Categories Charity Gallery Merchandise Old Friends Philanthropy Print Media Theatre Trailer Video

Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends Concert Recording to be Released This Week

Live Recording on CD Set

by Alex Wood and Tanyel Gumushan | WhatsOnStage | December 6, 2023

A live cast recording of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends will be released in the US and UK this Friday, December 8, 2023 on a 2-disc CD set and digital and streaming formats from First Night Records.

The WhatsOnStage Award winning event, which took place in May 2022, featured a bumper cast of Michael Ball, Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Petula Clark, Anna-Jane Casey, Rosalie Craig, Janie Dee, Judi Dench, Daniel Evans, Maria Friedman, Haydn Gwynne, Bonnie Langford, Damian Lewis, Julia Mckenzie, Julian Ovenden, Bernadette Peters, Sian Phillips, Jon Robyns, Clive Rowe, Jenna Russell, Imelda Staunton, Charlie Stemp, Gary Wilmot and Michael D Xavier. View photos from the event in our Gallery here.

Continue reading Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends Concert Recording to be Released This Week

Categories Ajax and Philoctetes Ajax by Sophocles Dreamcatcher Halloween Hearts & Bones Messages Oedipus the King Philoctetes by Sophocles Romeo and Juliet Site Stormbreaker The Baker The Forsyte Saga The Radleys Wolf Hall

Happy Halloween 2023!

Trick or Treat

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | October 30, 2023

Happy Halloween to all our ghoul and goblin fans out there, from all of us at the Fan Fun with Damian Lewis team! You can ‘Trick or Treat’ with us at damian-lewis.com, but don’t forget to grab your cauldron and head over to our sister site Fan Fun with Damian Lewis for more spooky spectacular goodies. We serve all things Damian – all day, every day!

In keeping with the Halloween theme, you can watch Damian on your small screen in the following (and we hope next year to add the vampire comedy The Radleys to this list!):

Continue reading Happy Halloween 2023!

Categories Gallery London Calling! Theatre

Damian Lewis Performs in Noel Coward’s London Calling!

London Calling: A Centenary Celebration

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | October 5, 2023

Damian Lewis and Indira Varma led Noël Coward’s ‘London Calling!’ at the Duke of York’s theatre in the West End on Thursday, October 5, 2023 in honor of 100 years of the musical revue that catapulted Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence to stardom. To celebrate the centenary of Coward’s first publicly performed musical revue, this special performance was staged at the same theatre, with actors Damian Lewis, Indira Varma, Oliver Soden, Lucinda Gosling, Georgi Mottram and Robert Hazle  performing extract sketches from the roles originally created by Coward and Lawrence from the 1923 production.

Damian performed Recalling London Calling, Rain Before Seven and The Swiss Family Whittlebot, as his 90-year-old father, Mr. Watcyn Lewis, watched as a theatergoer. The name ‘Noël Coward’ went up in West End lights for the first time when ‘London Calling!’ opened at the Duke of York’s Theatre on 4 September 1923. View more photos from the event in our Gallery.

Continue reading Damian Lewis Performs in Noel Coward’s London Calling!

Categories Announcement London Calling! Print Media Theatre

Damian Lewis and Indira Varma Will Lead Noel Coward’s London Calling!

London Calling: A Centenary Celebration

by Stephi Wild | Broadway World | September 13, 2023

Damian Lewis and Indira Varma will lead Noel Coward’s ‘London Calling!’ at the Duke of York’s theatre in the West End, with a performance set for Thursday, October 5, 2023. The theatre is located at 104 St Martin’s Ln, London WC2N 4BG, UK in Leicester Square and you can find FREE ticket information here.

The name ‘Noël Coward’ went up in West End lights for the first time when ‘London Calling!’ opened at the Duke of York’s Theatre on 4 September 1923. To celebrate the centenary of Coward’s first publicly performed musical revue, a special performance featuring Damian Lewis and Indira Varma will be staged at the same theatre on Thursday 5 October 2023 with the actors performing extracts from the roles originally created by Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in the 1923 production.

Continue reading Damian Lewis and Indira Varma Will Lead Noel Coward’s London Calling!

Categories A Spy Among Friends Album Mission Creep Band of Brothers Billions Food/Dining Hamlet Homeland Interviews Music Never Judge a Man by His Umbrella Once Upon a Time in Hollywood She Comes The Radleys Tour Dates Wolf Hall

Damian Lewis: Man on a Mission

On The Record

by Paul Kirkley | Weekend Magazine | July 27, 2023, Issue #658

Damian Lewis has the acting world at his feet – so why has he stepped out of the comfort zone to release a debut album and take it on tour? He tells Paul Kirkley about the challenge of changing career lanes – and why the first person he needed to convince was himself.

