Tony Winner Osage County Makes UK Move in November???

After winning five top gongs at the Tony Awards in New York last night (See Today’s News), Tracy Letts’ drama August: Osage County – first seen at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater – seems to be revving up for its previously predicted West End transfer, now tipped for this autumn (See The Goss, 14 Nov 2007).

Deanna Dunagan, who won the Tony for Best Leading Actress for her role as Violet, matriarch of a dysfunctional family, told reporters in the press room “I think we’re going to London in November”, while Anna Shapiro, who was named Best Director of a Play for August: Osage County, said though she couldn’t officially confirm anything, rumours that the original cast would reprise their roles in London were “good rumours”.

The production got off to a rocky start in New York when its opening at the Imperial Theatre was postponed due to the 19-day stagehands’ strike last year (See News, 29 Nov 2007), but it subsequently transferred for an extended run at the Music Box Theatre, where several replacement principals started performances this week.

Letts’ play, which also won the Pulitzer Prize, exposes the dark side of the middle American family. When the Westons unexpectedly reunite after dad disappears, their Oklahoman homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets, all overseen by the pill-popping and scathingly acidic Violet. Letts’ other credits include Bug and Killer Joe, both of which were seen at London’s Bush Theatre in the 1990s.