Nunn Returns to Coventry for Bergman's MarriageDate: 17 July 2007
In between transferring his Ian McKellen-led Royal Shakespeare Company productions of King Lear and The Seagull and premiering his new musical version of Margaret Mitchell’s literary classic Gone with the Wind at the West End’s New London theatre (See News, 1 Jun 2007), Trevor Nunn (pictured) will return to his roots at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry for the first time in the new year to direct a new stage adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s 1973 Swedish film classic Scenes from a Marriage.
The adaptation, running from 12 January to 2 February 2008 in Coventry, forms part of the Belgrade’s reopening season following a £14 million, 18-month redevelopment. Other highlights of the season, under the artistic directorship of Hamish Glen, include in-house productions of Brecht’s Mr Puntila and His Man Matti, Bruckner’s Pains of Youth, Schiller’s The Robbers, Anthony Neilson’s festive black comedy The Night Before Christmas, the premiere of a new play by Coventry-born author Alan Pollock, and in summer 2008, a site-specific outdoor version of Wim Wenders’ 1987 German film Wings of Desire.
Since starting his career as a trainee director at the Belgrade, Trevor Nunn has gone on to become artistic director at the RSC and National Theatre and helm international blockbusters including Les Miserables, Cats, Starlight Express and My Fair Lady. Adding to his myriad accolades, he won this year’s Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Best Director Award for his most recent West End productions, the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll. His RSC productions of King Lear and The Seagull, currently on an international tour, transfer in November to the New London theatre, where they’re followed in April 2008 by Gone with the Wind.
Originally a TV series, Scenes from a Marriage follows the highs, lows and infidelities of Marianne and Johan’s marital breakdown. No further creative details or casting have yet been announced for the Belgrade production.
Nunn’s production will run in the Belgrade’s new 300-seat B2 auditorium, which is part of the seven-storey extension added during the theatre complex’s redevelopment. The Grade II-listed building, including the original 800-seat main house, has also been restored to its original, 1950s ‘retro’ glory.
- by Terri Paddock
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