Barrymore & Breath Aim for Second Gasp at Haymarket???

Tom Conti is aiming to bring William Luce's Tony Award-winning one-man show about the late, great John Barrymore, One Helluva Life, to the West End - as he explains in his 20 Questions interview with Whatsonstage.com, published today. Conti is now starring as the legendary hellraising thesp on the road and, after a tour extension in the new year, he hopes to transfer the show to the Theatre Royal Haymarket, where Barrymore performed some of his most famous roles in the 1920s. In the meantime, there's a possibility that David Hare's The Breath of Life may extend. As previously mentioned (See The Goss, 16 Oct 2002), thanks in no small part to the star casting of Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, the production has sold-out its limited season to 21 December 2002, but there's a chance the Dames may be back for a few weeks in the new year as their contracts don't expire until 6 February 2003. What's more, apparently, the show's producers are so confident of their hit that they're considering a further extension with a new pair of leading ladies. But who could fill in for Smith and Dench? Perhaps two more Dames?

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