News

As audiences watch Jodie Comer take on the undead in 28 Years Later, the actress’ future looks bright.

The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde director Kenneth Branagh recently praised Comer and compared her to a young Meryl Streep after working together on the upcoming psychological thriller.

“I consider myself fortunate to have worked with her at this stage in her career,” Branagh told The Times. “As somebody once said of the young Streep, ‘I wish I had shares in her future.'”

Comer reacted to the praise after the film went into production last August. “He is very kind. Bless him,” she said.

Of the comparison to the 3x Oscar winner, the Killing Eve alum said, “Oh, me? I’m nothing like Meryl! I’m just a girl from Liverpool!”

Kenneth Branagh Apple Studios

Written and directed by Branagh, The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde is described as a contemporary psychological thriller,...

James Graham’s BBC crime drama “Sherwood” has been renewed for Season 3.

Graham is the talent behind projects including play “Dear England,” which is being adapted for the BBC, and “Quiz” starring Michael Sheen.

The drama, starring David Morrisey, is made by House Productions. The first two seasons are available in the U.K. on iPlayer and in the U.S. on streamer Britbox.

Clio Barnard (“Ali & Ava”) directed Season 2 alongside Tom George. As well as Morrissey, the series also stars Monica Dolan, David Harewood, Lorraine Ashbourne, Robert Lindsay, Perry Fitzpatrick, Christine Bottomley, Michael Balogun, Oliver Huntingdon, Bethany Asher and Lesley Manville.

“Sherwood” was inspired by the so-called “Shottingham” gang wars that blighted Nottinghamshire where Graham grew up.

“It continues to be the greatest privilege to tell stories set in and inspired by the history of my home county of Nottinghamshire,” said Graham. “Having a returning series on the...

Sherwood, the highly-rated BBC thriller series from James Graham, has been re-upped for a third season as the second ends.

House Productions’ show has been one of the BBC’s most successful dramas in recent years, and the latest season’s first ep has been watched by more than 6.5 million viewers so far, the corporation said.

Graham’s show is inspired by the miners strikes and subsequent killings in an East Midlands town near where he grew up. The second series of Sherwood, inspired by the so-called ‘Shottingham’ gang wars that mired the region and the Nottinghamshire community, recently concluded to acclaim. It was directed by Clio Barnard, and Tom George, with a cast including David Morrissey, Monica Dolan, David Harewood, Lorraine Ashbourne, Robert Lindsay, Perry Fitzpatrick, Christine Bottomley, Michael Balogun, Oliver Huntingdon, Bethany Asher and Lesley Manville.

Graham said: “It continues to be the greatest privilege to tell stories...

BritBox will exclusively premiere the second season of the Original crime drama Sherwood on November 14 in the U.S. and Canada, the streaming service announced today.

The first season of the BAFTA-nominated series was one of the most-watched shows in the UK, and the second season is a suspense-filled follow-up driven by an all-star cast of celebrated British actors.

Directed by the acclaimed British film director Clio Barnard and Tom George, this new and Original drama from Nottingham-born James Graham stars David Morrissey, Lesley Manville, Monica Dolan, David Harewood, and Lorraine Ashbourne.

The cast list continues with Robert Lindsay, Stephen Dillane, Sharlene Whyte, Perry Fitzpatrick, Christine Bottomley, Philip Jackson, Aisling Loftus, Bill Jones, Adam Hugill, Ria Zmitrowicz, Robert Emms, Michael Balogun, Oliver Huntingdon, Jorden Myrie, Conor Deane, and Bethany Asher.

The second season further explores the powerful themes that made the first so resonant to audiences. Set in the present day,...

Back in May, it was announced that Jodie Comer of Killing Eve and The Bikeriders had signed on to star in the latest film from writer/director Kenneth Branagh, a contemporary psychological thriller called The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde. Production is now underway in the UK, and Deadline has learned that Comer is joined in the cast by Patricia Arquette (True Romance), Michael Sheen (Good Omens), Tom Bateman (Da Vinci’s Demons), Vicky McClure (Line of Duty), Michael Balogun (You Don’t Know Me), Kristina Tonteri-Young (Warrior Nun), Karla Crome (Carnival Row), Aiysha Hart (Atlantis), and Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones).

