BritWeek and The Wallis are proud to announce A Shakespeare Jubilee!
BritWeek, the largest and most visible celebration of the creativity and innovation between the UK and the US, celebrates its twelfth year with three significant events in Los Angeles. BritWeek has become a global forum that highlights British excellence and influence in theater, films television, music, fine art, and sport.
This year’s opening event is A Shakespeare Jubilee!, BritWeek’s first co-presentation with The Wallis. Produced and directed by Louis Fantasia, and featuring a star-studded cast of 27 actors, A Shakespeare Jubilee! takes place Saturday, April 28, 2018 at 7:30pm in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis and tickets are now on sale.
250 years ago, in 1768, the Stratford England town elders called on David Garrick, the greatest actor of his day, to organize a “jubilee” celebrating its most famous citizen, William Shakespeare. For one night only, some of London and Hollywood’s greatest names revive the festivities with excerpts from some of Shakespeare’s greatest hits.
“Shakespeare is every actor’s first love,” says Shakespeare scholar Louis Fantasia, “And this jubilee on April 28th will show why, as we honor the Bard’s understanding of human nature and celebrate the jubilee organized by David Garrick in 1768, that honored Stratford’s famous citizen. And what better way to do this than introducing Britain’s greatest playwright to Beverly Hills’ most beautiful theater.”
“As a part of our on-going commitment to partner with local artists and Los Angeles based cultural organizations we are so pleased to welcome BritWeek to The Wallis family this season,” said Paul Crewes, The Wallis’ Artistic Director and Rachel Fine, Managing Director.
The cast of British and Hollywood actors includes: Genevieve Allenbury, Eric Braeden, Jane Carr, Suzan Crowley, Karen David, Kelsey Deanne, Joely Fisher, Michele Greene, Ioan Gruffudd, Harry Hamlin, Lexie Helgerson, Isabella Hofmann, Finola Hughes, Jamison Jones, Lisa Locicero, Brian Lohmann (and Improv Theatre), Nigel Lythgoe, David Melville, Wale Ojo, Armin Shimerman, Joe Spano, Kitty Swink, Joan Van Ark, Peter Van Norden, Sabra Williams, Sherry Williams, Madeline Wu, Oscar Zhang, and more to be announced.
Performance supported in part by a generous gift from the David and Molly Pyott Foundation.
The running time for A Shakespeare Jubilee! will be 1 hour and 45 minutes including a 15 minute intermission. A reception will immediately follow the performance on The Promenade Terrace.
About BritWeek
BritWeek is a non–profit organization, started in Los Angeles in 2007 by Nigel Lythgoe and the then Consul General Bob Peirce, to highlight the creative relationship between the United Kingdom and California. BritWeek’s mission is to create greater awareness of the many ways in which Britain and the US work closely together and further build this relationship to advance business, the arts, and philanthropy in both of these thriving regions of the world. Every Spring, BritWeek hosts a program of events in Greater Los Angeles that promotes British creativity, innovation and excellence across multiple categories including, film & television, music, art, fashion, design, retail, sport, philanthropy, business, and more.
One response to “BritWeek at the Wallis: A Shakespeare Jubilee!”
[…] Brit Week: A Shakespeare Jubilee has wrapped at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, but not without plenty of highly memorable comedy and drama from U.K. and local Los Angeles theatrical talents, who collaborated to celebrate the bard, and recreate the almost royal OMGs of 1768 famed actor David Garrick and his attempts to ‘improve’ on Shakespeare’s greatest plays. (Luckily, that didn’t work out so well for David.) […]