Olivier Award nominee Hayley Atwell has hinted at plans to return to the London stage in 2015 after receiving an Olivier Award nomination for her recent performance in The Pride.
The Best Actress nominee, who faces competition from Judi Dench, Lesley Manville and Anna Chancellor in the prestigious category, spoke about her prospective stage return at this year’s Olivier Award Nominees Lunch, saying: “I hope to do so next year. Thérèse Raquin and The Blue Room are two of my favourite plays that I’ve been investigating at the moment so hopefully it will be something like that.”
The annual nominees’ celebration, which took place earlier this week, brought together many of this year’s nominated performers, writers and creatives at the Haymarket Hotel for an afternoon of champagne, canapés and celebration.
First-time nominee Atwell described herself as “completely shocked and humbled” by the nomination, commenting: “To be associated with the actresses in that category, it’s just remarkable. I’m astounded by it. Lesley [Manville] is one of my favourite actresses… she is someone I kind of aspire to be as an actress.”
While we wait to hear whether Atwell’s next theatre project will be the Émile Zola classic, David Hare’s adaptation or indeed something completely different, we will instead be able to see the actress on screen. “There’s a biopic of Jimi Hendrix that I’ve done, Cinderella [directed by Kenneth Branagh], which comes out next year, and then the series of Agent Carter, which is part of the Marvel/Captain America franchise. They’re making a series based on my character in that.”
Atwell wasn’t the only Best Actress nominee at the event to hint at her future career plans. Manville, who is recognised for her haunting performance as Helene Alving in Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, spoke of the nominated production’s intentions to transfer to Broadway. “[The producers] are in talks to take us to New York, which would be lovely,” Manville said.
Richard Eyre’s production, which is nominated for five awards including Best Revival and Best Director at this year’s ceremony, has had “interest from various theatres” across the Atlantic, but Manville has said she needs to take time-out from Ghosts before taking the show stateside. “[The transfer] wouldn’t happen straight away. I think I need a bit of a break from it. That last scene was quite hard for us every night so I need a bit of distance from that.”
Ibsen’s tale of a mother haunted by the ghosts of her past opened for a two-month run at the Almeida Theatre before transferring to the Trafalgar Studios in December 2013, a move that required Manville to fulfil an additional three months of demanding performances.
One of this year’s Best Actor nominees who will be able to sympathise with Manville regarding the demands of her performance is Henry Goodman. The actor, who is nominated for his performance in The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui at the Duchess Theatre following its premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre, had to reach up to what he described as the “huge technical, vocal and physical demands” of his role.
Goodman, a previous Olivier Award winner, also spoke of his passion for productions, like Ghosts and The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui, that begin life in the regions or at smaller London venues before moving into the West End. “I like it when things start modestly out of London and you really hone the work and bring it in. That’s what happened with Arturo Ui and Yes, Prime Minister. It doesn’t have to be out of London; Duet For One started at the Almeida. It’s quite nice when you have time to not deal with the pressures of making money in the early life of a show.”
The acclaimed performer, who is up against Tom Hiddleston, Jude Law and Rory Kinnear in the fight for Best Actor at this year’s awards, has joined Atwell in hinting that he will return to the stage following a period of screen work. “I have been approached about a couple of things but I’m trying to nurture them for next year so that I can focus for the summer of 2014 on some filming.”
While we’re having to wait a while before seeing the trio of nominees back on stage, be it in the West End or on Broadway, only 10 days remain until we discover who will be crowned the winner of their categories.
Nominees, theatre legends and special guests will gather at the Royal Opera House on 13 April for this year’s glamorous Olivier Awards with MasterCard. On the night, there will be performances from ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, Broadway legend Bernadette Peters, internationally renowned tenor Joseph Calleja and this year’s MasterCard Best New Musical and BBC Radio 2 Audience Award nominees.
Make sure to follow the Olivier Awards and Official London Theatre on Twitter to keep up to date with star-studded red carpet arrivals and be the first to find out who will be taking home those coveted statuettes.
Don’t forget, you can also head to Covent Garden’s Piazza, where there will be live performances and a big screen showing a live stream of the ceremony, and catch up on the evening of prize-giving and performances by watching highlights on ITV at 22:15.
