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'A Doll’s House’ at the Donmar Warehouse

Ibsen purists beware: This new revision of the Norwegian classic, by British playwright Zinnie Harris, transforms the domestic melodrama from 19th-centuryNorway to early-20th-century England, where Nora’s husband has been transformed from a banker to a member of the Cabinet. Some local critics have quibbled, but I found the changes clever and resonant: That little "mouse" Nora (Gillian Anderson) — whose desperate attempts to sustain her family after her husband (Toby Stephens) takes ill forces her to take a loan from a unscrupulous man (Christopher Eccleston, of 28 Days Later fame) — here emerges as someone akin to Hillary Clinton, the politician’s wife so accustomed to spinning the truth that she doesn’t realize when the world is collapsing all around her.

But even if you don’t love the changes wrought to the text, it’s hard not to be awed by Anderson, a vastly underrated actress who never got to show what she could do on the long-running The X-Files. She conveys Nora’s steady transformation from delicate flower to slick operator to liberated woman with extraordinary tenderness. And if you’ve never been to the Donmar Warehouse, all the more reason to check out this production: This 250-seat theater, with its modest stage so close that you can reach out and touch the players, makes you feel as if you’re watching classic theater unfold in your living room. Through July 18.

For more information: donmarwarehouse.com

Star-Telegram

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The Stars Are Aligned, and They’re Playing It Big

Gillian Anderson, who made her name as the skeptical and attack-ready Agent Scully in “The X-Files” on television, is now melting hearts as the docile, too-credulous heroine in Ibsen’s “Doll’s House” at the Donmar Warehouse.


Zinnie Harris’s new adaptation of “A Doll’s House” transplants its characters to Edwardian London from Norway and makes the heroine’s husband (Toby Stephens) a cabinet minister instead of a banker. These alterations, aside from summoning contemporary parallels to scandals in British politics, emphasize the melodrama in Ibsen’s story, which is like underlining italics. But Ms. Anderson, who proved herself at ease with an English accent and period costumes in the BBC production of “Bleak House,” cannily hints at the disturbed ripples of doubt beneath a socially imposed facade, and until the play’s final scene (when she becomes so glacially authoritative you get frostbite) she is genuinely moving.

NEW YORK TIMES

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David Duchovny is to renew his wedding vows with wife Tea Leoni.

The couple split last year when The X Files actor was treated for sex addiction, but according to the Daily Express, he is planning a second wedding in November.

A source told the newspaper: "They've been married for 12 years and like most of us have had their ups and downs."

The source added: "But they really want to put the past behind them and renew their vows. They want to draw a line under things and make a fresh start.

"They went through a tough time but have reignited that spark.

"David realises how close he came to losing it all so he especially wants to have their family and closest friends on hand to witness his second chance at happiness."

The couple have two children, Madeline, 10, and Kyd, six.

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*NOTE: False - Gillian has NO plans to appear in Dr. Who.

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Forget the 'X-Files': Gillian Anderson, one-time ‘world’s sexiest woman’, is about to tackle Ibsen in a new West End production of 'A Doll's House'

The first surprise is Gillian Anderson’s accent. I have heard about how she can slip from English to American as effortlessly as silk runs through fingers. Indeed, by way of research, I have watched her being interviewed by Jay Leno (for whom she adopted an American accent) and Michael Parkinson (an English one). I even know how and why she does this – she lived here until she was 11, moved there until she was 35, then, five years ago, came back to live here. Still, nothing quite prepares you for sitting opposite FBI Special Agent Scully and hearing the head girl of Cheltenham Ladies’ College.




The second surprise is how insouciant and unguarded she is. She has a light and breathy laugh, more a catch in her voice, and a friendly and confiding manner, again in contrast to the humourless and sceptical Scully. This guilelessness is also unexpected because her relationship with the press has not always been cordial – the paparazzi in LA used to ram into her car deliberately so as she would have to get out and exchange insurance details. Yet here she is sitting in a London bar at eight o’clock at night telling me about where her 14-year-old daughter goes to school, how she has been enjoying taking the bus to rehearsals for her new play and, well, how she had to cajole her partner into having sex with her. No, really.



