Stage and Screen
Eagerly awaited !lms, plays and television shows, including Netflix hit The Crown
Kazuo Ishiguro is collaborating with playwright Barney Norris on adapting his Booker prize-winning 1989 novel, The Remains of the Day (23rd February-16th March, Northampton; 16th-20th April, Oxford; more dates TBA;
poutopoint.co.uk), and summer will see the return of the extraordinary outdoor show
Kynren to Bishop Auckland, County Durham from 29th June-14th September. A ‘family-friendly romp through 2,000 years of English history, myth and legend,’ when the production’s Deniece Wanley calls it ‘epic’, it’s hard to argue. ‘An 8,000-seat grandstand overlooks a stage the size of #ve and a half football pitches,’ she explains. ‘At the heart is a lake, from which appears a full-size Drakkar longship crewed by three Vikings; they’re highly trained divers who’ve been in the water all the time.’ Throw in a replica of Stephenson’s Locomotion No 1 crossing stage front, a castle backdrop and a # rework # nale, and you’ve quite the spectacle. kynren.com
On 13th September, you’ll be able to, in the words of Petula Clark, forget all your troubles, forget all your cares, and go Downton. Principal photography on a featurelength Downton Abbey # lm began last summer, with the regular cast joined by Geraldine James and Imelda Staunton. carnivalfilms.co.uk Elsewhere in # lm news,
Rowan M Ashe’s The Vampyre, released on 25th October in time for Halloween, promises to be a faithfully horrifying interpretation of John Polidori’s novella, which celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. thevampyremovie.com
On television, Helen Mirren is set to star as the Russia-revitalising empress Catherine
the Great in an opulent drama ! lmed across Latvia, Lithuania and Mother Russia herself (transmission dates TBA, Sky Atlantic and NOW TV,
skymedia.co.uk). Director Philip Martin also executive produced the ! rst two series of The
Crown, the Net" ix blockbuster that returns this year to chart British royal family life from 1964-76. Proli !c actor Olivia Colman has acceded to the role of Elizabeth II, with Helena Bonham Carter taking over as Princess Margaret, just in time to portray her notorious a #air with British baronet and landscape gardener, Roddy Llewellyn. Expect a ! rst sighting of Camilla Parker Bowles, too (transmission dates TBA, net ix.com).