Will Judi Dench travel to Wonderland in new West End play?
As Judi Dench‘s Bond days come to an end, a return to London’s could stage ensue.
He believes Dench will return to the London stage in a new version of Alice in Wonderland penned by Red scribe John Logan, who has also scripted the latest instalment of the James Bond franchise.
Logan’s bio-drama about artist Mark Rothko debuted at the Donmar Warehouse in 2009, transferring to Broadway where it was nominated for seven Tony Awards, going on to win six. He is also behind BAFTA and Oscar-nominated screenplays for Gladiator and The Aviator.
Ben Whishaw, who plays gadget master Q in Skyfall, could also be set to star in the new play, his first British stage role since a 2009 outing in Mike Bartlett‘s Cock at the Royal Court.
The new production is expected to see Alice as an old woman looking back at her days in Wonderland. She’s visited by fairytale characters including, according to Riedel’s report, Whishaw as Peter Pan.
Judi Dench has worked extensively with the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, most recently being seen on stage as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rose Theatre, Kingston in 2010.
Former artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse, Michael Grandage, is reportedly signed on to direct Logan’s Alice adaptation having previously helmed Red and the Donmar’s 2009 production of Madame de Sade which Dench starred in at the Wyndham’s.
Riedel anticipates John Logan‘s Alice in Wonderland adaptation to premiere in the West End before transferring to Broadway six months later.
