Angelika Theaters to screen UK National Theatre production of All’s Well That Ends Well

by PegNews wire

This taped live performance will be presented in high definition at both the Dallas and Plano locations.

The pilot season of NT Live, the new initiative by the UK’s National Theatre to broadcast live performances of plays onto cinema screens, comes to Dallas and Plano. The Angelika Film Centers in Dallas and Plano have been selected to present the remaining performances in the NT Live pilot season, beginning with the highly acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s All's Well That Ends Well, produced by Marianne Elliott. The play was filmed live at the National Theatre in London on Oct. 1 and will screen in high-definition at the Angelika Dallas on Wednesday, Oct. 7 and Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., and the Angelika Plano on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m.

All’s Well is the second play in the pilot season of NT Live, the National’s groundbreaking initiative that launched in June with the hugely successful broadcast of Phèdre with Helen Mirren, seen by 50,000 people in 19 countries around the globe. All’s Well is the first play broadcast from the largest of the National’s three theaters, the Olivier, with its fan-shaped auditorium and open stage.

NT Live performances are filmed live at the National Theatre in high definition and broadcast via satellite to more than 300 cinemas and performing arts centers around the world, live in Europe and some US cities, and time-delayed in other countries. NT Live screenings in international venues, including the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Europe, are supported by Travelex, the world’s foreign exchange and business payments specialist.

“The hugely enthusiastic reaction of audiences around the world to the NT Live broadcast of Phèdre was thrilling,” says NT Director Nicholas Hytner. “I’m confident that we have pioneered a new genre: not quite live theater, certainly not cinema, but an exciting approximation of the real thing whose potential reach is limitless. It means we can reach tens of thousands of people in addition to our work in London and on tour.”

Set against a background of sexism, snobbery, and a battle between the generations, All's Well That Ends Well turns fairytale logic on its head in a wondrous, bittersweet story. The feisty but lowly Helena falls in love with Bertram, a haughty count. To gain his hand, she is set a string of impossible tasks. Even if accomplished, they can hardly guarantee his love. Nevertheless, our heroine, whether wisely or no, refuses to give him up.

The cast is led by Oliver Ford Davies (the King of France), Clare Higgins (the Countess of Rossillion), Conleth Hill (Parolles), George Rainsford (Bertram), and Michelle Terry (Helena).

All’s Well begins like a fairy-tale: "Somebody goes on a quest, cures a king, and should earn their spouse and a 'happy-ever-after’ ending,” said Elliott. “But unfortunately, that person is a girl and the man she chooses does not want to marry her; that’s where our fairytale starts getting complicated. The story comes from an archetypal world with characters we all understand, but Shakespeare keeps twisting the plot, fleshing out the characters and making them more complex and human. He’s constantly juxtapositioning harsh reality against a conventional fairytale background.”

Tickets for the Angelika showings of All's Well That Ends Well are $20 (regular theater discounts do not apply). Go here for showtimes and to purchase tickets.

Source: Angelika Theaters