Branagh Set to Return to London Stage Kenneth Branagh Returning to the London Stage for the First Time in More Than a Decade The Associated Press, 19 February 2003 By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Correspondent LONDON — Kenneth Branagh is returning to the London stage for the first time in more than a decade. The National Theater announced Wednesday that the actor and director will star in "Edmond," a David Mamet play that's being revived at the National this summer. Branagh, 42, played the self-absorbed Gilderoy Lockhart in last year's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and is director of the West End hit "The Play What I Wrote," which is moving to Broadway this spring. That play has a guest star at every performance, and Branagh made a few special appearances, but "Edmond" will be his first proper London run since 1991. In "Edmond," opening in July, Branagh plays a man who leaves his wife and becomes involved in an underworld of illicit sex, violence and crime. Mamet's play was last seen in London in 1985 at the Royal Court Theater. Nicholas Hytner, the National's artistic director, said the part of Edmond was "as challenging a role as anything in contemporary theater." The production is part of an effort to attract new theatergoers with low prices two-thirds of the tickets will sell for $16, and the rest for $40. Kenneth Branagh Back on London Stage Ananova, 19 February 2003 Kenneth Branagh is to make his first appearance on the London stage for 11 years. The 46-year-old actor will make his return at the National Theatre this summer as the title role in Edmond. American playwright David Mamet's play follows a middle-class everyman's descent into madness, lust and murder. It is described as so powerful "it punches you in the face". Edmond will be directed by Edward Hall - son of Sir Peter - whose Macbeth starring Sean Bean and Samantha Bond is a box-office hit in the West End. It is due to open in July as part of the National Theatre's season of cheaply-priced productions. Artistic director Nicholas Hytner told London Evening Standard: "Edmond is about an ordinary guy who gradually turns into a violent raging animal, and he spirals through several circles of urban hell to get there. It is as challenging a role as anything in contemporary theatre." Hytner added: "It is a particularly savage play. As Edmond spirals into this terrible searing urban hell he tries to buy sex, and ends up murdering a pimp and an out-of-work actress as the layers are peeled off him. "He starts off an obedient middle-class white guy and turns into a great howling mass of misogyny, racism and violence. It is a play that punches you in the face." Back to the Edmond page | Back to Articles Listing | Back to the Compendium