Damian Lewis has a cast-iron excuse for having slept through his 10am appointment with Weekend – he’s been up all night shooting scenes for his latest role as a vampire in supernatural comedy The Radleys. And vampires, famously, are not morning people.

Continue reading Damian Lewis: Man on a Mission

Categories American Buffalo Audio Five Gold Rings Hamlet Helen Podcast The Goat or Who is Sylvia?

Damian Lewis Discusses Theatre on the Stage Door Johnny Podcast

An Extra Helping of Damian Lewis: Act I and Act II

by Jonathan Cake | Stage Door Johnny | January 24, 2023

Back in October 2022 (and released in November of that same year), Damian appeared on the Stage Door Johnny podcast. You can listen to both episodes on Feeds here after scrolling down the page to find Act I and Act II, or you can listen to both episodes on Spotify here after scrolling down the page to find Act I and Act II. You can also listen on Podbean here, page two. Here are the podcast descriptions of each episode:

Continue reading Damian Lewis Discusses Theatre on the Stage Door Johnny Podcast

Categories Broadcast Media Charity Old Friends Philanthropy Theatre Video

VIDEO: Sondheim’s Old Friends Concert

Howling Good Time

by Gregory Peck Lives | YouTube | January 8, 2023

Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends concert, a Cameron Mackintosh’s tribute to late musical theatre trailblazer Stephen Sondheim, was presented May 3, 2022 at 8 PM at London’s Sondheim Theatre and simultaneously screened live at the Prince Edward Theatre. Watch the entire concert below.

Damian’s segments (approximately):
36:47 – “Hello Little Girl” from Into the Woods with Bernadette Peter
1:26:58 – “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid” from A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum with Rob Brydon, Julian Ovenden and Siân Phillips
2:12:07 – “Old Friends” from Merrily We Roll Along with Company
2:14:27 – “Our Time” from Merrily We Roll Along with Full Company

Continue reading VIDEO: Sondheim’s Old Friends Concert

Categories Broadcast Media Charity Old Friends Philanthropy Theatre

Sondheim’s Old Friends to be Broadcast on the BBC This Christmas

All-Star Sondheim Concert Set for UK Screens and Streams

by Alex Wood | WhatsOnStage | November 29, 2022

Some Sondheim for Christmas!

The mega Sondheim tribute concert staged in the West End will be presented on the BBC and iPlayer, it has been announced. Dates and times for the BBC Two broadcast and subsequent iPlayer release are to be revealed by the Channel. UPDATE: Airing Saturday, December 31, 2022 at 5:35 pm on BBC 2. Available for streaming on BBC iPlayer shortly after broadcast.

The special event, which took place in February of this year, featured a bumper cast of Michael Ball, Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Petula Clark, Anna-Jane Casey, Rosalie Craig, Janie Dee, Judi Dench, Daniel Evans, Maria Friedman, Haydn Gwynne, Bonnie Langford, Damian Lewis, Julia Mckenzie, Julian Ovenden, Bernadette Peters, Sian Phillips, Jon Robyns, Clive Rowe, Jenna Russell, Imelda Staunton, Charlie Stemp, Gary Wilmot and Michael D. Xavier.

Continue reading Sondheim’s Old Friends to be Broadcast on the BBC This Christmas

Categories Charity Old Friends Philanthropy Review Theatre

THE TIMES REVIEW: Sondheim’s ‘Old Friends’

Five Stars: A Star-Spangled, Unforgettable Tribute to Stephen Sondheim

by Clive Davis | The Times | May 4, 2022

Photo: Danny Kaan

Excuse me if I gush, but this was one of those nights where it was difficult to focus on highlights simply because there were so many. Cameron Mackintosh’s memorial concert for Stephen Sondheim, who died in November, began on a high note when the veteran Julia McKenzie, who did so much to champion the composer’s work on this side of the Pond, walked onto the stage to sing Side by Side by Side. Proof, if needed, that British artists don’t need to feel like intruders on this territory. They’ve made the music their own.

