1st Night Photos: Visiting King’s Head & Mr Green

Jewish widower Mr Green is almost hit by a speeding car driven by corporate executive Ross Gardiner. Found guilty of reckless driving, Ross is ordered to spend the next six months making weekly visits to Mr Green. Family secrets are revealed and old wounds reopened as both men come to understand and tolerate one another’s differences.

Mitchell, now 82, has played Mr Green twice before this current UK run, which comes to the West End following an autumn tour: in a 1999 production at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, and in a record-breaking Australian run. Though he’s worked extensively on stage in both the UK and Australia over his 75-year career, the actor remains best known as the objectionable Alf Garnett in TV’s long-running Till Death Do Us Part. His last West End appearance was in The Price, for which he won the 2004 Olivier for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.

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For 1st Night Photos, our Whatsonstage.com photographer Dan Wooller was on hand at Trafalgar Studios for the curtain call and post-show reception along with Mitchell, co-star Gideon Turner, author Jeff Baron and other first night guests. The production is directed by former Chichester Festival Theatre director Patrick Garland, designed by Sean Cavanagh and produced by Ian Fricker.

Meanwhile, across town, the King’s Head launched its new in-house season with the premiere of new Cole Porter compilation musical The Black and White Ball, which runs until 4 May 2008 (See News, 28 Feb 2008). Commissioned by the Porter estate and written by Warner Brown, the musical is set in 1960s New York, where Leah is trying to solve the mystery of the murder of her stepfather, Jay St John, 20 years ago.

Matthew White directs, with musical supervision and orchestration by Larry Blank. Our photographer caught up with first night guests and cast members – including Chris Ellis Stanton, Mark McGee, Kaisa Hammarlund, Katherine Kingsley, Liza Pulman and Charles Shirvell – at the post-show party.

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– by Kate Jackson