Also, I ought to describe her. She is much shorter than you imagine, 5ft 3in, and yet not short looking – in proportion, I mean. She has slightly sad, downturned eyes, a mole above her puffy top lip (one that they used to cover up on The X-Files) and a tattoo on the inner part of her wrist, Asian lettering that is something to do with yoga. With her long, blonde hair tumbling down against her black top (she is also wearing a black skirt and black calf-length boots which she tucks under herself as she sits) she looks immaculate – half a pint of velvety Guinness.

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In the category “Best Female Performance in a 2008 Science Fiction Film, TV-Movie, or Mini-Series”, the nominees are:
• Amanda Tapping, for “Stargate: Continuum”
• Claudia Black, also for “Stargate: Continuum”
• Gillian Anderson, for “The X-Files: I Want To Believe”
• Gwyneth Paltrow, for “Iron Man”
• Lina Leandersson, for “Let The Right One In”
• Rachel Bilson, for “Jumper”
• and Selma Blair, for “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army”

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We are going to post this blog incomplete, we don't have time to explain everything so we will do it later. But we needed to get these pictures posted before we move on. We were eating dinner at Basil's Bar in Mustique and who was stiiting next to us? David Duchovny and Tia Leoni (notice the tatooed rings on their hands...we think they are newly back together.) We literally danced two feet from them and stood behind them in the buffet dinner! This picture was taken without their knowing it, thanks to Keenan taking pictures of Keith and I (and Joan and Peter)dancing. We hurried to put this on for you and will finish our blogging later.

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Out Of Oregon

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Stephens and Ecclestone join Anderson in A Doll’s House

Published Friday 27 March 2009 at 11:46 by Matthew Hemley

Toby Stephens, Tara Fitzgerald and Christopher Eccleston are to join Gillian Anderson in the Donmar Warehouse’s forthcoming production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.

As revealed last year, Anderson, best known for playing Scully in TV’s The X Files, will take the role of Nora in the production, which is a new version of the play by Zinnie Harris.

Stephens will play Thomas, while Fitzgerald will take the part of Christine Lyle and Eccleston will play Neil Kelman.

Other cast members include Anton Lesser as Dr Rank and Maggie Wells as Annie.

The production is being directed by Kfir Yefet and designed by Anthony Ward.

It will run from May 14 to July 18.

The Stage

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[...]Del 14 marzo è invece una lettera aperta firmata da Desmond Tutu (arcivescovo anglicano sudafricano) per denunciare il deterioramento della situazione dei diritti umani in Tibet, in difesa del Dalai Lama continuamente «nominato, accusato ed abusato verbalmente» dal regime. Il destinatario della missiva sarà il presidente cinese Hu Jintao, e tra i numerosi mittenti ci saranno personaggi del calibro di Elie Wiesel, John Hume, David Trimble, Jody Williams, F.W. de Klerk, Mairead Maguire, Betty Williams e Adolfo Perez Esquivel (Nobel per la Pace) e uomini di spettacolo come Harrison Ford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, Gillian Anderson, Peter Gabriel, Richard Gere, Graham Nash, Maria Bell, Melissa Mathieson, Mia Farrow, ecc. Una mobilitazione in grande stile che non potrà molto contro la retorica di un totalitarismo, ma che rivela anche agli occhi a mandorla del governo una qualche necessità di modificare l'atteggiamento tenuto dalla propaganda. [...]

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X-fileS voglio crederci
Thriller di culto
Torna la coppia di agenti dell’Fbi che indagano nella sfera del paranormale. Una serie di delitti e una caccia senza tregua all’assassino, nel film scritto e diretto da Chris Carter, il regista della celebre serie televisiva.

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LONDON - MARCH 08:  Gillian Anderson attends the cocktail reception ahead of The Laurence Olivier Awards, at The Grosvenor House Hotel on March 8, 2009 in London, England.

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Su X-FilesMedia ci sono le hq!

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London, Mar 6 (ANI): Dame Judi Dench and Dame Helen Mirren have been ranked among the 20 most powerful women in British theatre.

judi-dench-helen-mirren-among-20-most-powerful-women-in-brit-theatre

The veteran actresses are among a clutch of stars including Rachel Weisz and Rosamund Pike to appear in the list compiled by Harper’’s Bazaar and the jeweller Tiffany & Co.

