Mendes to Direct Trans-Atlantic Bridge Project with Hawke

Sam Mendes directs a transatlantic company of actors in a double-bill of classic works for THE BRIDGE PROJECT's inaugural 2009 season, which pairs a new adaptation of The Cherry Orchard by Tom Stoppard with The Winter's Tale. A formidable transatlantic company and creative team will create these two new productions for six internationally renowned theaters. Simon Russell Beale leads the British/American cast, playing Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard and Leontes in The Winter's Tale. He is joined by Sinead Cusack as Madame Ranevskaya and Paulina, Richard Easton as Firs and Old Shepherd/Time, Rebecca Hall as Varya and Hermione, Josh Hamilton as Yasha and Polixenes, and Ethan Hawke as Trofimov and Autolycus.

THE BRIDGE PROJECT is a unique series of co-productions from Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), The Old Vic, and Neal Street Productions. Each year a single British/American company will perform a double-bill of classic works at BAM and at The Old Vic, and make several international visits. In year one, the company will travel to Auckland, Singapore, Madrid, and Recklinghausen.

THE BRIDGE PROJECT is presented by Bank of America and produced by Kevin Spacey for The Old Vic, Joseph V. Melillo and Karen Brooks Hopkins for BAM, and Sam Mendes and Caro Newling for Neal Street Productions. The project places the exchange of ideas, talent and creativity between London and New York at the heart of the process, and is borne out of Sam Mendes, Joseph V. Melillo and Kevin Spacey's shared desire to produce large-scale, classical theater for international audiences.

Rehearsals for The Cherry Orchard and The Winter's Tale commence in Brooklyn in October 2008. The plays will run at BAM from January–March 2009 then embark on an international tour from March–May, taking residencies in Singapore at DBS Arts Centre (home of the Singapore Repertory Theatre), in Auckland at The EDGE Performing Arts Centre, in Madrid at Teatro Español, and in Germany at Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen before arriving for a season of both plays in rep at The Old Vic from May–August 2009.

The full company will be drawn from leading British and American actors, with further casting to be announced at a later time. The cast are appearing with the permission of American Equity and UK Equity. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association and UK Equity, incorporating the Variety Artistes' Federation, for their assistance on this production.
 
Commenting on the inaugural 2009 double-bill, Sam Mendes says:
"I'm delighted to be working on The Cherry Orchard and The Winter's Tale simultaneously. Two plays about reminiscence, loss and regret. Two plays about time and how it can heal or destroy us. Two plays that begin and end in the nursery. Two plays that continue to confound and amaze in their bottomless complexity and mystery. And two plays that were written at the end of the careers of the two greatest dramatists who ever lived. I'm particularly looking forward to reuniting with my friend and collaborator, Simon Russell Beale for what will be our seventh Shakespeare production together and thrilled that he will be leading a transatlantic company of exceptional talent.  I'm also delighted to be working with two of the greatest theaters in the world and continuing my relationship with their artistic directors, Joe Melillo and Kevin Spacey."

Kevin Spacey has been Artistic Director of The Old Vic since 2004, during which time he has produced a range of classic and contemporary plays and appeared on stage in five productions.  He says:
"I couldn't be happier to be announcing such wonderful casting for the first year of this ambitious and thrilling venture with Sam and BAM. The Old Vic stage calls for great acting and great writing. With Tom Stoppard's new version of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale played in rep by this magnificent cast, Old Vic audiences have a great deal to be excited about for 2009. The Bridge Project represents many of the things that are most exciting to me about theatre, not least the bringing together of extraordinary talent to offer audiences new readings of classic work. It also celebrates theatre as an international language and as a bridge between nations. I am delighted that Bank of America has shown its shared commitment to this vision by supporting us in bringing this work to audiences around the world."

The Old Vic celebrated its 190th anniversary this year and in its rich history has been home to many legendary productions, directors and actors of our time including Laurence Olivier's Hamlet, John Gielgud, Judi Dench, Tyrone Guthrie, Peter Hall, and Ian McKellen. The Old Vic is a not-for-profit producing theater without subsidy, led by Artistic Director Kevin Spacey and Chief Executive Sally Greene OBE, that strives to nurture young actors, writers, directors, and producers and works with schools and the local community to bring theater to a wider audience.

Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is America's oldest performing arts institution in continuous operation and is recognized internationally for innovative dance, music, and theater programming – including its renowned Next Wave Festival. BAM also features an acclaimed repertory film program, literary and visual art events, and extensive educational programs. The institution is led by President Karen Brooks Hopkins and Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo.

Neal Street Productions, established in 2003 by Sam Mendes, Caro Newling, and Pippa Harris under an umbrella first-look deal with DreamWorks SKG, has a broad range of theater and film productions in the making. Previously: world premieres of Samuel Adamson's All About My Mother with The Old Vic, David Hare's The Vertical Hour on Broadway, and The Hound of the Baskervilles with Peepolykus. Also West End transfers of five-time Olivier Award-winning Sunday in the Park with George from The Menier Chocolate Factory (now on Broadway), Schiller's Mary Stuart from the Donmar Warehouse. Projects ongoing include Shrek the Musical with DreamWorks Animation, and To Be or Not to Be with the Manhattan Theatre Club, both opening on Broadway later this year.

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 59 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100 retail banking offices, nearly 18,500 ATMs and award-winning online banking with nearly 25 million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in more than 150 countries and has relationships with 99 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 83 percent of the Fortune Global 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

NEW YORK & LONDON PERFORMANCES IN 2009:
BAM, New York January–March (tickets on sale October 2008. Please check BAM.org for updates)
The Old Vic, London May–August (public booking opens October 2008)

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCES IN 2009:
DBS Arts Centre, Singapore 26–29 March
The EDGE, Auckland 2–12 April
Teatro Español, Madrid 23 April–2 May
Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, Germany 7–16 May

Photo Credit Peter James Zielinski