'Zoë Wanamaker is absolutely terrific' – The Birthday Party receives fantastic reviews

21 January 2018 23:06

Following The Birthday Party’s opening night on 18 January, this 60th anniversary production of Harold Pinter's classic has received fantastic reviews, with Zoë’s performance as endearing seaside landlady Meg being praised time and again as 'superb'.

Here's what theatre critics are saying about the landmark show.

‘Ian Rickson’s superlative revival […] confirms afresh that it’s a darkly comic masterpiece’ – Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph, 5*

‘Pinter’s classic play is minted fresh in this perfectly cast production […] Zoe Wanamaker is superb as Meg’ – Paul T. Davies, BritishTheatre.com, 5*

‘[I]t is immediately clear that the performances are outstanding. Wanamaker and Wight are a completely convincing old married couple’ – Aleks Sierz, TheArtsDesk.com, 5*

‘[Y]ou couldn’t have wished for a better revival than this […] Zoë Wanamaker is absolutely terrific as Meg’ – Ann Treneman, The Times, 4*

‘It’s beautifully acted […] powerfully revived and gripping from start to finish’ – Christopher Hart, The Sunday Times, 4*

‘[A] starry, meticulous, beautifully considered revival which demonstrates the play's undiminished power to disconcert […] Zoe Wanamaker and Peter Wight are superb’ – Paul Taylor, Independent, 4*

‘[T]his is a production that does rich justice to this strange, elusive play, and it is packed with illuminating detail’ – Michael Billington, Guardian, 4*

‘Ian Rickson’s immaculate production […] Zoë Wanamaker plays the randy landlady of the dingy boarding house with delicate, unexpected wistfulness’ – Susannah Clapp, Observer, 4*

‘Wanamaker is superb, catching [Meg’s] fussy flirtatiousness and hinting at the possibility that she’s sliding into dementia’ – Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard, 4*

‘As landlady Meg, there’s poignancy in Wanamaker’s repetitive prattle about cornflakes, her eagerness to please, and in her tottering, giggling tipsiness’ – Natasha Tripney, The Stage, 4*

‘Ian Rickson’s production is almost definitive […] Wanamaker is very good’ – John Nathan, Jewish Chronicle, 4*

‘The characters are […] clearly delineated in a series of beautifully-detailed performances. Zoë Wanamaker invests Meg with an ever-hopeful energy’ – Sarah Crompton, Whatsonstage.com, 4*

‘[A] really powerful and entertaining revival of a modern classic’ – Mark Shenton, LondonTheatre.co.uk, 4*

‘Pinter’s 1957 masterpiece is given a wonderfully dark revival at his eponymous theatre, where the air is thick with menace’ – Steve Dinneen, City A.M., 4*

‘Peter Wight and Wanamaker superbly convey […] ingrained marital patterns, in a lighter version of the play's later double-act interrogation […] it's a terrifically entertaining and oddly moving piece of theatre’ – Marianka Swain, BroadwayWorld, 4*

A party for The Birthday Party

The Birthday Party’s after party was held at chic restaurant Mint Leaf. Zoë looked sophisticated in an embroidered jacket as she posed for photos with her castmates, which you can see on the show’s Facebook page and Whatsonstage.com.

This is the second revival of Pinter’s Birthday Party in which Zoë has appeared, though her memories of the first are hazy. ‘I played [Meg’s vibrant neighbour] Lulu in 1970-something but I’d forgotten it,’ she told the Evening Standard at the after party. ‘It was a British Council tour of Asia, we went to Hong Kong and Sarawak so I remember that but not a thing about the part.’

In an insightful, detailed interview with BroadwayWorld, Peter Wight explains that a great deal of work has gone into Petey and Meg’s backstory. ‘Zoë Wanamaker and I have thought about this couple's history, their boarding house, about them having children or not – that's very resonant.’ He adds that the cast visited Eastbourne, where Pinter found ‘the seed of the play’, as part of their research.

If you’d like to watch Zoë's 5* hit, you’ll be pleased to know that some tickets are still available. Catch The Birthday Party at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre until 14 April.

Thanks to Janet for her help.

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Britannia available from today and The Birthday Party opens tonight!

