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NZ Herald
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Robyn Malcolm celebrates Bafta nomination for After the Party series
'It was 12.45pm. I was eating my eggs, trying not to overthink, when Peter said, 'I don't think you've got it or you'd have had a call by now,'' she recalls. 'And I was like, 'Oh, well, it was fun to imagine,' and I hadn't brought a frock over. Then he refreshed the Bafta page, scrolling and scrolling, when his face changed colour. He went silent, then he said, 'Oh, my God, you're on the list.' Then I went quiet, I got a bit teary, and I nearly passed out!' Within moments, Robyn's phone lit up with messages of support from around the world. 'Text after text, DMs, WhatsApps... Then an email came from Bafta saying congratulations, this is the hotel you can stay at, here's the invitation to the nominees' cocktail party, and it became very real very quickly,' continues Robyn, clearly still gobsmacked that the six-part series where she plays Penny, a teacher who accuses her ex-husband (played by Peter) of a sex crime, is up for such a prestigious award. Back in Aotearoa, Robyn's creative collaborator and scriptwriter, Gisborne-based Dianne Taylor, was similarly ecstatic. Explains Robyn, 'Di had set her alarm for 2am to check if we'd been shortlisted, and she called from her bed and we screamed at each other.' Now that Robyn has had time to digest the incredible news, her next drama became deciding what to wear for the big night. 'I have a WhatsApp group with my mum and my sisters called 'Rob's Bafta Dress' and it is live 24/7,' she says. 'I also mentioned it on Insta and all these fab women started sending me ideas. And I'm thrilled that Liz Findlay from Zambesi is making me a frock especially for the occasion.' Always adamant that she wanted to showcase a local designer on the world stage, Robyn couldn't be happier that Zambesi has come to the party. As for Robyn's other non-negotiable, she wants her ensemble to be long enough to conceal her trainers. 'I wore heels to the Oliviers the other day [London theatre's Laurence Olivier Awards] and I'm never doing that again because you can't be on the dance floor for hours in heels,' she says. 'I spoke to one woman at the Oliviers – she was wearing a massive pink taffeta ball gown and she looked amazing. Her friend in a green gown was wearing trainers, and I asked the taffeta woman if she was wearing trainers too. She said no and revealed her gorgeous heels, then she put her hands in the pockets of her big taffeta gown and pulled out a pair of slippers!' Robyn probably wouldn't give two hoots if she were seen wearing sensible shoes because she has made it her mission to normalise everything from mental health to menopause. To that end, Robyn has also said goodbye to shapewear. 'I don't wear tummy-flattening undies any more. They're so uncomfortable and sweaty, but my body is my body. And I love seeing glimpses of a woman's shape beneath her clothing, with all her moving parts, not some trussed up, imprisoned abdomen that looks like it's been redesigned by AI,' the star declares, then cackles and recalls the first time she attended a glittering Baftas ceremony. 'It was 2019 and Peter was in a comedy called Mum that was up for a bunch of awards,' she shares. 'I was shooting a film in Serbia at the time, and I'd bought this phenomenal jumpsuit in Belgrade. But I'd also eaten a fair bit during the shoot, so by awards night, I had to lie on the floor and be zipped into my outfit, wearing incredibly tight undies underneath. 'Halfway through the night, I'm so uncomfortable, and the three amazing actresses from Mum took me to the ladies, removed my pants, then zipped me back up – and I swore I'd never wear shapewear after that!' As Robyn reflects on the incredible recognition the Bafta nomination represents, she's quick to express gratitude to all the people she has collaborated with, and not just on After the Party, but across her four-decade career. 'It's been a ladder and I've climbed it hand over hand, rung by rung, and I've become pretty resilient in the process. I've lost my secure rope a few times. I've slid and barely held on, but I've kept going,' she declares, then adds that she and Dianne didn't set out to win a Bafta when they wrote After the Party. 'We shared a lot of fury about how middle-aged women are portrayed on screen, and we wanted to explore a story with a fallible 50-something, and challenge her profoundly. We then surrounded ourselves with genius people, and the rest just happened.' Asked if she has drafted an acceptance speech, Robyn is philosophical. 'Nope. We're up against incredible shows, including Shōgun, Say Nothing and Colin from Accounts, and the nomination itself is more than enough,' she tells, then notes that the Baftas do sometimes celebrate the underdog. As to who'll take the trophy home if they do win, Robyn has definitely given that some thought. 'I've been in this business a long time and I've been on a hundred shortlists, and the thrill of the possibility is part of the fun,' she muses. 