John Cassavetes: Last News

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‘Opening Night’ Review: Sheridan Smith’s Turn Cannot Save Ivo Van Hove and Rufus Wainwright’s Monotonous Musical Adaptation

David Benedict At the start of the second half of Ivo Van Hove’s production of his own musical version of John Cassavetes‘ ultra-Seventies backstager “Opening Night” — with music and lyrics by Rufus Wainwright — the words “the aftermath” (in fashionable lower case) appear on the large screen that dominates the stage. The trouble is, the preceding storytelling has been so muddy, and the emotional temperature of the staging so leadenly unchanging, that audiences may well be asking, “The aftermath of what?” Following the movie on which it’s based, the show follows the onstage/offstage life of Myrtle (Sheridan Smith), a leading actress who is as terrified of ageing as she is of the demands placed upon her as a star.
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‘Luther’ Actor Ruth Wilson to Star in Fremantle’s Performance Piece Documentary ‘The Second Woman’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Naman Ramachandran Undeniable, Fremantle’s premium documentaries label, has revealed feature documentary “The Second Woman” (working title), which captures Golden Globe and Olivier-winning actor Ruth Wilson (“Luther,” “His Dark Materials”) in a one-off performance piece at the Young Vic Theatre in London. “The Second Woman” is a play created and directed by Anna Breckon and Nat Randall. It is co-produced by the Young Vic Theatre and LIFT – London’s international festival of theatre). Wilson is also involved as a presenter in association with House of Oz. “The Second Woman” sees Wilson performing a single break up scene over and over playing opposite 100 different men, non-binary and queer people across a full 24 hours. Inspired by John Cassavetes’ 1977 film “Opening Night,” the scene involves a couple negotiating a long-term relationship that has lost its romance and vitality. With only brief breaks throughout the performance, Wilson plays the role of Virginia in every single scene, opposite a series of mostly non-actors, who she has never met before, She has no way of knowing in advance who her co-stars are, nor can she anticipate how they might choose to play the scene.
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