Hamlet
@DanCrucibleAD and @crucibletheatre have been posting some rehearsal pictures from Hamlet through their Twitter pages!
I will add these to the Gallery later, along with more as they’re posted! 
News: Hamlet Rehearsal Pictures
Information: Mad Dogs
A promotional image has been released for Mad Dogs (see below) – this has been confirmed to air on Sky1 / Sky1 HD during January 2011.
As soon as more pictures are released, I will add them to the gallery!
Happy Birthday John!
Here at John Simm Online, we’d like to wish John a very Happy Birthday! We hope you have a good one!
Article: Casting News (Hamlet)
Full casting has now been confirmed for this autumn’s John Simm-headed offering of Hamlet, which runs at Sheffield Crucible from 22 September to 23 October 2010 (previews from 16 September).
John Nettles – best known from his long-running TV role in Midsomer Murders and awarded an OBE in this month’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List – will return to the stage after a long absence to star as Claudius/Ghost alongside Simm and Michelle Dockery (as Ophelia), Barbara Flynn (Gertrude), Colin Tierney (Horatio) and Hugh Ross (Polonius).
Also in the cast are: Dylan Brown (Rosencrantz), Adam Foster (Guildernstern), Ben Lamb (Voltemand/Player/Fortinbras), James Loye (Laertes/Lucianus), Joseph Mydell (Player King/Francisco/Captain), Harry Lister Smith (Cornelius) and Roderick Smith (Marcellus/Player/Priest).
The production is directed by Paul Miller and designed by Tom Scutt, with lighting by Oliver Fenwick and music and sound is by Ben and Max Ringham.
News: Hamlet tickets on sale!
Visit the official Sheffield Theatres website for details on how to book your tickets. Prices range from £12 to £20 for tickets, and the play runs from Thursday 16 September to Saturday 23 October 2010.
News: Hamlet dates and tickets
Hamlet runs from 22nd September to 23rd October 2010 (previews from 16th September), with tickets going on sale on 22nd May for members and 29th May for the general public.
Site: Media back up and running
It seems that when the site underwent the numerous recent server changes, it messed up the Media sub-domain’s wordpress installation and stopped it working. Unfortunately, I only realised today! I’ve moved the media back to the main site now, and it is accessible through the link at the top again.
News: Hamlet ticket information.
As posted on Daniel Evans’ Twitter page;
If ur a member, u can buy Hamlet tickets nxt wk, otherwise you have to wait 3 wks. But keep a look out. They’ll go quickly.
He also named September 22nd as Hamlet’s press night.
Daniel Evans is The Crucible’s Artistic Director.
News: TV actor takes starring role in city theatre season
Sheffield Theatres today announces its new season, featuring a star turn from Life on Mars actor John Simm as Hamlet.
Richard Wilson, known to millions as TV’s Victor Meldrew, will also take a director’s role.The group, which includes the Lyceum, the Studio and the world famous Crucible, will also see a season of work celebrating David Hare and a revival of musical Me and My Girl in a version written by Stephen Fry.
The David Hare season will see all three theatres showing work by the same writer at the same time for the first time, one of the productions being directed by theatre royalty Peter Gill.
Yorkshire born John Simm, who played Sam Tyler in Life on Mars and The Master in Doctor Who, will be playing Hamlet in a new production of Shakespeare’s play in September.
The high profile casting sees artistic director Daniel Evans, a year into the job, continue the tradition started by former director Michael Grandage , who brought Kenneth Branagh to the city.
Mr Evans said: “The Crucible Theatre reopened in February this year after a two-year redevelopment and I’m deeply encouraged by the fact that over 23,000 people saw the first three productions in our opening season.
“As we look ahead to the new season, I’m delighted to announce an ambitious and varied programme of work, including classical, physical and musical theatre. The David Hare season will be the first time that Sheffield Theatres has staged one playwright’s work in each of its three venues – and I look forward to welcoming David to the city.”
Theatre and film writer and director Hare is most famous for the plays Pravda and the films The Reader and The Hours.
His plays Racing Demon, Plenty and The Breath of Life – which were written 12 years apart – will run across all three theatres, alongside a series of play readings, workshops, talks and interviews.