'Because if there's another thing I've learned in this racket, it's that expectation is the mother of all disappointment. But on the off-chance we win, perhaps we can 3D-print it, then share it between Sydney, Auckland and Gisborne.' Robyn is also proud to inspire the next generation of actors, including the incredible younger cast members from After the Party. 'Tara [Canton, who stars as Grace], Ian [Blackburn, as Ollie] and Elz [Carrad, as Tom] knocked us sideways with their bravery and talent, and let's not forget four-year-old Ziggy [O'Reilly, aka Walt] who taught us all how to act again,' Robyn says fondly. 'I also tell younger actors, while acting is the best job in the world, if it doesn't work out, trying will have made you a better person because you're in a constant conversation with yourself and your humanity,' she says, which is why, if people tell Robyn they want to be actors, she only has words of encouragement. This is also possibly why Robyn's own sons have also fallen for the craft. 'One of them was doing an audition recently and I said to him that acting's pretty simple really − you just have to like feeling stuff,' she says. 'A lot of people will do everything they can not to feel. They're hard-wired to run a mile from pain or confusion, embarrassment or anxiety, but for actors, feeling things is our bread and butter.' Looking to the future, Robyn is happy to be surprised with what comes next, but she has a few ideas up her sleeve. 'I want to hang out with everyone I love in Aotearoa, Australia and the UK, without contributing to climate change,' she declares. 'I also want to work with amazing people until I drop, on stage and on screen. To do things I've never done before and remain terrified and ambitious. I'd also like to make more TV with Di, get more dogs and pay off my mortgage, if that's not too much to ask!' One thing is certain – we'll all be glued to our screens on May 12 as we watch the BAFTAs unfold. Robyn will be wearing her Zambesi frock − with comfortable undies and trainers beneath − and all her fans, family and friends will have their fingers tightly crossed for a win.
Scottish Sun
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Nicole Scherzinger, 46, shows off her incredible figure in green bikini after Sunset Boulevard nomination
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NICOLE Scherzinger has skin in the game at the coveted Tony Awards. The former Pussycat Dolls singer, 46, looked suitably toned in a green bikini after it was revealed she has been nominated for her lead role in Sunset Boulevard. 3 Nicole Scherzinger showed off her incredible figure in a green bikini Credit: Splash 3 Nicole has been nominated for a Tony for her lead role in Sunset Boulevard Credit: Instagram She has had rave reviews as Norma Desmond in the Broadway production, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Tony Awards ceremony is on June 8. Nicole previously told how she empathised with her character Norma Desmond. 'I felt I knew exactly this feeling of abandonment. 'The constant thread of loneliness, the insatiable need for affirmation, validation.' Sunset Boulevard charts the tale of silent film star Norma, who enlists the help of an aspiring screenwriter to revive her Hollywood career. Soon, the characters begin to discover feelings for each other. Andrew Lloyd Webber revived the show in the West End last year, casting Nicole and Tom Fancis, who have already won Oliviers for their performances. American Nicole won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical and earned $1million in sales in the first week of October. 3 Andrew Lloyd Webber revived Sunset Boulevard with Nicole Credit: Getty Nicole Scherzinger shows off her bum in bikini bottoms as she enjoys a sunset bike ride Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
The Sun
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Nicole Scherzinger, 46, shows off her incredible figure in green bikini after Sunset Boulevard nomination
NICOLE Scherzinger has skin in the game at the coveted Tony Awards. The former Pussycat Dolls singer, 46, looked suitably toned in a green bikini after it was revealed she has been nominated for her lead role in Sunset Boulevard. 3 3 She has had rave reviews as Norma Desmond in the Broadway production, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Tony Awards ceremony is on June 8. Nicole previously told how she empathised with her character Norma Desmond. 'I felt I knew exactly this feeling of abandonment. 'The constant thread of loneliness, the insatiable need for affirmation, validation.' Sunset Boulevard charts the tale of silent film star Norma, who enlists the help of an aspiring screenwriter to revive her Hollywood career. Soon, the characters begin to discover feelings for each other. Andrew Lloyd Webber revived the show in the West End last year, casting Nicole and Tom Fancis, who have already won Oliviers for their performances. American Nicole won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical and earned $1million in sales in the first week of October. 3
The Guardian