Details on the story Branagh has crafted for this film are being kept under wraps, and the same goes for any character details. The “contemporary psychological thriller” description is all we have to go on.

The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde is being independently financed. The project reunites Branagh with his Belfast producers Tamar Thomas,...

Patricia Arquette, Michael Sheen and Vicky McClure have been cast in 'The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde'.The trio have joined the ensemble for Sir Kenneth Branagh's upcoming psychosocial thriller, which stars 'Killing Eve' actress Jodie Comer with production already getting underway in the UK.As reported by Deadline, Arquette, Sheen and McClure have been added to the cast alongside Tom Bateman, Michael Balogun, Kristina Tonteri-Young and Karla Crome.Also set to appear are Aiysha Hart and Gemma Whelan.Plot details are yet to be revealed for the film, which has been penned by 'Oppenheimer' actor Branagh, who will also be serving as director.There was said to be excitement in the industry when it was revealed that Branagh's latest movie was ready to go after the success of his 2021 coming-of-age film 'Belfast'.That movie saw him take home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay,...

Production is underway on Kenneth Branagh’s next film, The Last Disturbance Of Madeline Hynde. Here are some casting details.

Actor, writer and director Kenneth Branagh’s next film will be The Last Disturbance Of Madeline Hynde. The plot hasn’t been revealed as yet, but if we were to speculate, the title hints at some sort of thriller or mystery (Branagh has been making those Poirot films of late). Jodie Comer was cast in the production earlier this year, and according to Deadline, the rest of the cast has been confirmed.

Comer stars alongside Patricia Arquette, Michael Sheen, Tom Bateman, Vicky McClure, Michael Balogun, Kristina Tonteri-Young, Karla Crome, Aiysha Hart and Gemma Whelan.

Branagh will next be seen starring alongside Ryan Reynolds in Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley’s Mayday for Apple TV.

Kenneth Branagh may be better known as a Shakespearean actor, but he’s built up...

A Haunting in Venice director Kenneth Branagh is helming contemporary psychological thriller The Last Disturbance of Madline Hynde. With production underway, Deadline reports today that the thriller has lined up an impressive ensemble cast.

Patricia Arquette, Michael Sheen, Tom Bateman, Vicky McClure, Michael Balogun, Kristina Tonteri-Young and Karla Crome join lead star Jodie Comer, along with Aiysha Hart and Gemma Whelan.

The logline and plot details for The Last Disturbance of Madline Hynde remain under wraps at this time, other than it being described as a contemporary psychological thriller. Branagh writes and directs the feature which is being independently financed through his Belfast producers Tamar Thomas, Laura Berwick and Becca Kovacik, along with Matthew Jenkins and Maximum Effort’s Ashley Fox and Johnny Pariseau.

Jodie Comer is high in demand lately. The actor recently joinced the cast of 28 Years Later, the long awaited follow-up to 2002’s hit horror film 28 Days Later,...

The mystery shrouding Kenneth Branagh's newest film The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde is getting clearer by the day. According to Deadline, more cast have officially signed on to be a part of the psychological thriller. Patricia Arquette, Michael Sheen, Tom Bateman, Vicky McClure, Michael Balogun, and Kristina Tonteri-Young have all been added to the cast list. They join the previously announced Jodie Comer (The Bikeriders). Branagh's new film is independently financed, according to Deadline. It's slated as a contemporary psychological thriller, but details outside of that have been kept tightly under wraps.

Oscar winner Kenneth Branagh’s latest film is getting even more star power.

IndieWire can confirm that Patricia Arquette and Michael Sheen are among the new cast members for Branagh’s upcoming psychological thriller “The Last Disturbance Of Madeline Hynde.” Jodie Comer was previously announced as the lead star.

“The Last Disturbance Of Madeline Hynde” is billed as a “contemporary psychological thriller” but the official logline is being kept under wraps. Branagh writes and directs the feature which is being independently financed through his “Belfast” producers’ banners.

In addition to Arquette, Sheen, and Comer, the cast also includes Tom Bateman, Vicky McClure, Michael Balogun, Kristina Tonteri-Young, Karla Crome, Aiysha Hart, and Gemma Whelan.

