Emilia Clarke, Jessica Chastain to Return for Rescheduled West End Productions

Manori Ravindran
·2 min read

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An Emilia Clarke-fronted production of “The Seagull” and the Jessica Chastain-starring “A Doll’s House” have been postponed, though both actors are to return for rescheduled dates.

Producer The Jamie Lloyd Company — a partnership between Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) and artistic director Jamie Lloyd — revealed Thursday that due to the ongoing lockdown for all U.K. theater venues, Anya Reiss’ adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull“ and Frank McGuinness’s version of Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” are now postponed indefinitely.

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“The Seagull” was slated to run at the Playhouse Theatre from March 11 to May 30, while “A Doll’s House” was also scheduled at the Playhouse from June 10 to Sep. 5.

The Jamie Lloyd Company has said, however, that when the season reopens, Clarke will reprise her role as Nina, while Chastain has also committed to lead “A Doll’s House.”

The Playhouse Theatre’s season opened with a critically acclaimed production of Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac,” freely adapted by Martin Crimp and starring James McAvoy. The play ran from Nov. 27 to Feb. 29, ending just weeks ahead of all theaters going dark from March 16.

The U.K.’s theater sector has been decimated by the coronavirus lockdown, and all venues across the country have now been shuttered for 11 weeks. The government has said the sector will be among the last to restart, with a target of July 4 set to begin reopening venues.

Lloyd said of the postponements of “The Seagull” and “A Doll’s House”: “This is, of course, an incredibly challenging time for everyone, but we are looking forward to presenting our season to audiences in the future. I’m thrilled that Emilia Clarke and Jessica Chastain will lead ‘The Seagull’ and ‘A Doll’s House’ as soon as we can get back into the theater.

“We also remain committed to offering thousands of £15 ($18) and free tickets, together with our unique education work and our exciting new Emerge scheme, as soon as the season reopens,” Lloyd continued.

The Jamie Lloyd Company’s talent development program Emerge, which offers a first step into the industry through paid mentorship, will continue. The scheme’s inaugural participants Rona Berisha Castroiti (sound design), Alessandra Davison (director), Rida Hamidou (writer), Maeve Roscoe (writer) and Spiky Saul (director) will return under the mentorship of Lloyd, Anya Reiss and George Dennis when the season recommences.

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