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘It's Fleabag's home – the audience is unshockable': Phoebe Waller-Bridge and more on 25 years of Soho theatre
A fixture on London's Dean Street for 25 years, Soho theatre has hatched plays that won Oliviers, shows that earned the Edinburgh comedy award and ideas that became TV hits. On any night, across its upstairs studio theatre, its main house and basement cabaret bar, you'll find plays from new writers, experimentations in clowning, drag performance, standup comedy, or a hybrid of them all. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. In those rooms, I've watched American clown Natalie Palamides giving such a spirited performance that she vomited on stage, dancer and comedian Adrienne Truscott challenging rape jokes, and performance artist Kim Noble pushing audiences beyond comfort. I've sung along to ballads with sketch group Daphne, and folk songs with Sh!t Theatre. Soho does all this by running a 'festival programme', with multiple shows per room, per night. 'It allows us to take risks,' says executive director and CEO Mark Godfrey. 'You can say now, 25 years on, we had the first play from Tanika Gupta, from Moira Buffini, early work from Chris Chibnall.' And perhaps most famously of all, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who first performed her one-woman show – and later hit TV series – Fleabag at the venue. 'Soho theatre has a genuinely experimental, risk-taking attitude,' Waller-Bridge says. 'It's one of the only theatres that consistently puts on provocative work from lesser-known writers and performers and encourages them to be original. I've seen some of the best work of my life in those spaces.' Waller-Bridge began her artistic relationship with Soho in 2009, in finance-industry satire Roaring Trade: 'I remember throttling Andrew Scott with a tie as the lights went up every night, which was the beginning of one of the most happy collaborations of my life.' With colleagues in her DryWrite theatre company, Francesca Moody and Vicky Jones, she became an associate artist at the theatre, commissioning Adolescence writer Jack Thorne's play Mydidae in 2012. Fleabag first appeared in Soho's upstairs room. Being offered space to preview 'was no small thing', Waller-Bridge says. It returned, post-Edinburgh, and Soho supported its West End transfer. 'It's Fleabag's home. The Soho theatre audience is so up for it … unshockable, game for anything, fun-loving and curious.' Now that game-for-anything is going to get a lot larger. As the theatre celebrates its 25th anniversary, it's also starting a new chapter – the opening of 1,000-seater Soho Theatre Walthamstow, in north-east London, where it will entertain its biggest audiences yet. It's been a long journey. Soho theatre on the West End's Dean Street opened in 2000, but the company was founded as the Soho Theatre Company in the late 60s by theatre directors Verity Bargate (namesake of Soho's new writing award) and Fred Proud. It became Soho Poly when it moved into a university basement in 1972. Deliberately free from 'the trappings of bourgeois theatre architecture', it was a pioneer of lunchtime theatre, allowing performances to 'reach a different sort of audience', write Matthew Morrison and Guy Osborne from the University of Westminster. That basement showcased future stars such as Bob Hoskins, Harriet Walter, Hanif Kureishi and Caryl Churchill. 'It was about new plays and new writing, that fringe explosion of the 70s,' says Godfrey, who's been with the company since 1990, its final year as Soho Poly. By the mid-90s, after a stint at Cockpit theatre, Soho theatre was homeless. Fortuitously, the national lottery was emerging. With director Abigail Morris and producer David Aukin, Godfrey found a building on Dean Street that had formerly housed a synagogue. The vision was influenced by the diversity and collective spirit of the south London theatre Ovalhouse, the ICA's punk aesthetics and experimental performances, the fun of comedy clubs. Rather than one artistic director, Soho has 'a plurality of voices', Godfrey says. 'They love the work,' says performance artist Bryony Kimmings. 'In the curating of their programme, they're also artists.' Those voices now include creative associate Pooja Sivaraman and head of comedy Steve Lock. Comedy is now a core part of Soho's identity. In 2000, short-ish plays meant Dean Street's stages were free by 9pm, so mixed-bill comedy, then eventually solo standup shows, filled the gap. Lock started working on the box office in 2001, but soon moved into comedy programming, scouting experimental shows at the fringe, and programming things crowds couldn't find at comedy clubs. 