, TRH masterclass

Sam posted the text of his Shift Happens speech at the Arts Funding Ning (via Sam's Twitter, @exitthelemming).

Stuart Allen posted pictures of Sam and Timothy West from a Theatre Royal Haymarket masterclass in March 2011 (via @StuAllenPhotos).

Sam has been reelected to the Equity Council, General List (via @exitthelemming).

He has been quoted in an article from the Guardian about the lack of pay for the actors and crew working on You Me Bum Bum Train (via @EmmGibbs).

Monday, 21 May 2012

Samuel West - Facade and Off By Heart Shakespeare

[updated 24 May]


(Screencap from Off By Heart Shakespeare)


Sam and Rohan McCullough will narrate Façade by Walton at the Ryedale Festival, 20 July. He previously narrated the piece with Prunella Scales at the Proms in 2002.

Off By Heart Shakespeare was televised on Saturday on BBC2. Sam judged the finals for the event, which had taken place in January.

Friday, 10 February 2012

Samuel West. With Great Pleasure, First Story, Britten Films.



(screencap from episode 5 of Eternal Law)


Sam and his mum Prunella Scales are the readers for next week's episode of With Great Pleasure, which has readings chosen by Nicholas Parsons.

He will perform at "Stories to make you laugh or cry", a fundraiser organised by First Story, on 29 February.

Sam is the narrator for Britten Films at the Aldeburgh Festival. It will be performed 14 June. Booking opens 6 March.

A picture of Sam wearing the Slanket of Con has been added to the Slanket's gallery.

He was a guest at the recent Northern Stage fundraising dinner (via his Twitter, @exitthelemming).

Saturday, 21 January 2012

Samuel West. Television - Eternal Law. Theatre - Close the Coalhouse Door. Radio - With Great Pleasure. Narration - Enoch Arden.



(screencap from episode 2 of Eternal Law)


Sam has written a post for the Guardian's Culture Professionals blog which explains how the UK Arts Index can be used in public funding (via his Twitter, @exitthelemming).

He performed at "Gaza Letters", an event for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (via @PSCupdates). He also shared a picture from the event. Additional pictures can be viewed at Flickr.

Eternal Law publicity: he has been interviewed in The Stage and This is Nottingham.

The Close the Coalhouse Door press release has the full tour dates: Northern Stage (13 April-5 May), Richmond Theatre (9–12 May), The Lowry, Salford (15–19 May), Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield (23 – Saturday 26 May), Yvonne Arnaud (29 May-2 June), Gala Durham (12-16 June), Oxford Playhouse (19–23 June), York Theatre Royal (26-30 June).

A couple of tweets from Sam about recording an upcoming episode of With Great Pleasure:
"This afternoon I did With Great Pleasure with the force of nature known as Nicholas Parsons. I have Arrived."
"The other reader was someone called Prunella Scales. She seems very promising."
His tweets about Enoch Arden include the following:
"Adding a new piece to my narrator repertoire today: Enoch Arden by R. Strauss. It's a melodrama. They don't write them like that any more."
"Two lifer ticks, Isle of Wight concert debut in Tennyson's home town and #afcwimbledon doing the double over Port Vale. Top day."

Sam will be on the judging panel for Off By Heart Shakespeare, a BBC competition. Finals will take place Sunday 29 January 2012, 3pm at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (via @StageWon).
In other theatre news, he's been featured in the What's on Stage top 100 list of theatre tweeters. 

Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Samuel West. Theatre - A Number. Audio - Faust. Narration - Horizon.

Recent press for A Number includes reviews and interviews. Some quotes from reviews:

Times Live
"A change of clothing, gait, accent and nuance is all that is required as West fully inhabits each one [clone]."

Bizcommunity
"Samuel West has a magical way of transforming into characters, leaving you feeling a little disturbed and fascinated all at once. Dad and son had the full house literally at the edge of our seats."

Cape Times
"This production is first-class theatre: an outstanding real-life father-and-son cast are supported by Jonathan Munby, a supremely talented director."

Die Burger
"In A Number is hy eweneens indrukwekkend, veral gegewe sy veeleisende taak om drie karakters te speel wat identies lyk (twee is gekloon), maar met drie uiteenlopende persoonlikhede. Die leidende hand van die regisseur, Jonathan Munby, is hier te bespeur. Die drie mans se fisieke eendersheid, eerder as hul andersheid, word beklemtoon; die verskille word subtiel verbloem in stemtoon en gebare sodat jy as gehoorlid self soms wonder watter een dit eintlik is."

The Writing Studio
"Timothy West is solid as the stern father who is torn between loyalty and guilt, with Samuel West delivering a passionate performance as his three sons Bernard (B1), Bernard (B2) and Michael Black, two of whom are clones of the original."


Sam and Timothy have been interviewed in City Press, the Weekend Argus (Vivien Horler, "Keeping it all in the family," 9 October 2011) and the Cape Times (Terri Dunbar-Curran, "Clone ranger," 7 October 2011).


Faust is now available on CD and for download (Naxos Audiobooks). It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 3.


Clive James has said positive things about Sam's voice-over abilities:
"Sam West’s voice was the convincing thing about an episode of Horizon (BBC Four) ["Is Everything We Know About the Universe Wrong?"] concerned with Dark Flow... Soothed by Sam’s voice and the voices of various scientists of exotic origin, I was ready to take it on trust that the Standard Model explains too much to be let go of at this late stage... Sam’s quiet eloquence held everything together."