Filming has begun in the U.K. Tamar Thomas, Laura Berwick, and Becca Kovacik, along with Matthew Jenkins, and Maximum Effort’s Ashley Fox and Johnny Pariseau, are producing.

Comer recently starred in “The Bikeriders” and wrapped production on “28 Years Later.

Exclusive: After Kenneth Branagh set Jodie Comer to star in his next director outing The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde, the Oscar winner has rounded out the rest of his ensemble. Patricia Arquette, Michael Sheen, Tom Bateman, Vicky McClure, Michael Balogun, Kristina Tonteri-Young and Karla Crome have joined a cast that also includes Aiysha Hart and Gemma Whelan. Production is underway in the UK.

The independently financed film is being described as a contemporary psychological thriller, but the logline is being kept under wraps. Branagh reunites with his Belfast producers Tamar Thomas, Laura Berwick and Becca Kovacik, along with Matthew Jenkins and Maximum Effort’s Ashley Fox and Johnny Pariseau.

Branagh most recently co-starred in Christopher Nolan’s Oscar Best Picture-winning Oppenheimer. He recently wrapped production starring in Mayday opposite Ryan Reynolds for Apple Original Films and Skydance, and later this year will return to the stage for King Lear...

Sam Mendes is bringing back his acclaimed, Tony Award-winning blockbuster production of The Lehman Trilogy for a fourth run in London.

It’s quite a thing to bring the play, considered a modern classic, back into central London when it just played a 16-week season at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, running until May of last year.

“There’s an enormous appetite for the play, even more so because its been on screen in cinemas via Nt Live,” noted Caro Newling who runs the theater division of All3Media-owned Neal Street Productions, founded by Newling, Mendes, and Pippa Harris.

The new production, produced by the National Theatre and Neal Street, will return to that same Gillian Lynne stage for a limited 14-week slot from September 24 through January 5, 2025. It will be featuring the incredible rotating glass-box scenic design created by Es Devlin, dynamic videos designed by Luke Halls, and stunning lighting design by Jon Clark.

There are certain wounds and strife that simply cannot be erased by the passage of time. An already fractured community in Nottinghamshire struggling with the demons of its past is further torn apart after two shocking killings during a miners' strike. The BBC drama, Sherwood, has this backstory, and it is a true story created by author James Graham. The series' second installment is highly anticipated, and new first look images have been released ahead of the show's return later this year. The newly released images per Deadline include a fresh look at David Morrissey, returning as Dcs Ian St Clair, and Perry Fitzpatrick also returns as Rory Sparrow. The images also feature new cast members including Monica Dolan, David Harewood, Michael Balogun and Robert Lindsay. Others featured in character include Lorraine Ashbourne, Christine Bottomley, and Oliver Huntingdon.

Exclusive: Here’s a first look at Sherwood Season 2, the highly-anticipated next instalment of James Graham’s BBC drama.

Filming on the House Productions show recently took place in and around the UK city Nottingham, and the images show the likes of Lorraine Ashbourne, Monica Dolan, Perry Fitzpatrick, David Morrissey, David Harewood, Michael Balogun, Christine Bottomley, Oliver Huntingdon and Robert Lindsay in character. Scroll to the bottom for all seven images.

Season 1 was a ratings success and was one of the most-watched British dramas of 2022, following a murder that shocks a former mining town where divisions still remain years after the miners’ strikes of 1984 and 1985.

The second season will introduce two new families, who become entangled with the Sparrows from the first run, entering a complex web of local gangs, old rivalries, revenge, and betrayal. At the same time, a new Sheriff of Nottingham fights passionately against a proposed new mine,...

There’s been a lot of heat around London’s new Romeo & Juliet, understandably so given its pairing of director Jamie Lloyd (Betrayal, A Doll’s House), known for his radical remodeling of classics, usually around A-list actors, with young global superstar Tom Holland. The latter is returning to the stage for the first time since Billy Elliot: The Musical at the very start of his career, his name causing tickets to sell out in just two hours.

It’s ironic, then, that one thing this production itself lacks is heat — romantic, dramatic, tragic heat. There is much to commend, but it suffers from a single, strategic mistake on the director’s part, to mute the action, quite literally, since much of it is played in whispers and mumbles; even miked, at times the actors are barely audible. The result is that this tale of violent family rivalry and courageous...