'It was about full-length shows, which intrinsically felt more theatrical. We started to feel like the natural home for people's one-hour shows in the early 2000s, and it's snowballed from then.' Soho welcomed American drag performers such as Kiki and Herb, plus acts such as Hannah Gadsby before their rise to fame. For the first 10 years at Dean Street, the basement was an Indian restaurant, which also ran the ground-floor bar. In 2011, it became Soho Theatre Bar, and the basement became a bespoke cabaret space. They decided 'to give equal importance to theatre, comedy and cabaret', Godfrey says. Lock points to artists like Kimmings and Noble, who could never be squeezed into one box. Temi Wilkey, whose recent show Main Character Energy blended performance styles, says: 'It's an extraordinary space for people whose work is genre-pushing.' Kimmings says: 'They never say no. They trust you to be creative.' When I ask artists what sets Soho theatre apart from other institutions, many say community. Associate artists used to be given membership to the Groucho Club, but when the theatre started running the bar, this was swapped for bar discounts instead. The idea was to build a club-like atmosphere right there. When you enter Dean Street's bar now, chances are you'll recognise someone – it's a 'snipers' alley' per one TV producer's analogy; you're always in the eyeline of an artist, writer, agent. For punters, this means the chance to spot a star. Social media was abuzz in 2023 when Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield and Phoebe Bridgers were snapped after attending Kate Berlant's show. It helps that many of the artists connected to Soho arrived as fledging talent, such as Waller-Bridge, growing within the theatre, before achieving mainstream status. Kimmings had never visited Soho theatre until a meeting to discuss the transfer of her 2010 fringe show Sex Idiot, a tale of chlamydia and reappraising relationships. She's spoken in the past about the snobbery and classism that can come with traditional theatre. Soho is 'not like that at all', she says. Meeting Lock and dramaturg Nina Steiger: 'The two of them felt like family, like home, immediately,' Kimmings says. They earned her respect. '[Steiger] taught me how to use the principles of narratives, that was so exciting to me,' she says, and she saw Lock's passion for new work. When she wanted to make another show – an exploration of alcohol and creativity – they gave her space to develop and she wanted their input. Kimmings now teaches young artists and says most dream of staging their work at Soho. 'It's managed to establish a mark of quality and experimentalism. It feels like if you're there, you're original, you're good quality.' Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Cheerleading new artists is vital, says Waller-Bridge, especially in the current funding climate: 'Writers need places to take risks, and to have the support of a theatre who back you as an individual rather than just a single project means you can push the boundaries.' Without that, 'we'll just end up with more and more generic work because people need to hedge their bets'. Poppy Jay, of the podcast Brown Girls Do It Too, used to walk past Soho theatre on the way to Topshop in nearby Oxford Circus. It seemed like 'a cool place', but not for her. 'Brown women, south Asian people, the theatre space doesn't really feel like ours,' she says. Jay and co-host Rubina Pabani were invited to create a stage version of their podcast, which they developed at Dean Street into a theatrical mix of jokes, sketches and discussion of sexuality and cultural expectations. Despite initial fears of not belonging, she says the theatre is 'embracing of talent and people from other backgrounds. It's completely different to how I always imagined theatre spaces to be.' While many artists are scouted, Soho theatre also runs 'labs' to coach new talent. Comedians Jack Rooke and Olga Koch started in the comedy programme and playwright Ryan Calais Cameron in the writers' lab. Rooke, creator of sitcom Big Boys, remembers the comedy lab as 'the most valuable education I've ever had. One day would be being taught how to apply to go to the fringe by Richard Gadd, the next week we'd have a masterclass with the DryWrite team,' he says. 'It taught me to be OK with putting darkness and silliness next to each other.' It led to the live show Good Grief, about the aftermath of his dad's death, and two subsequent shows, the seeds of Big Boys. He commemorated Soho's role in his career by naming a Big Boys' character after staff member Jules Haworth, who helped him secure a comedy lab bursary. Soho got TV commissioners in the door, Rooke says: 'It's always been good at taking a risk on new talent and not just following where the buzz is.' In the upstairs studio, Sivaraman describes the importance of the labs while in the background performer Shafeeq Shajahan rehearses The Bollywood Guide to Revenge. 'Shafeeq started on the writers' lab and drag lab, and this show was programmed as part of Soho Rising [a new talent festival] last year. Now it has a one-week run.' With the opening of Soho Theatre Walthamstow, there's potential to reach a larger stage. Palamides, who's worked with Soho since her debut show Laid, will be the first to grace the beautifully restored theatre with Weer, her absurd 90s romcom that earned plaudits in Edinburgh. Jay will perform Brown Girls Do It Too later in the year – as a Walthamstow local, she saw films in the venue as a teen, so it feels like a full-circle moment. In the autumn, Kimmings will present Bog Witch, about rediscovering nature, her first show in more than five years: 'I don't think I could've done it with anybody else.' It's been nearly 15 years since Godfrey joined the fight to transform the Walthamstow venue, which nearly became a church, into a functioning theatre. With the launch imminent, he reflects on Soho's origins. 