American actress Gillian Anderson, who has been described as an ”honorary Brit”, also made it to the list.

Ranked in no particular order, the list includes playwrights, theatre impresarios and stars of the stage.

“The 20 women on our list represent the diversity and brilliance found in this creative industry,” the Telegraph quoted Lucy Yeomans, editor of Harper’’s Bazaar, as saying

“As well as including actresses, our list also takes account of the incredible powerhouses who make the productions happen,” Yeomans added.

Here is the full Harper’’s Bazaar and Tiffany Women In Theatre Power List 2009:
* The New Voice - Bola Agbaje - playwright (27)
* The Honorary Brit - Gillian Anderson - actor (40)
* The Visionary - Miriam Buether - set and costume designer (39)
* The Radical - Caryl Churchill - playwright (70)
* The Illuminator - Paule Constable - lighting designer (42)
* The Queen Bee - Dame Judi Dench - actor (74)
* The New Leading Lady - Michelle Dockery - actor (27)
* The Mover - Maxine Doyle - choreographer and associate director, Punchdrunk (38)
* The Super-Producer - Sonia Friedman - producer (43)
* The Powerhouse - Sally Greene - impresario and producer (52)
* The Transformer - Kathryn Hunter - actor and director (52)
* The Casting Vote - Lisa Makin - casting agent and producer (43)
* The Eternal Siren - Dame Helen Mirren - actor (63)
* The Innovator - Katie Mitchell - director (44)
* The Beauty-And-Brains - Rosamund Pike - actor (30)
* The Breath Of Fresh Air - Emma Rice - artistic director, Kneehigh Theatre (41)
* The Double Threat - Fiona Shaw - actor and director (50)
* The Wunderkind - Polly Stenham - playwright (22)
* The Songbird - Summer Strallen - musical theatre actor (24)
* The Star Turn - Rachel Weisz - actor (38) (ANI)

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Dames Judi Dench and Helen Mirren have been named on a list of the UK's 20 most powerful women in theatre. Hollywood stars Gillian Anderson and Rachel Weisz also appear in the list complied by magazine Harper's Bazaar. It celebrates the playwrights, leading impresarios and rising stars of the British stage.

Harper's Bazaar editor Lucy Yeomans said: "The 20 women on our list represent the diversity and brilliance found in this creative industry."

She added that it was an especially strong year for women in theatre. "As well as including actresses, our list also takes account of the incredible powerhouses who make the productions happen," she said. "Sonia Friedman's staggering drive has helped make Boeing Boeing a success on Broadway and in London and Sally Greene's Billy Elliot is a phenomenal worldwide hit."

Also on list is playwright Bola Agbaje, 27, whose debut play Gone Too Far! won an Olivier Award, set and costume designer Miriam Buether, 39, and casting agent Lisa Makin, 43.

X Files and Bleak House actress Anderson, who is to appear in a production of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Donmar Warehouse in London, was billed as the "honorary Brit" on the list. She said: "I have wanted to work on the British stage for most of my life. The opportunity to turn that lingering dream into a reality is the greatest reward. The challenge is to chase that opportunity, despite an equally passionate fear."

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This year’s star-studded Oliviers ceremony is hosted by James Nesbitt and at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, with nominees, guest presenters and other VIPs confirmed to attend including: Lindsay Duncan, Penelope Wilton, Michael Gambon, Patrick Stewart, Derek Jacobi, Deanna Dunagan, David Bradley, Elena Roger, Ruthie Henshall, Denis Lawson, Douglas Hodge, Margaret Tyzack, Michael Grandage, Michael Boyd, Sonia Friedman, Sadie Frost, Imelda Staunton, Ian Lavender, Andrea Corr, Dominic Cooper, Sheridan Smith, David Hare, Pete Postlethwaite, Jason Donovan, Tom Chambers, Gareth Gates, Anton du Beke, Kevin Spacey, Jodie Prenger, Sian Phillips, Gillian Anderson, Rosalind Plowright, David MorrisseyLiza Goddard.

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