Robert Lindsay’s Onassis Transfers to Novello

As previously reported, Robert Lindsay will star as the late Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis in Bent author Martin Sherman’s Onassis, which launches from Derby from 10 to 25 September 2010, ahead of a London season. According to the Daily Mail, the production is now confirmed to transfer immediately to West End’s Novello Theatre in late September (exact dates tbc).

Sherman’s play is based on the last years in the life of Onassis, 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 revised by Sherman. The new version, directed again by Nancy Meckler,  premieres at Derby Theatre, which only reopened in 2009 after the administration and closure of Derby Playhouse.

Onassis returns Lindsay to Derbyshire, where he was born in Ilkeston. 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.

** DON’T MISS our Whatsonstage.com Outing to GRUMPY OLD WOMEN 2 on 19 May 2010 including a FREE drink & access to our post-show Q&A with Jenny Eclair & her Grumpy company – All for only £25! Click here for details! **