Role Call: March of the Stars

by · March 13, 2016

Jamie Parker, who will portray the older Harry in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on the West End, has been nominated for an Olivier Award! He is nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in Guys and Dolls. Congrats, Jamie!

Also nominated for an Olivier Award is Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge) for her role as Mama Rose in Gypsy. The production is now available for streaming via BroadwayHD for a small fee! Staunton is nominated for Best Actress in a Musical and the show itself was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical. Congrats, Imelda!

Imelda will also be featured in a new book, Curtain Call: A Year Backstage in London Theatre. The book is the first of its kind, featuring never-before-seen photographs of the productions put on in London. An interview with Kate Fleetwood, who portrayed Mary Cattermole in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will also be featured in the book. Pre-orders of the book are available here ahead of the March 28 release.

Noma Dumezweni keeps the best company! The actress who will portray Hermione will also appear next month alongside former Potter star, David Tennant (Barty Crouch Jr), as they help celebrate the work of William Shakespeare at the RSC Theatre. Tennant, who is the host for the event to mark the 400th anniversary of the bard’s death, had this to say about the many stars participating in the celebration:

It’s a variety bill, really. Obviously the plays are a huge part of that. We will have some of the greatest classical actors around. But we have the other cultural arms he inspired, opera, ballet, hip-hop.

Shakespeare Live! will take place on April 23 and is set to broadcast during that weekend on BBC Two. Additionally, the production is set to air in cinemas for viewers in the UK and across Europe.

New images from The Painkiller, produced by and starring Sir Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart), were released last week, showing the actor rehearsing for his role at the Garrick Theatre. Here’s a synopsis of the play, along with the photos!

The Painkiller is an adaptation of Francis Verber’s French farce where Branagh and Brydon play two men in two lonely hotel rooms with an adjoining door. One of them is a killer and one of them wants to die.

The Painkiller runs from March 17 through April 30.

Branagh will also make an appearance in a supporting role for Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, although we are still unclear as to which role he will tackle. Production is expected to begin in May with a release date in theaters set for July 21, 2017. Here’s some plot info:

…inspired by Operation Dynamo, the near-miraculous evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and other Allied troops from the French seaport of Dunkirk, which took place from May-June of 1940.

Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) is set for yet another run on stage, tackling the role of Richard III. He reunites with Vanessa Redgrave, who previously played his mother in the film version of Coriolanus. The new production of Richard III will preview on June 6 at the Almeida Theatre.

Another project gaining some followers is Kubo and the Two Strings, which just released its first trailer. Fiennes voices the villain of the piece, the Moon King. Take a look at the trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMmrKORgNFc&feature=youtu.be

Actress Shefali Chowdhury (Parvati Patil) tweeted last week about her participation in a YouTube project titled Shilpa. You can read more about the plot below:

To gain the reputation she so desperately craves Shilpa must win the attention of Vijay, the local park stud! While everyone’s patience is tested, Shilpa will stop at nothing to be crowned queen of the bitches and finally win her bae… Her “VIBAE”.

The first four episodes of the series are available to view now on YouTube.

Stephen Fry has completed work on another audiobook project, bringing a super-sleuth to life! The Tales of Max Carrados will contain 11 stories voiced by Fry.

What could be more appropriate than to listen to, rather than read, the tales of Max Carrados? Among the greatest of the so-called rivals of Sherlock Holmes, this suave, rich and kindly amateur detective is blind, having lost his sight in a riding accident. Yet, as he emphasizes, when one sense is taken away, the other four — with effort and training — can be augmented. Carrados’s fingertips have now grown so sensitive that they can make out a newspaper’s headlines. Just as astonishingly, he employs his leisure time in the study of ancient coins.

The audiobook series is now available for purchase.

Have you been missing Fred and George? You might see a glimpse of the mischievous twins as James and Oliver Phelps attend Fan Expo Regina this April! The pair are expected to attend both days of Fan Expo, April 23-24. For more information on their appearance, check out the website. The fan favorites will also be in attendance next month at Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, Washington from April 7-10. Their participation was just announced and the convention is already sold out.

Also set to attend a fan convention is Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) and his on-screen father, Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy). No strangers to the convention circuit, Felton and Isaacs are on schedule for the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo from April 28 to May 1. Sir Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore) had been in the running to attend as well, but had to cancel due to work circumstances. To learn more about the convention, head over to the Expo website.

If you’ve been pulling your hair out trying to figure out the secret between Wes and Annalise on How to Get Away With Murder, expect to keep pulling! The series, starring Alfie Enoch (Dean Thomas) as Wes, was officially renewed by ABC for a third season! Congrats, Alfie!

Gary Oldman’s (Sirius Black) project alongside actor/producer Gerard Butler is slated to begin production this summer. Hunter Killer will begin principal photography in London at the end of July, though no more is known at this time. Here’s a brief synopsis of the plot:

The commander of a US submarine who has to venture into Russian waters to rescue the country’s president from the midst of a military coup.

We’re still a little confused about the title of Emma Thompson’s (Sybill Trelawney) next project, from director Noah Baumbach. The working title is currently Yen Din Ka Kissa (The Story of the Day), but the actress indicated to USA Today that the film was called The Meyerowitz Stories. According to Empire Online, the film is about “…an estranged New York family that must come together ready for artist and patriarch Harold’s career retrospective.” Thompson indicated that her role in the film was that of “…a dreadful, passive-aggressive alcoholic.” We’ll keep an eye on this role and update as soon as more is known.

That wraps up this week’s Casting News! Which new project was your favorite? Leave your thoughts in our comments section below!