Lindsay’s Onassis Sets Dates at Novello, 12 Oct

West End dates have now been confirmed for Onassis, starring Robert Lindsay in the title role as the late Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis. The new play by Bent author Martin Sherman will open on 12 October 2010 (previews from 30 September) for a limited season at the Novello Theatre.

A millionaire by age 25, Aristotle Onassis became one of the world’s richest men, but it was the glamour of the women in his life which brought him real fame, causing him to pursue personal vendettas and amass empires on an international scale. Onassis focuses on the last years in his life, including his complex connections and interwoven relationships with Jackie Kennedy, widow of president John F Kennedy, singer Maria Callas and his son Alexandros.

Originally premiered as Aristo at Chichester Festival in September 2008, the retitled Onassis has been rewritten by Sherman. Ahead of the West End, the new version, directed again by Nancy Meckler, premieres, from 10 to 25 September 2010, at Derby Theatre, which only reopened in 2009 after the administration and closure of Derby Playhouse. Lindsay was born in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

Though a household name for his TV roles in the likes of Citizen Smith, GBH, Hornblower and My Family, Lindsay revisits the stage every few years, with wide-ranging credits including musicals Oliver! and Me and My Girl, for which he won an Olivier and a Tony Award, as well as classic plays such as Richard III, Becket, Hamlet, Cyrano de Bergerac, Power and, most recently in the West End, the 50th anniversary revival of John Osborne’s The Entertainer at the Old Vic.

Currently at the Novello, comedian Jenny Eclair and her Grumpy Old Women Live 2 finish their run on 5 June. They’re followed by a 12-week season of Australian dance show Tap Dogs, starring Adam Garcia, from 15 June to 5 September.

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