Kiss of the Spider Woman - Keen replaces Glen
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
DUE TO the indisposition of Iain Glen, Will Keen will take over the role of Molina in the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Kiss of the Spider Woman which will open as scheduled on April 25, 2007 (previews from April 19).
Keen’s theatre credits include Five Gold Rings (Almeida), The Rubenstein Kiss (Hampstead Theatre), The Coast of Utopia (National Theatre) and most recently, Tom and Viv (Almeida).
His screen credits include Elizabeth I, The Impressionists, Into the Void, Murphy’s Law and Martin Chuzzlewit (TV); and Love and Other Disasters and The Nine Lives of Thomas Katz (film).
Kiss of the Spider Woman is designed by Ben Stones, with lighting by Hartley TA Kemp and sound by John Leonard.
Previously Posted: Rupert Evans and Iain Glen will play Valentin and Molina in the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Kiss of the Spider Woman which opens on April 25, 2007 (previews from April 19).
Evans’ theatre credits include Venetian Heat, Romeo and Juliet (as Romeo), Macbeth, Sweet Panic (Duke of York’s) and Breathing Corpses (Royal Court).
And his screen credits include Hellboy, The Browning Version and Guantanamero (film); and Fingersmith, Sons and Lovers, Paradise Heights and North and South (TV).
Glen’s theatre credits include the Donmar’s production of the widely acclaimed The Blue Room (opposite Nicole Kidman), A Streetcar Named Desire (National Theatre) and Hedda Gabler (Almeida).
He was recently nominated for an Olivier Award (Best Actor) for his performance in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s revival of The Crucible (Gielgud Theatre).
Kiss of the Spider Woman will be directed by Charlotte Westenra.
Previously Posted: A Revival of Argentine Manuel Puig’s play, Kiss of the Spider Woman, will run from April 25 (previews from April 19) to May 26, 2007, at the Donmar Warehouse.
Adapted by Puig from his 1976 novel of the same name, it’s about two inmates in a Latin American prison – Valentin, a young Marxist rebel punished for for his ideals and Molina, a middle-aged man condemned for his sexuality – who are forced to share a cell.
While Molina reinvents stories of films he loves, including Kiss of the Spider Woman, the cynical Valentin listens. And while Valentin believes in the just cause which makes all suffering bearable, Molina believes in the magic of love which makes all else bearable.
But both men have always been alone and always in danger of betrayal – now, even more so…..
Kiss of the Spider Woman, translated by Allan Baker, was first performed at the Bush Theatre in 1985 and starred Simon Callow and Mark Rylance. A film adaptation followed and its star William Hurt won a Best Actor Academy Award for his performance as Molina.
Later, in 1993, Kander and Ebb’s Broadway musical version won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
The new production will be directed by Charlotte Westenra but as yet, no casting has been announced.
Don Juan in Soho completes its run at the Donmar Warehouse on February 10, 2007, and will be followed by David Eldridge’s new version of Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman.
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