Rachael Stirling Online

Crook's sergeant majors in Restoration romance

Posted by Bonnie at 12.00am

Mackenzie Crook will be all spit and polish and at his parade-ground best when he plays an Army sergeant on stage.

The actor will go direct from the award-winning play Jerusalem into The Recruiting Officer, portraying Sgt Kite in Josie Rourke's first production as artistic chief of the Donmar Warehouse.

She replaces Michael Grandage, who steps down on January 1 after an acclaimed tenure at the theatre.

Ms Rourke, who told me there was something 'completely celebratory' about opening her run at the Donmar with a play that combines romance and comedy, has cast George Farquhar's famous 1706 play with top-flight theatre stars, including Nancy Carroll, who won the best actress Olivier award for her breathtaking performance in After The Dance at the National.

The director noted that the role of Silvia, who has to disguise herself as a soldier, will allow Nancy to show off her 'extraordinary comic skill and dexterity'.

The play charts the shenanigans Sgt Kite and his superior officer Captain Plume (to be played by Tobias Menzies) get up to as they try to sign up men in Shrewsbury to fight foreign wars.

At the same time, the men and their friends want a few flings with the local women — though both sexes, at one point or another, get up to no good.

Mark Gatiss, Rachael Stirling and Gawn Grainger are also part of the company.

Rourke said there would be lustiness and battles in and out of the bedroom.

Restoration plays are usually performed in larger theatres, but the Donmar's compact size will allow her to focus on the story's intimacy and romance.

Rehearsals will begin early in the New Year while Mackenzie is still appearing in Jerusalem.

The Recruiting Officer begins on February 9 after Grandage's final production, Richard II starring Eddie Redmayne, ends its run.

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Cast announced for The Recruiting Officer at Donmar

Posted by Bonnie at 12.00am

Casting has been announced for The Recruiting Officer, written by George Farquhar which opens at the Donmar Warehouse 14 Feb 2012, following previews from 09 Feb – booking to 14 Apr 2012.

Cast includes Nancy Carroll (Silvia), Mackenzie Crook (Sergeant Kite), Mark Gatiss (Captain Brazen), Gawn Grainger (Mr Balance), Tobias Menzies (Captain Plume), Rachael Stirling (Melinda).

Directed by Josie Rourke, sound by Emma Laxton, lighting by James Farncombe, design by Lucy Osborne, composer Michael Bruce, produced by Donmar Warehouse.

Nancy Carroll's theatre credits include House of Games, Waste (Almeida Theatre), Twelfth Night (RSC), Arcadia (Duke of York's Theatre), The Enchantment, Man of Mode, The Voysey Inheritance (National Theatre) and See How They Run (Duchess Theatre).

Mackenzie Crook's credits include Jerusalem (Royal Court, Apollo Theatre and Music Box Theatre, New York), The Seagull (Royal Court and Walter Kerr Theatre, New York), The Exonerated (Riverside Studios) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Edinburgh Festival and Gielgud Theatre).

Mark Gatiss's work includes Season's Greetings (National Theatre), All About My Mother (Old Vic), The League of Gentlemen (Edinburgh Festival and tour) and Art (Whitehall Theatre). For television, The Crimson Petal and The White, Sherlock, Dr Who and The League of Gentlemen.

It's with the promise of money, glory and adventure that Captain Plume is recruiting the men of Shrewsbury for the King's army. He's also determined to make a conquest of Sylvia, but as she's now an heiress she can afford to put him to the test. All the while, the scheming Melinda is toying with the affections of Captain Brazen and the gentleman Mr Worthy.

From military manoeuvring to sexual strategies, Farquhar's triumphant The Recruiting Officer, written in 1706, is an unashamed celebration of love, lustiness and victory in battle and in the bedroom.

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Cast set for 'Recruiting Officer'

Posted by Bonnie at 12.00am

Mackenzie Crook ("Jerusalem") and Olivier Award winner Nancy Carroll ("After the Dance") lead the Donmar Warehouse cast of "The Recruiting Officer."

The production of George Farquhar's 18th-century military and marital comedy, which ushers in the tenure of incoming a.d. Josie Rourke, also stars Mark Gatiss, Tobias Menzies and Rachael Stirling. Rourke's production runs Feb. 9 – April 14, with a Feb. 14 press night.

The Donmar also announced the purchase of a 19th-century warehouse close to the theater to be converted into rehearsal, education and office space on a 112-year lease. It will take up residence in 2014. (In 2008 the theater purchased its Covent Garden home from its current landlord, Ambassador Theater Group.)

Michael Grandage said Thursday, "In today's marketplace, it isn't quite enough to hand over a theater with a strong reputation; it needs to have security as well. I am delighted that after nearly a decade at the helm, I leave the Donmar financially confident. From owning nothing, the Donmar now looks to the future with its own theater, rehearsal space, education space and office space occupying these two prime sites in Covent Garden."

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Photos from the 24 Hour Plays Celebrity Gala

Posted by Bonnie at 12.04am

We have just added some photos from the 24 Hour Plays Celebrity Gala to the website. You can see them all in the Events: 2011 gallery.

She played Molly, a bipolar girl who had stopped taking her medication. The character was obsessed with Star Wars and the play involved her, along with the other characters, capturing George Lucas and holding him hostage.

The tracksuit Rachael is wearing in the photos was part of her costume!

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Greedo Doesn't Shoot First!

Posted by Bonnie at 11.19pm

Thank you to Natalie at Simply Sophia Myles for the information hot off the press about today's 24 Hour Plays Celebrity Gala, in which Rachael is taking part along with Sophia and several other actors, directors and writers.

Rachael is in the following play:

Title: Greedo Doesn't Shoot First!
Playwright: Roy Williams
Director: Steve Macmion
Assistant Director: Laura Keefe

Cast:

Molly: Rachael Stirling
Jack: Robert Glenister
John: Brendan Coyle
Kat: Sophia Myles

Did anyone get the chance to attend?

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