Thursday, 6 October 2011

Samuel West - Theatre - A Number

A Number began previewing on Tuesday, and the final preview is tonight. A couple of tweets about the first preview:

"...check out the amazing acting of @exitthelemming [Sam] at the Fugard in A Number" (@yesreallyangel)

"Thanks brother @iamSivN for taking us to see @exitthelemming show #numbers [sic] this eve! great to meet u #sam gd luck with the birding& ur show!" (@johnmcinroy)

Jesse Kate Kramer's website has some lovely stills from the play and its rehearsals.

IOL has an article about the production, "Acting combo keeps it in family".

And a nice mention of Sam and Timothy from an interview with director Jonathan Munby:
"This play is truly one of the great works for theatre and already a modern classic. Also, having father and son play father and son is a truly unique and powerful experience."

Sunday, 14 August 2011

Samuel West. Theatre - A Number. Television - Law & Order: UK. Radio - I Come From There.

A Number, starring Sam and his father Timothy West, will be performed at the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town, 4-29 October (via artslink). It previously had successful runs at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2010 and Sheffield Theatres in 2006.

Stills of Sam from Law & Order: UK "Intent" can be viewed at Simply Television (via @fishmorgan).

Sam reads poetry by Mahmoud Darwish in the Sunday Feature I Come From There, which was repeated earlier this week. It is available on iPlayer for two more days.

Sunday, 17 April 2011

Samuel West. Berry Theatre opening gala. Anti cuts march. Radio - Ben Hur. Narration - Private Life of an Easter Masterpiece.

Sam and The Berry Theatre have shared pictures from the theatre's gala opening, which was last Thursday. The Theatres Trust has a text copy of his speech.

David Colbran has posted pictures of Sam and his dad Timothy West performing an excerpt from The Voysey Inheritance by Harley Granville Barker from the 26 March anti cuts march (via @falseecon).

Ben Hur will be repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra next week, 18-21 April.

The Private Life of an Easter Masterpiece "The Taking of Christ" will be rebroadcast on ABC1 at 2.10pm on Friday 22 April.

Reminders:
  • Sam is the reader for an episode of Lost Voices about Herbert Read, which will be broadcast today on BBC Radio 4.
  • Henry V by Walton will be performed by the Halle at Sheffield City Hall on 3 June. Sam will be the reciter.

Sunday, 27 March 2011

Samuel West - anti-cuts march and Observer letter

Sam took part in yesterday's anti-cuts march in London with Equity and UK Uncut (the Guardian, Sam's Twitter @exitthelemming). In Hyde Park, he made a speech about the detrimental consequences of cuts to the arts (@exitthelemming 1|2, the Guardian, Tom Roper, video by Claire Wyatt). He also performed an excerpt from The Voysey Inheritance by Harley Granville Barker with his father Timothy West, on Oxford Street (@exitthelemming, a picture of Sam and Timothy by Michael Dennis).
The Guardian has a quote from Sam about the social effects of theatre:
"Theatre is not just for the rich and subsidy keeps tickets cheap. Quite aside from the huge financial return the country gets for any money invested, the arts are what make us civilised.  Sitting alongside people in a theatre who may be poor or may be rich is a great democratic institution."

Two weeks ago, Peter Capaldi, Michael Sheen, David Tennant and Sam, among many others, signed a letter to the Observer about cuts to arts funding (via the Guardian). A press release from Equity has statements from several of the letter's signatories, and details about cuts to national and local funding.

Wednesday, 23 March 2011

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.

Thursday, 10 March 2011

Samuel West. Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass. Steven Pimlott Foundation.



Sam, Janet Suzman and Timothy West will read from Shakespeare's First Folio at a Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass at the V&A, 25 March at 7pm.

On 6 March, Sam did some readings at a concert supported by the Steven Pimlott Foundation (via his Twitter, @exitthelemming). The late Mr Pimlott directed Sam in Hamlet, Richard II, The Master and Margarita and Doctor Faustus.

Friday, 8 October 2010

Samuel West - Theatre - A Number

[updated 17 August 2013]

Posts about A Number are here.

Reviews

whatsonstage.com
"With the Wests, the human drama is brought fully to the fore... the chance to witness the generational baton being passed – and so adroitly – in this revered family of actors is unmissable."

Evening Standard
"Caryl Churchill’s prickly, rewarding play...
Samuel West manages in his three different guises to be pained, sardonic, resentful, brutish and suave. There’s a meaty rawness throughout.
Timothy West gives a performance richly furbished with little tics and postural shifts that betray the intimate mechanics of self-justification."


Official London Theatre Guide
"As Salter, West senior shows us how easily that decision could be made, how a potent emotional mix of grief, regret and a desire to have another shot at life can culminate in a man making this horrific choice.
In playing three of Salter’s sons – the original Bernard and two clones – Samuel West shows his versatility as he deftly changes from one character to the other..."


Telegraph
"Churchill creates a play that is as emotionally upsetting as it is intellectually and morally profound... Timothy West plays the father with a mixture of furtive unease, gnawing guilt and a deeply moving vulnerability... Samuel West differentiates the three sons with high-definition panache."

The Stage
"The Wests’ performances are meticulous..."

The Guardian
"superb acting from West pere et fils..."

Pictures

After party: guests included Laura Wade, Marcus Brigstocke and Malcolm Sinclair

Production:
Tristram Kenton/The Guardian
unknown/Evening Standard

Screencaps from Sam and Timothy's interview (7 October) on The Alan Titchmarsh Show (click thumbnails for full size):
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Monday, 4 October 2010

Samuel West. Theatre - A Number. Narration - Lines of Flight. Radio - A Brief History of Mathematics. Narration - Secret Iraq.