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Sigourney Weaver To Make West End Stage Debut In The Tempest Alongside Tom Hiddleston And Hayley Atwell? Here's What Report Says
Sigourney Weaver is set to bring female perspective to the iconic role of Prospero in The Tempest! Director Jaime Loyd is bringing Shakespearian plays to a legendary stage after a long hiatus!
Shakespearian plays are coming back to The Lane aka the historic Theatre Royal Drury Lane! Director Jaime Loyd is thrilled to bring authentic plays to a stage that he thought would be “lost to musicals forever.” The return will be marked by two of Shakespear’s iconic plays—The Tempest starring Sigourney Weaver and Much Ado About Nothing Tom Hiddleston And Hayley Atwell.
Sigourney Weaver making her West End stage debut
Sigourney Weaver, known for her works in Ridley Scott’s Alien movies and James Cameron’s Avatar epics, is making her West End stage debut with The Tempest. The actress has experience dealing with Shakespearean plays having essayed the roles of Portia in a 1986 off-Broadway revival of The Merchant of Venice and Goneril in a traveling production of King Lear.
Despite having remarkable credit in stage plays, Weaver hadn’t performed Shakespeare in public for over 30 years. But what brought her back to the stage was the role of Prospero, the enigmatic protagonist of The Tempest, told from a woman’s perception.
Although the role Weaver is set to portray is written for a man, Loyd had an epiphany and her playing Prospero would “create theatrical electricity.” The director sent an email to her agent without any hope of getting a reply.
To his surprise and delight, there was a “really passionate, excited email” from Weaver the next morning. After a fun one-on-one interaction, she was on board and ready to make her debut at The Lane.
“[I have seen] Alien more times than any other movie. And I just thought, ‘How amazing would it be to work with someone that you’ve admired since you were a kid?’ Oh, wow,” Loyd told Deadline.
Tom Hiddleston And Hayley Atwell will play lovers in another Shakespearian play
Loyd is bringing not one but two iconic plays to life! Hiddleston and Atwell will play sparring lovers Benedick and Beatrice in Shakespear’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing. The director has nothing but praise for the leads who he claims would make “amazing sparring partners.”
Hiddleston is known for his work in Marvel’s Loki and The Night Manager among others. Atwell has been starring with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One and its follow-up film.
Loyd has a long-standing work relationship with both the actors, he worked with the Loki actor in 2019’s hauntingly beautiful version of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal. He directed Atwell in Alexi Kaye Campbell’s 2011 play The Faith Machine and a few years later in the revival of Kaye’s The Pride.
“Those two old collaborators, they’re Jamie Lloyd Company alumni. And I think they’re both two of the finest of our generation, aren’t they?” he said about the actors.
Loyd stressed that the chemistry between the duo was instant which tripled his excitement in terms of watching them step into their characters. “Both are, and they’re also both very witty people. … They’ve got this great intelligence, this great wit,” he added.
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