News round-up: Wimbledon; BBC Radio Wales; favourite Shakespeare speech; Girlfriends in New Zealand – and more

18 July 2018 21:37

Zoë joins the crowds at Wimbledon

Zoe and her husband, Gawn Grainger, recently enjoyed world-class tennis and glorious weather at Wimbledon. They were pictured in the Royal Box on Centre Court, where Serena Williams was playing Julia Georges.

Hear Zoë interviewed by Aled Jones

From 1-2pm this Sunday, 22 July, there’s another chance to hear Zoë’s BBC Radio Wales interview. The hugely enjoyable programme, presented by Aled Jones, was first broadcast in June 2017.

Whether you’re in Wales or elsewhere, you’ll find details of how to listen to Radio Wales on the station’s website.

Zoë’s favourite Shakespearean speech

In a recent podcast from BBC Radio 3’s The Shakespeare Sessions, Zoë explains why the famous ‘O for a Muse of fire’ speech at the beginning of Henry V means so much to her. (The brief interview originally aired on Radio 4 several years ago but is certainly worth listening to again.)

‘It encompasses everything that my father [Sam Wanamaker] had envisaged [for his reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe],’ Zoë remarks about the speech. ‘It paints the most wonderful picture, and it asks the audience to enter the world of play, of theatre.’

Zoë knows the speech particularly well, having spoken it on stage at the Globe in June 1997 to mark the theatre’s official opening.

She recalls an auspicious moment in the run-up to the opening ceremony: ‘As I rehearsed [the speech], just as I did the bow at the end, the sun just came up the top of the thatch and hit me straight in the eyes. That was, I felt, a little sign.’

You can watch Zoë give the powerful speech during the ceremony itself, as it was filmed for a fascinating documentary, Henry V at the Globe.

Girlfriends comes to New Zealand

You can now watch every episode of Girlfriends in New Zealand, thanks to streaming service TVNZ OnDemand. The drama was originally shown in the UK earlier this year and has also been enjoyed by US viewers.

Check out TVNZ’s great list of reasons to watch the series (though surely the fact it stars Zoë, Miranda Richardson and Phyllis Logan is reason enough!). But be warned: Girlfriends ‘will suck you in and steal your heart’!

Love Hurts series two in the US

The streaming service that brought Girlfriends to the US, Acorn TV, is getting ready to release the second series of Love Hurts in late August. Look out for major developments in the relationship between Zoe’s tough-yet-vulnerable Tessa and cheeky entrepreneur Frank (Adam Faith).

This news follows the equally welcome announcement that series one will be available to Acorn TV subscribers from the end of July.

Fingers crossed that US fans will get to see Love Hurts’ final series in September... I’ll keep you updated!

28 Tales for 28 Days crowdfunding campaign

Zoë is among the actors set to take part in 28 Tales for 28 Days, a series of videos for the charity Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group. The project will highlight the experiences of people indefinitely detained in the UK and call for a 28-day time limit to be imposed on immigration detention periods.

As GDWG explains, ‘Actors including Jeremy Irons, Christopher Eccleston, Shobu Kapoor, Maxine Peake, Zoe Wanamaker and Niamh Cusack and writers Kamila Shamsie, Patience Agbabi, Neel Mukherjee and others will be filmed reading the tales of those who have experienced detention and those who have worked with them. All writers and actors will donate their work. Studio space is also donated.’

The charity has launched a crowdfunding campaign with the aim of raising enough money to cover filming, editing and distribution costs. If you’d like to make a donation to 28 Tales for 28 Days, you can do so until 2 August.

Thanks to Karoline for her help.

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Zoë at West End opening of 'wonderful' The King and I

6 July 2018 04:50

On 3 July, Zoë joined other special guests at The King and I’s lavish West End opening night and afterparty. Speaking to Whatsonstage.com about this ‘wonderful’ musical, which is running at the London Palladium, she emphasised that it’s ‘beautifully directed [and] beautifully sung’.

The King and I’s director, Bartlett Sher, was also at the helm of one of Zoe’s own theatrical successes: the 2006 Broadway revival of Clifford Odets’ powerful family drama, Awake and Sing!

A world-class show and a balmy summer evening – certainly worth missing the football for!

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News round-up: Zoë watches The Jungle; Girlfriends DVD and Love Hurts in the US; new portrait – and much more!

29 June 2018 04:19

World Refugee Day performance of The Jungle

Here’s Zoë and her husband arriving at London’s Playhouse Theatre for the World Refugee Day performance of The Jungle on 20 June. They’re also pictured in Whatsonstage.com’s coverage of the event, as is Pearl Mackie, Zoe’s co-star from another recent theatrical hit, The Birthday Party.

As The Jungle’s website explains, the audience is ‘transported into the world of the Calais refugee and migrant camp, where a community forged from necessity shares unimaginable stories of hope against all odds’.

The Older Woman on Radio 4 Extra

The first series of The Older Woman (1993) is being repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra (keep an eye on the schedule, as dates and times vary). It stars Zoë alongside Martin Clunes and Toyah Willcox (whose website includes several great clippings about the show’s original broadcast).

This comedy-drama has an element of romance – with a distinctive twist. Zoë plays Miss Callaghan, who was once local journalist Roy Hitchcock’s teacher and is now the object of his affections...

Muse of Fire comes to Vimeo

You can now watch Dan Poole and Giles Terera’s stunning Shakespeare documentary Muse of Fire (2013), which features insightful interviews with Zoë and numerous other well-known actors, via Vimeo On Demand.

Two new DVDs for the US and Canada

There’s brilliant news for fans of Zoë (and British TV generally) in the US and Canada. The emotive, entertaining Girlfriends, in which Zoe stars as one of a trio of friends rocked by tragedy, is now available on Region 1 DVD, having aired on both sides of the Atlantic earlier this year. (The drama series got a UK/rest of Europe DVD release in February.)

You can also enjoy Keeping the Castle, a 2013 documentary narrated by Zoë that was released on DVD in mid-June. Some stores suggest the DVD is Region Free and others that it’s Region 1, so please get in touch if you can confirm the format. ‘Viscount Crichton, son of the sixth Earl of Erne and heir to the historic family home of Crom Castle in County Fermanagh […] faces the ever-increasing challenge of keeping a castle despite growing bills,’ explains the BBC in its summary of the programme.

Acorn TV set to stream Love Hurts

Look out for early 90s TV classic Love Hurts, starring Zoë and Adam Faith, on Acorn TV (the streaming service that showed Girlfriends in the US). Series one of the romantic drama will be available from 30 July.

To the best of my knowledge, Love Hurts hasn’t been repeated in the US for over ten years. Acorn TV subscribers, you have a real treat in store!

Portrait by Terence McKenna

The portrait of Zoë by Terence McKenna that recently appeared in a London exhibition can now be viewed online, thanks to the artist.

I’d say it really captures Zoe’s elfin qualities. What do you think?

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Zoë’s thanks for ‘wonderful birthday wishes’

16 May 2018 01:37

Zoë’s PA, Vanessa, has passed on Zoë’s thanks via Twitter for the many lovely birthday messages she's received from fans.

Here’s a selection of those that caught my eye. They’re a clear indication of the positive impact Zoë’s work – and Zoë herself – has on people all over the world.

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A very happy birthday, Zoë!

13 May 2018 02:35

I'm sure you'll want to join me in sending love and appreciation to Zoë today, 13 May. Wishing her a wonderful birthday and many happy returns!

Here she is performing 'Happy Birthday', a song from the 2015 New York production of life-affirming musical Zorba!

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