Saturday, September 26, 2009

Tonight: Helen Mirren in Phèdre

I'm in Washington D.C. to see Dame Helen Mirren star as Phèdre at the Shakespeare Theatre Company tonight! The production is by Great Britain's National Theatre and is directed by Nicholas Hytner. This version of Jean Racine's Phèdre is by Ted Hughes. The dishy Dominic Cooper (!) and Margaret Tyzack also star.

The synopsis: Believing her husband to be dead, the passionate Queen Phèdre allows her forbidden love for her stepson to blossom. When the King returns from war very much alive, the entire family is catapulted into a desperate, impossible situation.




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

the image on the second clip flashed me back 30+ years to when Tyzack and Mirren starred in a TV miniseries called "Cousin Bette".

It was an adaptation of a Balzac novel, and was shown on PBS's 'Masterpiece Theater' around '75 or so.

I thought it was tremendous.

It's apparently available on DVD and I'm kinda nervous to check it out in case it doesn't quite live up to my memories ...