Gossip

Angela Lansbury revives rumours of West End return

Editorial Staff
London London's West End
In a recent interview with American talkshow hosts Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, Angela Lansbury revealed that she may finally bring her acclaimed portrayal of Madame Arcati in Blythe Spirit to the West End.

Angela Lansbury in <i>Blithe Spirit</i> on Broadway
Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit on Broadway

The Tony Award-winning octogenarian, who was born in London, said: “I am hopefully going to be going to London to recreate my role in Blithe Spirit of Madame Arcati. We’ve both got long range plans, which will take me almost to 90.”

“It’s hilarious, really – I can’t believe it,” she added of her advancing years, “I don’t in any way, shape or form feel that.”

Lansbury hasn’t appeared in the West End since a glut of performances in the mid-1970s, including starring roles in Gypsy and Hamlet. Rumours of her return first circulated back in 2009.

She was subsequently approached to play the psychic Arcati in Thea Sharrock‘s 2011 revival of Noel Coward’s play, but turned it down because she had just played the same role in a 2009 Broadway revival (for which she won her fifth Tony).

But now it looks like Londoners may finally get a chance to see the Murder, She Wrote star treading the West End boards. Here’s hoping anyway!