'One of the challenges is: how do you become a bigger organisation and still keep that queer-punk, radical-fringe core identity?' They hope that 'plurality of voices' in the theatre's artistic team and the relationships they've built with artists over the years will preserve the Soho spirit. In the early days of Dean Street, the company was 'under the radar', says Godfrey, the pressure was off and creativity flowed. Will it be easier to fill an auditorium now on the cachet of Soho's past successes, or will people expect mainstream acts from a larger venue? Alongside the company's usual genre-melding works, tickets are already on sale for a pantomime and shows from Jon Ronson and Adam Kay. 'We believe it will work, but it will be nice when you actually see it.' During the redevelopment, there was some criticism over the loss of local LGBTQ+ venue The Victoria, which adjoins the site, but there has also been local outreach work. There are new labs programmes for Walthamstow locals, and many of the staff, including Godfrey and Soho Theatre Walthamstow co-chair Alessandro Babalola are locals themselves. Growing affection and audiences among residents, as well as persuading others to make the journey out, will be crucial. Memories formed at Dean Street might hold lessons in how to retain the theatre's identity. Kimmings laughs as she recalls one night in the cabaret basement, when an audience member bit her leg and she ended her show dancing on stage next to Juliette Lewis. To her, Soho theatre is 'a place where you get to be free. A place where you can cast off your baggage and really belly laugh. That is so precious.' Soho Theatre Walthamstow opens on 2 May.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Lithgow says Trump's return is biggest 'disaster' for the arts since COVID-19
Actor John Lithgow blasted President Donald Trump's second term in office as a "disaster" for the arts in remarks on Sunday. According to The Guardian, Lithgow railed against the president in a speech after winning the best actor award at the Olivier Awards in London. "Our administration has done some shocking, destructive things, but the one that grieves me most is taking over the Kennedy Center," he said, referring to how Trump appointed himself the chairman of the Kennedy Center since taking office, in a move that has made the theater a new front for the culture wars. He has since appointed his allies to help turn its financials around after being $72 million in debt. Trump Fired Kennedy Center Board Members Citing Drag Shows, Appoints Himself Chairman While the Kennedy Center was already in the process of selecting new leadership, as then-President Deborah Rutter announced her intention to step down in January, Lithgow lamented that Trump fired her all the same. He went on to dub the president as the latest disaster for the arts since the COVID-19 pandemic. Read On The Fox News App "Deborah Rutter was fired from her position as president – even though she'd already resigned and had [several] months to go," Lithgow said. "She's a very good friend of mine. We co-chaired a commission on the arts [launched by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2018] and spent three years finding out the state of the arts in America [was] in crisis. Well, it's really in crisis now. First there was coronavirus, now there's this." After claiming that the state of the arts community in America is a "pure disaster — really disheartening," he argued the community may learn to benefit from such difficult times. "It gives us all something to fight for, and I think the arts are animated by that. Right now, everybody is in shock," he said, according to The Guardian, suggesting that after the initial shock wears off, "bad times create good art." Lithgow, who's had an extensive television and film career, was recently cast in the role of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in HBO's upcoming adaptation of the "Harry Potter" series. Hollywood Takes Shots At Trump While Celebrating Conan O'brien Amid Kennedy Center Shake-up Lithgow was named best actor at the Oliviers for playing British author Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt's play "Giant." While the actor suggested that America's longstanding special relationship with the United Kingdom is "more complicated than usual" at the moment, he said it nonetheless remains "intact." Lithgow also won an Emmy for another iconic British role in 2017: Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Netflix's "The Crown." Fox News Digital reached out to the Kennedy Center for article source: John Lithgow says Trump's return is biggest 'disaster' for the arts since COVID-19
