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Jacobi Brings Sheffield Tempest to Old Vic, 13 Jan

As previously tipped (See The Goss, 23 Sep 2002), the Sheffield Crucible production of Shakespeare's The Tempest will transfer to London in the new year. The production, starring Derek Jacobi and Daniel Evans (pictured together), will have a limited two-month season at the West End's Old Vic, running from 13 January to 15 March 2003.

Shakespeare's The Tempest is directed by Sheffield's associate director Michael Grandage, who next month also takes over from Sam Mendes as artistic director of London's Donmar Warehouse (where his inaugural production of Noel Coward's The Vortex, starring Francesca Annis, opens on 10 December 2002).

The Tempest received critical acclaim during its brief run in Sheffield this autumn (25 September to 19 October). Jacobi and Evans reprise their roles as Prospero and Ariel respectively and are joined by the rest of the original cast, with the exception of Richard Clothier and Richard Clifford who are replaced by Nigel Lindsay and Michael Jenn.

Jacobi is well-known to both television and film audiences for work including, on the small screen, I Claudius, Cadfael, The Wyvern Mystery, Randall and Hopkirk and Frasier; and, on the large screen, The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, Dead Again, Father Damien and Gladiator. He is also a veteran stage actor, with long seasons at both the RSC and the National to his credit, as well as, more recently, roles in major productions such as The Hollow Crown, The Suicide, Kean, Becket, Uncle Vanya, Breaking the Code and God Only Knows.

In 2001, Daniel Evans won both the Whatsonstage.com Award and the Olivier for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in Grandage's production of Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along at the Donmar. His many other stage credits include Where Do We Live, Candide, Other People, Peter Pan and The Merchant of Venice.

The Tempest also reunites Grandage with the rest of the creative team - Christopher Oram (design), Tim Mitchell (lighting) and Julian Phillips (musical compositions) - behind this year's Kenneth Branagh-headed Richard III and last year's Edward II, starring Joseph Fiennes, at the Sheffield Crucible.

Currently at the Old Vic, the one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty continues its extended season until 14 December 2002.

- by Terri Paddock

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