ROBERT ICKE WINS BEST DIRECTOR
AT THE 65TH EVENING STANDARD THEATRE AWARDS
AHEAD OF THE WEST END TRANSFER OF THE SMASH HIT & SELL OUT ALMEIDA THEATRE PRODUCTION OF
STARRING THE MULTI-AWARD WINNING JULIET STEVENSON
ANNOUNCED ALONGSIDE ADDITIONAL TOUR DATES &
EXTENDED WEST END PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
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The Guardian, The Telegraph, Financial Times, The Sunday Times, WhatsOnStage
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The Times, Evening Standard, The Observer, Independent, The Stage, Metro
Robert Icke (The Wild Duck, Hamlet, Mary Stuart, Oresteia, 1984) wins prestigious 65th Evening Standard Theatre Award, for The Doctor, ahead of its West End transfer. The 2019 awards ceremony, which took place last night, Sunday 24 November, at the London Coliseum, saw Robert Icke pick up the award for Best Director, a joint award for The Doctor and his production of The Wild Duck at the Almeida in 2018. Robert last won the Evening Standard Award for Best Director with his production of Oresteia in 2015, for which he also picked up an Olivier Award, making him the youngest ever recipient of the award at the age of 28.
Robert Icke’s sold-out, five-star Almeida Theatre production of The Doctor, which transfers to the West End in 2020, will also be extending its run at the Duke of York’s Theatre with an additional ten performances, running from 18April – 18 July 2020. Prior to this, the production will travel to Australia for the 2020 Adelaide Festival (27 February – 8 March), as well as enjoying a limited run at the Theatre Royal Brighton (30 March – 4 April) and Richmond Theatre (6 April – 11 April), ahead of arriving in the West End. Press night will be held at the Duke of York’s Theatre on Thursday 30 April at 7pm.
Upon winning Best Director at the 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards, Robert Icke said “I’m delighted to have received this award this evening and equally delighted that we are taking The Doctor not only to the Adelaide Festival but on a short UK tour. In the spirit of what the remarkable Sir Ian McKellen spoke about this evening, taking work beyond London is vital and I am therefore thrilled that many more people will have access to this production and to Juliet’s luminous performance.”
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First, do no harm.
On an ordinary day, at a private hospital, a young woman fights for her life. A priest arrives to save her soul. Her doctor refuses him entry.
In a divisive time, in a divided nation, a society takes sides.
The latest smash-hit by “Britain’s best director” (Telegraph) is a “provocative, wonderfully upsetting” (Independent) whirlwind of gender, race and identity politics, and a “devastating play for today” (Financial Times).
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The production stars Juliet Stevenson (Hamlet, Mary Stuart, Wings, Duet for One), who was also nominated in this year’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Juliet received her nomination in the Best Actress category for ‘delivering one of the peak performances of the theatrical year’ (The Guardian), with her spellbinding and devastating portrayal of Professor Ruth Wolff in The Doctor.
This is the third West End transfer for Robert Icke and Juliet Stevenson in as many years, following the critical and commercial smash-hit productions of Mary Stuart and Hamlet.
Further casting to be announced in due course.
The Doctor, by Robert Icke, very freely adapted from Professor Bernhardi by Arthur Schnitzler, has been critically lauded since its opening at the Almeida in August 2019. With a creative team of critically acclaimed collaborations on past productions, including Robert Icke’s Hamlet and Oedipus, The Doctor has designs by Hildegard Bechtler, lighting by Natasha Chivers and sound and composition by Tom Gibbons. Casting is by Julia Horan.
The Doctor is presented by the Almeida Theatre and Ambassador Theatre Group, and Benjamin Lowy, Fiery Angel, Glass Half Full Productions, Scott Rudin and Sonia Friedman Productions.