Persona - opening production at Riverside Studios
London theatre news: Monday 18 November 2019
Off-West End - Theatres
Persona - the world premiere of a new theatrical adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's 1966 Swedish psychological movie - will be the opening production in Studio 3 of the new Riverside Studios.
(Top from left) Alice Krige (photo by Michael Wharley); Nobuhle Ketelo; William Close and his Earth Harp ((lower image)
The world premiere of a new theatrical adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's 1966 iconic Swedish psychological movie - considered by many critics as one of the greatest films ever made - is to be the opening production in Studio 3 of the new Riverside Studios.
Persona is a new adaptation by director Paul Schoolman that presents the thoughts of Ingmar Bergman himself, giving a far deeper understanding of the piece then has ever been presented before.
Persona, runs from 21 January to 23 February, 2020 at the newly reopened Riverside Studios in Hammersmith.
Olivier Award winner Alice Krige makes her return to the London stage after two decades working in Hollywood movies and on hit TV shows.
The cast also includes South African powerhouse of talent Nobuhle Ketelo and Paul Schoolman, who adapted Bergman's manuscript while working in the film director's study on the Island of Faro.
This adaptation creates the character of The Narrator, using Bergman's voice for the first time.
The production promises to be something of a sensory feast, with a fourth character 'played' by William Close who will play an original score on his incredible Earth Harp, which will turn the theatre itself into a giant instrument.
The Earth Harp earned William a finalist slot on 'America's Got Talent' and it was recently named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's longest playable stringed musical instrument.
Show listing information
Synopsis
Renowned stage actress, Elizabet, has suffered a psychological breakdown and relapsed into silence.
She is sent with Sister Alma, the nurse assigned to her recovery, to a remote summer beach house.
Can Alma coax Elizabet out of her silence?
Truth, lies, manipulation and identity, PERSONA explores the meaning of 'reality'.
Cast
Alice Krige - Sister Alma
Nobuhle Ketelo - Elizabet
Paul Schoolman
William Close and his Earth Harp
Creatives
Author: Paul Schoolman, adapted from Ingmar Bergman's 1966 film
Director: Paul Schoolman
Designer: Fotini Dimou
Video designer: Filip Haglund
Production: Presented by Persona Onstage by arrangement with Joseph Weinberger Play Ltd., London on behalf of The Ingmar Bergman Foundation
Venue
Hammersmith
London
W6 9BN
Dates
From: Tuesday 21 January 2020
Closed: Sunday 23 February 2020
Tickets
Standard: £40, £30, £12.50
Links
Show website
ActDrop full listing for Persona
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