McKenzie’s appearance was the kind of moment which, in normal circumstances, would crown a memorable evening. In this case it was just the prelude. Of course, it was all the more fitting that this gala concert for the Stephen Sondheim Foundation was happening at the theatre (formerly known as the Queen’s) that bears the artist’s name. In his opening speech, Mackintosh wryly quipped that the twisted ankle that had prevented the great man from attending the opening in 2020 had just been an excuse to avoid having to sit through Les Misérables.

After Mackintosh had his say, the songs began to flow, with no host to cause any longueurs. Matthew Bourne and Maria Friedman — who shared directing credits — managed to cram in an immense range of material. Meanwhile, the cheering and the applause grew louder and louder. It reached its peak, perhaps, in a comic version of Broadway Baby, which began with McKenzie pretending to audition with a surly pianist before being joined by a blowsy pack of rivals including Bernadette Peters, Bonnie Langford and an insouciant Helena Bonham Carter.

Imelda Staunton sang Everything’s Coming Up Roses. Who else but Judi Dench could be entrusted with Send in the Clowns? If Dench’s delivery barely rose above a whisper, Haydn Gwynne powered through a version of The Ladies Who Lunch that was as potent and savage and tipsy as anything the late Elaine Stritch gave us. A twinkle-eyed Damian Lewis joined in the party too, kicking and shimmying his way through the risqué Everybody Ought to Have a Maid alongside Rob Brydon, Julian Ovenden and a mischievous Sian Phillips. As ever, the elegant Janie Dee glowed in the dark, sizzling through the bossa nova parody The Boy Friend.

Read the rest of the original article at The Times

Categories Charity Old Friends Philanthropy Review Theatre

LONDON THEATRE REVIEW: Sondheim’s ‘Old Friends’

A Tribute for the Ages

by Matt Wolf | London Theatre | May 4, 2022

“He’s left us with an impossible choice.” So the impresario Cameron Mackintosh told an entirely rapt crowd near the start of Old Friends, the one-off celebration of Stephen Sondheim that took place across three unforgettable hours May 3 at the Sondheim Theatre on the West End. “Impossible” because the legendary composer-lyricist left behind a capacious back catalogue when he died last November, age 91, not to mention a longlist of people who will forever be associated with his work.

Mackintosh, heralding an array of talent ranging from the “young to the ever young”, kicked off an evening rife with cheers and ovations on what, we were told, was one day shy of the 46th anniversary of the London premiere of Side By Side By Sondheim. That musical revue, produced by a then 29-year-old Mackintosh, helped bring Sondheim to the attention of the British, who have revered him ever since.

Continue reading LONDON THEATRE REVIEW: Sondheim’s ‘Old Friends’

Categories Charity Old Friends Philanthropy Review Theatre

GUARDIAN REVIEW: Sondheim’s ‘Old Friends’

A Glorious All-Star Memorial Service: Five Stars, Ten If Rules Allowed

by Mark Lawson | The Guardian | May 4, 2022

Photo: Danny Kaan

Stephen Sondheim was so vast a talent that London on Tuesday night required two theatres to remember him, after his death in November aged 91. Produced by Cameron Mackintosh and staged by Maria Friedman – longtime collaborators who personify the title Old Friends, from a number in 1981’s Merrily We Roll Along – the show at the Sondheim (named in tribute in 2019) was simulcast on the Prince Edward stage, a version of technology developed for the NT Live theatre-cinema hybrid, though not usually used between venues 0.17 miles apart.

Caused by ticket demand (proceeds to the Stephen Sondheim foundation), this arrangement bestowed immediacy in the eponymous auditorium but the overspill audience gained greater detail from closeups and cutaways.

Continue reading GUARDIAN REVIEW: Sondheim’s ‘Old Friends’

Categories Charity Old Friends Philanthropy Review Theatre

DEADLINE REVIEW: Sondheim’s ‘Old Friends’

Vamping It Up 

by Baz Bamigboye | Deadline | May 3, 2022

Photo: Danny Kaan

Cameron Mackintosh, the London theatre owner and impresario, nixed the idea of having a host introduce artists performing at Tuesday’s one-night-only Old Friends tribute show honoring the legacy of musical theatre genius Stephen Sondheim, who died in November at age 91.

“All you need are Steve’s words and music, and our cast. They speak, or rather sing, for themselves,“ Mackintosh explained to Deadline before the star-studded event began at London’s Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

Worked like a treat. Thirty minutes saved, because Old Friends wasn’t lumbered with a host.

Continue reading DEADLINE REVIEW: Sondheim’s ‘Old Friends’