Sam Mendes, Old Vic and BAM Team Up for The Bridge Project
Presented under the umbrella title, The Bridge Project, it will be launched with the pairing of William Shakespeare's Hamlet and The Tempest that Mendes will direct. Stephen Dillane will star in the title role of Hamlet and as Prospero in The Tempest. They will play at BAM from January to March and come to The Old Vic from May to June. The productions will also play a month-long residency at Milan's Piccolo Teatro in April.
In 2009, Mendes will direct Simon Russell Beale in a pairing of The Winter's Tale and Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, with Russell Beale playing Leontes and Lopakhin respectively. A further pairing of plays is yet to be confirmed for 2010.
The full companies will be drawn from leading British and American actors. According to a press statement, “The Bridge Project places the exchange of ideas, talent and creativity between London and New York at the heart of the process.” A joint producing venture of Joseph V Melillo for the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Kevin Spacey for The Old Vic and Mendes and Caro Newling for Neal Street Productions, the project is borne of their “shared desire to produce large-scale, classical theater for international audiences”.
The seeds for this project were sown when Mendes ended his Donmar regime by directing a double-bill of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya which starred Russell Beale that subsequently travelled to BAM. Spacey began to explore the idea of pursuing a similar vein of work with Mendes, following their work together on the Oscar-winning 1999 film American Beauty in which Mendes directed and Spacey starred, The Old Vic is an ideal theater to partner with BAM in that they are physically comparable.
In a statement, BAM's executive producer Melillo said, “Global artistic connections have always been a vital part of BAM's mission, and The Bridge Project speaks to that ongoing effort. It's a privilege to develop a new partnership with Kevin Spacey and The Old Vic, and I'm particularly pleased that it was borne out of our existing relationship with Sam Mendes and Caro Newling. This unique, three-year collaboration promises to bring a wealth of resonant theater productions to New York City, London, and international stages—and we're proud to be a part of that endeavour.”
Spacey added, “I couldn't be more excited about the prospect of this unique partnership. It has been my hope since I became artistic director of The Old Vic that the work we do in London should have an international life, and particularly, a presence in New York. It's for this reason that we're so pleased to be on NewYork with our production of A Moon for the Misbegotten this spring—the first Broadway transfer of an Old Vic Theatre Company production—and to have two Shakespeares recently at BAM. This new venture takes the desire for The Old Vic to be in conversation with the New York theater community to a new level, by placing the collaboration between us and BAM at the centre of the creative process. I believe that for the actors and artists involved in this new company, it will be a remarkable and inspirational experience and we're thrilled to be a part of this new venture.”
Mendes pointed out a shared theme between the two plays with which he is launching the venture: “I'm delighted to have the opportunity of directing these two wonderful plays simultaneously. Hamlet and The Tempest, although written 13 years apart, are plays in which Shakespeare deals with a similar obsession: in both, the central character is bent on revenge. But they are also plays which explore the complex relationship between parents and children, masters and subjects. By presenting these two plays and their common ideas side-by-side we will, I hope, be able to begin a fascinating process of discovery, in which each play casts a fresh light on the other.”
Rehearsals for Hamlet and The Tempest will start in Brooklyn in October 2007.