Category: Theater

Damian Lewis on Stage: The Royal Shakespeare Company Years

“My heroes were all in the theatre. I wanted to be part of that great tradition that ran back to Garrick and Macready and Kean. That’s what I wished for, when I was asleep and dreaming.” – Damian Lewis in an interview with Telegraph

Damian Lewis in Hamlet (1994) at Open Air Theatre, Regents Park, London

For those of you that are not familiar with these names, and I confess I was not, Damian is talking about David Garrick, Edmund Kean and William MacReady, celebrated British Shakespearean actors of the 18th and 19th century that had substantial influence on the interpretation and understanding of Shakespeare. Continue reading “Damian Lewis on Stage: The Royal Shakespeare Company Years”

Damian Lewis on Stage: Broadway Debut in Hamlet

We continue our walk through “Damian Lewis on Stage” memory lane today with Damian’s Broadway debut in Hamlet, an experience our favorite guy calls a “growing up, coming of age experience” in his career.

source: tumblr.com
source: tumblr.com

Damian does his Broadway debut as Laertes to Ralph Fiennes’ Hamlet in 1995. The Almeida Theatre production is staged first at Hackney Empire in March 1995, and after its successful run in London, it comes to Broadway in the summer of 1995 — OMG, yes, almost twenty two years ago! Continue reading “Damian Lewis on Stage: Broadway Debut in Hamlet”

ICYMI: Damian Lewis returns to the West End in Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? *UPDATED*

source: Hollywood Reporter

“I almost dare not ask this… but who is Sylvia?” -Ross

We have been rolling drums for a while now but in case you missed it Damian Lewis is making a wonderful comeback to the West End, just two years after storming American Buffalo along with John Goodman and Tom Sturridge, in the new revival of Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. The Goat is arguably the most provocative and controversial play by Albee who unfortunately passed away in September at the age of 88. It won all the major theater awards, namely Tony, New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle, for Best New Play of the Year when it was first staged on Broadway in 2002. Continue reading “ICYMI: Damian Lewis returns to the West End in Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? *UPDATED*”

Damian Lewis on Stage: The Early Plays, 1993 – 94

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In case you missed it, we talked about Damian’s drama school experience last week here.

Damian graduates from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1993. Ken Rea, Damian’s drama teacher at Guildhall, describes Damian arriving at drama school “an articulate, well-mannered young man with a bit of a polite façade,” and leaving with “the complete raw vulnerability that really grabs you as an audience.”

As soon as he graduates, Damian starts off at Birmingham Rep  — where Laurence Olivier also started his career in 1926 — with two plays, namely Rope and Romeo and Juliet in 1993  followed by Moliere’s School for Wives at the Almeida Theatre in London in 1994.

Continue reading “Damian Lewis on Stage: The Early Plays, 1993 – 94”

Damian Lewis on Stage: Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Damian Lewis is making a wonderful comeback to West End stage in Edward Albee’s late masterpiece The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? at Theatre Royal Haymarket in March 2017! And this gives us a unique opportunity to walk through the memory lane and visit Damian’s stage work in its entirety. It is our pleasure to kick off the festivities today with Damian’s theater education at Guildhall School of Music and Drama! We hope you share and enjoy this journey with us!

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Damian discovers theater in his early school days at Ashdown House: His first ever role is a policeman in The Pirates of Penzance, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. And by age 12, he has good stage experience under his belt with a few low and high moments 😀 Continue reading “Damian Lewis on Stage: Guildhall School of Music and Drama”