Jamie Lloyd, director of the Tom Holland-led West End revival of Romeo & Juliet, released a statement Friday condemning an incident of “deplorable racial abuse” against an unnamed castmember.

“Following the announcement of our Romeo & Juliet cast, there has been a barrage of deplorable racial abuse online directed towards a member of our company,” Lloyd’s theater company wrote on social media. “This must stop. We are working with a remarkable group of artists. We insist that they are free to create work without facing online harassment.”

A statement from the @JamieLloydCo. pic.twitter.com/C7j7g9ZZNE

— Romeo and Juliet (@RomeoJulietLDN) April 5, 2024

News of the production first made headlines in February. The show will open at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre on May 23, and run through August. Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, known for her onscreen role in Bad Education, will play Juliet. The remaining cast includes...

The producers of a forthcoming West End production of Romeo and Juliet, starring Tom Holland, have condemned “deplorable racial abuse” aimed at his co-star Francesca Amewudah-Rivers who plays Juliet.

The Spider-Man actor will play Romeo in the new production in London, and its full cast was announced last week.

Now, the BBC reports that Jamie Lloyd Company said there had been a “barrage of deplorable racial abuse directed towards a member of company.”

Their statement said:

“This must stop. We are working with a remarkable group of artists. We insist that they are free to create work without facing online harassment. We will continue to support and protect everyone in our company at all costs. Any abuse will not be tolerated and will be reported. Bullying and harassment have no place online, in our industry or in our wider communities.”

Amewudah-Rivers is making her West End debut in the play,...

The Duke of York Theatre in London’s West End has shared a statement challenging what it described as the “deplorable” racist abuse it has clocked online following the reveal of the cast for its forthcoming production of Romeo & Juliet.

In the production, newcomer Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, a woman of color, has been cast as Juliet opposite Tom Holland, who will be Romeo. We reported on the production last week.

Today’s statement shared by The Duke of York on X, but attributed to The Jamie Lloyd Company, said the company has since received a “barrage” of online racist abuse directed towards members of its company.

“This must stop,” the statement read.

“We are working with a remarkable group of artists. We insist that they are free to create work without facing online harassment. We will continue to support and protect everyone in our company at all costs. Any abuse...

Tom Holland has concluded the hunt for his Juliet in the new production of Romeo & Juliet that he will star in on the West End.

The 27-year-old Spider-Man actor is set to play Romeo in the retelling of Shakespeare’s iconic and tragic love story. He’ll be sharing the stage with newcomer Francesca Amewudah-Rivers on opening night!

Keep reading to find out more…

Deadline confirmed that Francesca would play Juliet in the adaptation, which opens on May 23 at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

The cast will also feature Freema Agyeman (Nurse), Michael Balogun (Friar), Tomiwa Edun (Capulet), Mia Jerome (Montague), Daniel Quinn-Toye (Paris), Ray Sesay (Tybalt), Nima Taleghani (Benvolio) and Joshua-Alexander Williams (Mercutio), according to the outlet.

“Beyond excited to announce our cast for Romeo and Juliet,” Tom gushed in a statement, adding, “I can’t wait to get started and I know we’ll create something really special together.

The Jamie Lloyd Company today announced the full cast for the upcoming West End production of Romeo & Juliet, with newcomer Francesca Amewudah-Rivers confirmed as Juliet opposite Tom Holland.

Also starring in the anticipated Jamie Lloyd-directed show will be Freema Agyeman (Nurse), Michael Balogun (Friar), Tomiwa Edun (Capulet), Mia Jerome (Montague), Daniel Quinn-Toye (Paris), Ray Sesay (Tybalt), Nima Taleghani (Benvolio), Joshua-Alexander Williams (Mercutio) and Callum Heinrich and Kody Mortimer (Camera Operators).

Romeo & Juliet opens at the Duke of York’s Theatre on Thursday 23 May with previews from Saturday 11 May, and runs until Saturday 3 August 2024.

Amewudah-Rivers previously appeared in two seasons of BBC series Bad Education and three short films. She has stage experience in productions at the Globe and Lyric Hammersmith among other venues. The Daily Mail had speculated on her casting in recent weeks.

