Bridge Theatre

Right.

I did it at the Bridge Theatre, um, which is off West End.

It's actually not been in the West End since 1991.

Right.

is not enough.

The more London development is interesting, because you've got the Bridge Theatre, which So someone realized, all right, we need a cultural kind of destination.

It's a bloody stunning.

Oh, beautiful.

Hey everyone, and welcome to a special bonus episode of All That Chats, the All That Dazzles podcast, your one-stop shop for all things theatre, with me, Daz Gale, the Daz in All That Dazzles.

I was lucky enough to step into the woods to meet eight cast members from the soon-to-be West End Transfer of the acclaimed and Olivier Award-winning Bridge Theatre production.

Let's start by meeting Cinderella, Rapunzel and their two princes, not forgetting the wolf, though we almost did.

I'm Simba Kande and I play Cinderella.

Yes.

He is one of the stars of Pride the Musical, which is transferring from the National to the Bridge Theatre in November.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Samuel Barnett.

APPLAUSE Hi.

And so to begin with, we are in the familiar realm of Greek tragedy.

It continues to be a hot Greek summer in the wake of Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of The Odyssey, and the many stage plays that we have seen, including notably The Oresteia at the Bridge Theatre, that are also telling stories around that idea, around that epic.

And The Oresteia falls somewhat amidst The Odyssey with the return of Agamemnon to his home and what is waiting there for him.

Electra occurs after that.

It does seem fair to say, though, especially given the way that all of this has progressed, that it isn't ideal to announce a celebrity-led stage project so far in advance.

Another has collapsed this year or potentially been postponed to a later date, which was the production of Ivanov at the Bridge Theater, a venue which has since been sold.

More on that later, if you can believe it.

And it isn't that this whole thing was lined up and put together too early.

Which begs the question, where is it gonna go? Is this just going to land somewhere in the commercial West End? With enough star power and enough audience demand, it absolutely could.

When Marianne Elliott last directed Sondheim, it was Company at the Gielgud Theater.

I mentioned the change of ownership of the Bridge Theater previously.

One of the more recent Sondheim revivals here in the UK, Into the Woods, was initially staged at the Bridge Theater.

Productions that he directed himself include One Man, Two Guvnors and The History Boys, one of several collaborations with Alan Bennett.

In 2017, he co-founded London's Bridge Theatre, where his productions have included Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Guys and Dolls.

One of the most influential and successful figures in British theater, Sir Nicholas Hytner was knighted for services to drama in 2010.

Nicholas Hytner, welcome to This Cultural Life.

I'm really delighted to be here.

It's recently been announced that you've sold the Bridge Theatre.

Mm.

The theater that you set up and have been running for the last nine years since stepping down as director of the National Theatre.