18 January 2018 18:31

Yes, the wait is finally over! You can now watch Zoë playing a formidable (and fabulous!) warrior queen, Antedia, in Jez Butterworth's epic historical drama Britannia. All nine episodes in this compelling series are available to stream now from Sky and NOW TV.

Alternatively, if you'd like to watch the episodes on a week-by-week basis, tune into Sky Atlantic on Thursdays at 9pm, starting today.

As if that wasn't exciting enough, Zoë will take to the stage in a matter of minutes for The Birthday Party's opening night. If you've been fortunate enough to attend a preview of the production, you'll know that Zoë and her co-stars (who include Toby Jones, Pearl Mackie and Stephen Mangan) give stellar performances in Harold Pinter's darkly comic, disturbing classic.

Zoë's character, boarding house owner Meg, is fragile and endearing.

Whatsonstage.com has a great selection of production photos. As you can see, the set is brilliantly atmospheric.

Tickets are available for this landmark show, which celebrates the play's 60th anniversary and runs until 14 April at London's aptly named Harold Pinter Theatre.

Let's wish Zoë and everyone else involved with The Birthday Party all the very best for tonight!

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See Zoë on stage in The Birthday Party from tonight!

9 January 2018 19:25

The first performance of the 60th anniversary West End revival of The Birthday Party, in which Zoë stars as boarding house owner Meg, is just minutes away! The cast - which also includes Toby Jones, Pearl Mackie and Stephen Mangan - will be playing to a packed audience.

It's lovely to see Zoë's agency, Conway van Gelder Grant, saluting the Queen of Stage ahead of tonight's show!

Hopefully we won't have long to wait before production photos are released. Meanwhile, there are plenty of rehearsal photos to enjoy.

Tickets to The Birthday Party are available now. The show runs at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End until 14 April.

The Birthday Party is a classic play, and this has the potential to be a classic production too. Let's wish everyone involved every success.

With thanks to Karoline for the link to the rehearsal photos.

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From daytime TV to News at Ten: Girlfriends' incredible media coverage ahead of ITV debut

3 January 2018 20:34

Tonight's the night! Kay Mellor's eagerly awaited drama Girlfriends, starring Zoë as one of a trio of best friends facing huge challenges, begins on ITV1 at 9pm. And the ground-breaking nature of the series, which focuses on the lives of women in late middle age rather than their younger counterparts, means that it's attracting a phenomenal amount of attention in the media. There's really too much to cover here, so I've cherry-picked some of the best bits for you instead!

Girlfriends has been featured on ITV News at Ten, with Mellor emphasising that she wrote the series because she 'wanted to say something about real women that are of a certain age'. Now that aim has also caught the attention of BBC News, which points out that mature women are 'an under-represented group on British TV'. As Mellor reveals in the article, she has every faith in the ability of her show's stars - Zoë, Phyllis Logan and Miranda Richardson - to do justice to her distinctive, fast-paced scripts. '[T]hey've all got respect for each other, and I think that shows. Very quickly they bonded together, and I think we captured that on screen.'

The media certainly seems inclined to agree with Mellor, with the  Guardian featuring Girlfriends in its preview of 2018's 'standout TV',
The Mirror pointing out that 'not only does it live up to the hype [...] It surpasses it' and the Daily Mail calling it 'unmissable'.

To help make sure you're up to speed before the first episode is broadcast, the Radio Times has helpfully provided profiles of the main characters and cast members in Girlfriends, as well as a guide to the series. What's more, Tuesday's edition of daytime TV show Lorraine went behind-the-scenes to give viewers a sneak preview of what to expect. Asked why Girlfriends is a must-see programme, Zoë gave three great reasons: 'it's fun and it's fascinating and it's different'. You can catch up with her full interview on Lorraine via ITV's catch-up service, where it's available for just under a week. Check out today's edition too for more insights into the show.

Zoë is the cover star of the latest issues of two popular magazines, Yours and Woman's Weekly, and is interviewed in both. She tells the former about her first impression of Girlfriends: 'I read three episodes and thought they were really good [...] It was something different for me as [put-upon Gail is] not the kind of part I'd normally do and I have been a big fan of Kay's work for many years'. In the latter she talks about the importance of her real-life girlfriends: 'I don't see them very much, but when we do, it's so easy. You can just go, ''Bleurrgh!'' at them and they won't get bored with you - they'll understand, because they know where you've come from and where you've been.'

