(upbeat music)
- Welcome back "London Calling",
the latest lowdown for every Broadway buff
about what's happening on the other side of the pond.
Later, we'll catch up with theatrical legends
Dame Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce
who are headlining Florian Zeller's
"The Height of the Storm" at MTC.
But first, let's take a quick look at what shows
the Brit's are getting into
one of their infamous queues for.
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Speaking of Florian Zeller,
his latest work "The Son" is running to much acclaim
at the Duke of York's theater.
Translated by regular collaborator Christopher Hampton
and directed by Michael Longhurst.
Meanwhile, Tony nominee and TV favorite Stephen Mangan
is headlining a stage adaptation
of the classic 1950s film "The Main in the White Suit"
over the Wyndham's, penned and directed by Sean Foley.
William Finn and James Lapine's "Falsettos"
is breaking hearts over at the Other Palace
and we would be remiss not to mention that "Waitress"
is still cooking up a storm at the Adelphi.
Plus, calling all dancing queens.
The O2 is playing host to the immersive
"Mamma Mia: The Party Experience"
where over the course of four hours,
guests enjoy a show, a four-course meal,
and ABBA disco all in the surroundings of the Nikos Taverna.
The winner takes it all.
(upbeat music)
Thumb up, sir Ian McKellen,
who was turned his 80th birthday
into a very long and inclusive party.
To mark the event, he toured his own man show
"Shakespeare, Tolkien, Others, & You" throughout the UK
and he has now taken up residence
at the West End's Harold Pinter theater.
McKellen regales the audience with anecdotes
from his storied career as well as performing
extracts from some his most famous roles.
Thumbs down on behalf of goldfish everywhere.
Just kidding, we think.
An immersive theater production of "The Wolf of Wall Street"
directed by Alexander Wright is playing in East London.
Audience members can witness the rise of Jordan Belfort
over four floors with the option of becoming
a master of the universe broker type
or signing up with the FBI
to bring those afore mentioned brokers down.
"London Calling" is still in the process of establishing
whether there's fish on the menu.
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Did you know that the first permanent theater in London
was built in 1576 during the reign of Elizabeth the First?
James Burbage's public playhouse was called The Theater
and it was swiftly followed by The Curtain.
Shakespeare's company tread the boards of both.
The famous Globe was built in Suffolk in 1599
using timber from The Theater.
A theater district formed in the area,
but then they got shutdown in 1642
by those pesky Puritans.
Wonder what they'd have made of Broadway.
And now, it was a huge privilege
to speak to Dame Eileen Atkins
and Jonathan Pryce about their decades on the boards
and why they've returned to Broadway
for "The Height of the Storm"
where a loving 50-year-long marriage is faced
with the inevitability of change.
Thank you both so much for doing this.
This is my first ever "London Calling" with a Dame
and a Commander of the British Empire.
- Thank you. - So thank you, thank you.
You're both at the height of your careers, pun intended.
What was it about this show, "The Height of the Storm",
that made you say yes, we want to come to Broadway
and carry on what we were doing in the West End
that much longer?
- I knew I liked Florian Zeller's work from "The Father"
and I'd seen another couple of things
and I read it and I was very excited to read it
and then after the first reading,
very disappointed to read it
because I didn't understand it.
- Thought-provoking.
- It is but on the page it doesn't come alive.
There aren't many stage directions.
I read it a second time and began to understand it more.
I read it a third time
by which time I was crying at the end of it.
I completely understood it.
Even though we did it in London for three months,
I'm still finding new things here after a nine month break.
- It's a great gift to come back to a play.
To do it, leave it for a year or six months, even.
I love doing that.
I love revisiting a play.
And I was wanting to get back to New York, anyway.
- You're playing a married couple of 50 years.
How have you enjoyed that relationship?
Bringing that to life on stage?
- Working with Eileen is a complete joy.
We hit it off from day one.
We met, you had forgotten that we met.
- No, I hadn't forgotten. - We hadn't?
- Oh, see. - I forgot the tea.
- Married couple here.
- 1976, we met here in New York.
- In "Comedians". - Which was your
Broadway debut, right?
- Yes, I was in "Comedians". - I went to see him
play the comedian.
- And I met you for a cup of tea.
- He says that we had a cup of tea.
- It was a very British thing to do.
We had a cup of tea in an apartment in somewhere.
- With Jean Marsh.
She was with me and she had a cup of tea with you.
- There you go. - I'm beginning to think
you went of with Jean and not me.
(Jonathan laughs)
- [Imogen] And it's an intense show, isn't it?
There's only an hour and 20 minutes,
but you are putting the audience through it.
- It's very intense, but it's also very satisfying,
fulfilling to do.
You don't come out of the theater thinking
I've been beating my head against the wall for an hour,
trying to get some sort of reaction out the audience.
You know the play works and the play carries you
and lifts your energy every time.
- It's about family, isn't it, Eileen?
I think everybody can relate to that
and they relate to what they're seeing on stage.
- Yes, surprised me terrifically
how much young people love it and they do.
A lot of people think we're in a two-hander.
I think that's a bit
(drowned out by Imogen) - Yeah, they do.
- And they're all good parts,
which is always very satisfying to have that in a company.
Then everybody's happy.
- And you're all-- - Came as a surprise to me
because I thought I was doing a one man show.
- Oh, well, there you go, Jonathan.
- But other people are around, apparently.
- Now, I'm fascinated.
Both of you have been attached
to the biggest television shows of recent times.
You in "The Crown".
You in "Game of Thrones".
Has that changed who approaches you?
I'll start with you, Eileen.
Have people come up to you with Queen Mary?
Have they spotted you there or not at all?
Is it still "Cranford"
if they've spotted you from television?
- I still hear from "Cranford", long ago as that.
I'm rather relieved I'm not often recognized
straightaway as Queen Mary, which is rather a relief.
- She's an amazing character.
She's one of my favorite queens.
- I loved playing it, I did love playing it.
But wonderfully, here in America, one is mostly stopped
by people who have seen you in the theater.
- Which is phenomenal.
- Which is lovely.
- But Jonathan, "Game of Thrones".
You played a horrifying character.
He was.
(laughs) High Sparrow.
- No.
- How was that?
Because that level of fandom is just extraordinary.
Has there been a lot of people asking you for selfies?
- A lot of it, yeah.
Because they love the show so much,
they're actually quite respectful.
- And you are terrifying in the show.
So that probably helps. - I didn't think I was.
I thought I was a nice guy doing good things for society.
There you go.
- There you go.
- I don't mind any of this recognition
because the show is so good.
I had a great time making it and then they killed me.
- They did.
Final question.
What do you hope audiences take away with them
from the show?
I'll start with you, Jonathan.
- People find it incredibly moving
and there's laughter on the way,
but you hope for tears at the end.
- And for you, Eileen,
what do you hope audiences take away with them?
- I just like to tell the story of something that happened
when we were on tour
in London before we came into the Wyndham.
One of the understudies went outside
and into the audience to watch the show
and in came an old couple
and they were behaving as a lot of old couples behave.
Man had stopped talking to the woman.
She was fussing about a program
and being irritated with him and he wasn't speaking.
Finally, he got her a program
and they sat there and the play started.
And at the end of the play, he put his arm around her.
It's going to make me cry.
And they walked out holding hands.
I think that's pretty wonderful
for a play to have done that. - It is.
- It's cheap marriage guidance counseling, really.
- And on that note, thank you both so very much.
It's been a huge honor.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- Thanks.
- See you next time.
Cheerio!
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