Peter Gill, one of British theatre’s most respected directors, along with Daniel Evans and Thea Sharrock, who directed Daniel Radcliffe in Equus, will be in charge of the three productions.
As an actor Richard Wilson’s most famous role was in TV’s One Foot in the Grave, but as a director his theatre credits are extensive.
He comes to Sheffield in July to direct That Face by Polly Stenham, in its English regional premiere.
Other highlights include the Christmas musical Me and My Girl, which will open in December and run until January next year.
Article: Sky 1 Press Release for Mad Dogs
Sky1 HD today announced MAD DOGS, a new four-part drama serial for transmission in Spring 2011. Written by Cris Cole and produced by BAFTA award winning production company Left Bank Pictures (Wallander, Strike Back), the ensemble piece brings together a stellar line up of British talent both on and off screen with Max Beesley, Philip Glenister, John Simm and Marc Warren taking up the four principal roles. MAD DOGS was commissioned by Elaine Pyke, Head of Drama, Sky1HD, Sky1 Sky2 and Sky3.
MAD DOGS centres around the reunion of a group of old friends. Woody (Beesley), Quinn (Glenister), Baxter (Simm) and Rick (Warren) have been mates since sixth form. The fifth member of the gang, Alvo, lives in Majorca, having made his fortune in property. Now in their 40s; a mix of single, married and divorced; they’ve been invited out to Alvo’s villa to celebrate his retirement. However, their trip does not work out as planned and takes a dark turn when the holiday becomes a labyrinthine nightmare of lies, deception and murder. MAD DOGS is a darkly comic twisted tale of friendship put to the ultimate test as an inconceivable chain of events unfolds. Four ordinary blokes faced with a set of extraordinary circumstances and not handling it!
On the eve of the start of filming John Simm said: “I feel very lucky to be involved in such an exciting project. It’s always a joy to work with Marc and Phil of course. With Max and the brilliant Adrian Shergold also involved this promises to be a wonderful experience. We have quality running all the way through this production so hopefully together we can make MAD DOGS something really special.” Max Beesley added: “MAD DOGS promises to be a great piece of television. The scripts are crisp, the setting idylic with a lovely set of lads to work with and one of the best directors in the business at the helm, it really is a treat to be involved. I’m looking forward to shooting and can’t wait to see the finished product!”
Marc Warren commented: “This is a dream job about four guys who go to a beautiful island and have a total nightmare.” And Philip Glenister remarked: “I was looking forward to working with three of the best actors on the small screen, but they weren’t available so I’ll have to make do with John, Marc and Max. It’s going to be a blast and hopefully we will come up with four hours of great TV drama.”
Writer Cris Cole added: “As well as enjoying writing for such a fantastic cast, I was also delighted to be able to attempt such an ambitious and cinematic thriller drawing on influences like David Lynch and the Coen Brothers as inspiration for the kind of storytelling that is never quite what you think it is going to be.”
Elaine Pyke, Head of Drama, Sky1 HD, Sky1, Sky2, Sky 3, who greenlit MAD DOGS, says: “Cris Cole’s MAD DOGS is a fantastically well constructed psychological thriller. When I first read the script I was immediately grabbed by how thrilling, scary and funny it is. This is a hugely exciting, ambitious project and it’s the perfect show for Sky1.”
Suzanne Mackie, Executive Producer, was instrumental in pulling together the project. She says: “In many ways the idea for MAD DOGS was born out of friendship: it was both the long-term friendships of Phil, John, Marc and Max, who had decided they wanted to work together and my own friendship with Phil and writer Cris Cole that pulled us all together. We are all roughly the same age, and at the same phase of life, and so it seemed fitting for us to place themes of ‘growing older’ and friendship at the heart of MAD DOGS, and to create a drama that would allow us to explore the darker recesses of both.” Andy Harries,Chief Executive, Left Bank Pictures, additionally commented: “Who let the dogs out? We did. Four fantastic and highly competitive guys going head to head in a brilliant new drama – its going to be a real treat on Sky1.”
MAD DOGS’ Executive Producers are Andy Harries, Suzanne Mackie and Elaine Pyke. Spencer Campbell will produce with Adrian Shergold directing. Marigo Kehoe is the Head of Production for Left Bank Pictures. The four part piece is an original script written by Cris Cole.