Girlfriends is certainly making waves in the media, and the potential is clearly there for it to be a huge hit with TV audiences as well. Enjoy!

With thanks to Karoline for the heads-up about Woman's Weekly.

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Highlights of Zoë's wonderful work in 2017 and what's in store for 2018

1 January 2018 01:07

So much has happened in 2017, and there’s even more for Zoë’s fans to enjoy in the New Year. Let’s take a look at the highlights...

Discussing her love of theatre at prestigious events

Early in 2017, Zoë gave fascinating talks about her life and career at two special events. The first was in January, when she was invited back for the third time to the Oxford Union, the prestigious university debating society. During a wide-ranging Q&A session, Zoë discussed her work on stage and screen, emphasising that ‘the theatre is my first love. It's more rigorous, it's more exciting, than film’.

A couple of months later, Zoë took part in a fundraising evening for the charity Mousetrap Theatre Projects, of which she’s a patron, at London’s Club at The Ivy. Zoë’s chat with her friend Fernando Peire, the director of The Ivy, was engaging and relaxed. It also gave her another opportunity to talk enthusiastically about theatre, especially the fact that it helps you to discover 'the joy of expressing yourself’.

As an added bonus, a number of Zoe’s fans enjoyed meeting her after the discussion.

The voice - and dress! - of the Olivier Awards

For the second year running, Zoë was chosen to provide the voiceover for the prestigious Olivier Awards ceremony, which took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall in April. She also attended the event, wearing a show-stopping black dress.

When the Best New Play nominations were announced, Zoë spoke about the compelling nature of Nick Payne's Elegy, in which she starred in 2016 as a woman battling a neurological disorder. 'Elegy is set in the very near future, exploring a world where the brain is no longer a mystery to us. But Nick's play asks at what cost?' she emphasised.

Portraying pioneering director Joan Littlewood

The following month, Zoë gave what must surely be one of her most distinctive, memorable performances on TV when she played the ground-breaking theatre director Joan Littlewood in Babs, a Barbara Windsor biopic. Interviewed by the Telegraph, Zoe praised Littlewood: 'She had energy, a strength of passion and a social commitment which, I don't think, exists much in theatre anymore.'

Zoë also pointed out that her father Sam Wanamaker was a great admirer of the director's work. Shakespeare's Globe is 'a people's palace' in the spirit of the arts venue Littlewood revitalised, Theatre Royal Stratford East, she added.

Hundreds of fans meet Zoë at her first convention

2017 saw Zoë make her first ever appearance at a convention, the famous London Film & Comic Con at Olympia. Looking chic and happy, she signed hundreds of autographs and posed for hundreds of photos with fans.

A year of special anniversaries

2017 was a year of milestone anniversaries. The Globe celebrated its 20th anniversary in June, while October marked 20 years since Zoë performed Electra in London. She wowed British reviewers and audiences alike before repeating her success on Broadway.

'This will be remembered as the production in which Zoë Wanamaker staked her claim to greatness,' Charles Spencer wrote in the Telegraph, brilliantly summing up Zoe's achievements.

On a personal note, July was special as I celebrated this website’s 15th anniversary with 15 of my favourite moments from Zoë's work on TV and film. Meanwhile, a lucky fan won a t-shirt and photo signed by Zoe in the 15th anniversary competition.

What's coming up in 2018...

Looking back at the last twelve months’ worth of news articles in order to write this summary has made me realise just how much happened in 2017. And if anything, 2018 sounds like it’ll be even more exciting, as Zoë is set to appear in all of these projects.

Six-part ITV drama Girlfriends

We’re just days away from Girlfriends’ eagerly awaited debut on ITV1 (3 January, 9pm).

Landmark production of The Birthday Party

The 60th anniversary West End production of Harold Pinter’s darkly comic classic begins on 9 January. Tickets are available now.

Sky’s epic historical drama Britannia

Ancient Britain comes to life on Sky Atlantic and Now TV on 18 January.

Cult BBC comedy-drama Inside No. 9

The episode entitled 'And the Winner Is...' focuses on a disastrous TV acting awards ceremony and comes to BBC2 in early 2018.

All that remains is for me to wish each and every one of Zoe’s fans around the world an enjoyable, successful New Year!

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