Holland said today: “Beyond excited to announce our cast for Romeo and Juliet.

Casting

A stellar cast has been revealed by the BBC and House Productions for Season 2 of James Graham’s BAFTA-winning hit crime drama “Sherwood.”

Directed by Clio Barnard (“Ali & Ava”) the news cast included David Harewood (“The Night Manager”), Robert Lindsay (“My Family”), Monica Dolan (“Black Mirror”), Sharlene Whyte (“Small Axe”), Stephen Dillane (“Vigil”), Ria Zmitrowicz (“The Power”), Aisling Loftus (“The Midwich Cuckoos”), Robert Emms (“Andor”), Michael Balogun (“Top Boy”), Christine Bottomley (“Domina”), Oliver Huntingdon (“Happy Valley”) Jorden Myrie (“Mood”), Conor Deane (“All Creatures Great & Small”) and Bethany Asher (“Wild Bill”).

The returning cast includes David Morrissey (“Red Riding”), Lesley Manville (“Mrs Harris Goes to Paris”), Lorraine Ashbourne (“Alma’s Not Normal”), Philip Jackson (“Raised by Wolves”), Perry Fitzpatrick (“Line of Duty”), Bill Jones (“The Village”) and Adam Hugill (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”).

Season 2 introduces two new families entering a complex web of local gangs, old rivalries,...

James Graham’s BBC drama Sherwood has added more than a dozen Season 2 cast members including David Harewood and Monica Dolan.

One of the BBC’s most-watched drama series last year moves to the present day for its second season. Homeland star Harewood and BAFTA-winner Dolan are joined by Robert Lindsay, Sharlene Whyte (Stephen, Small Axe), Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones, Vigil), Ria Zmitrowicz (The Power, Three Girls), Aisling Loftus (The Midwich Cuckoos, War and Peace), Robert Emms (Andor, Chernobyl), Michael Balogun (Top Boy, The Lehman Trilogy), Christine Bottomley(Domina, Back To Life), Oliver Huntingdon (The Rising, Happy Valley) Jorden Myrie (Mood, The Strays) and Conor Deane (All Creatures Great & Small, Newark) and Bethany Asher (Wild Bill, Mobility).

Leads David Morrissey and Lesley Manville are reprising their roles and the second season is being directed by three-time BAFTA nominee Clio Barnard, with Quiz scribe Graham penning the six episodes.

Exclusive: Sam Mendes has picked Johnny Flynn, Tuppence Middleton and Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss to portray legendary stars Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and John Gielgud in The Motive and the Cue, a mouth-watering new play by Jack Thorne that explores how acting giants Burton and Gielgud staged Hamlet on Broadway in 1964.

Burton, newly wed to Taylor after their affair on the set of epic film Cleopatra, signed on to play the Danish prince in a fabled production directed by Gielgud in New York.

On opening night in April, 1964, scores of police hemmed in crowds who were as eager to catch a glimpse of Taylor entering the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre as they were to see her husband as the depressed Dane.

(Original Caption) Welsh actor, Richard Burton (left), listens intently as he takes direction from director, John Gielgud, during rehearsal of Burton’s Broadway-bound production of “Hamlet,...

Exclusive: Sam Mendes, the Oscar and Tony award-winning director, has chosen three London theater stars — Michael Balogun (National Theatre Live: Death of England-Delroy), Hadley Fraser (Donmar Theatre’s Coriolanus), and Nigel Lindsay (Chichester Festival Theatre’s Woman In Mind) — to bring his much-garlanded production of The Lehman Trilogy back into the West End. That’s following triumphant runs at the UK’s National Theatre, the Park Avenue Armory and Broadway, and a phenomenal 16-week, sold-out run at London’s Piccadilly Theatre in 2019.

The actors will portray the Bavarian-born Lehman brothers, Emanuel, Mayer, and Henry, who settled in Alabama as cotton merchants, a springboard to what was to become what Balogun termed “a giant machine” on Wall Street. Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley, and Ben Miles originally performed the multiple roles of the Lehman brothers and their descendants — male and female, old and young — in London and New York.

Written by...