This Is London 4 September 2020

Ralph Fiennes in Beat the Devil.
RALPH FIENNES IN BEAT THE DEVIL
AT THE BRIDGE THEATRE
Ralph Fiennes is making his Bridge
Theatre debut this month performing
David Hare’s monologue Beat the Devil,
a new play written as a response to the
author’s experience of contracting
coronavirus. Nicholas Hytner is directing
with designs by Bunny Christie, lighting
by Jon Clark, sound by Gareth Fry and
music by George Fenton.
On the same day that the UK
government made the first of two decisive
interventions that led to lockdown,
playwright David Hare contracted Covid-
19. Nobody seemed to know much about
it then, and many doctors are not
altogether sure they know much more
today. Suffering a pageant of apparently
random symptoms, Hare recalls the
delirium of his illness to create a
monologue – performed by Fiennes – of
furious urgency and power.
Beat the Devil is playing in repertoire
at the Bridge until 31 October.
During April and May, the London
Theatre Company worked with the BBC to
produce Alan Bennett’s landmark Talking
Heads monologues which were broadcast
on BBC One in June.
Eight Talking Heads are to come to the
stage in a series of unique double bills, all
of them with the same leading actors
whose performances were universally
acclaimed on television. Each of the short
plays is a perfectly distilled masterpiece,
sometimes disturbing, often hilarious and
always profoundly humane.
Alan Bennett has been one of our
leading dramatists since the success
of Beyond the Fringe in the 1960s. The
television series of Talking Heads
instantly became a modern-day classic,
as have many of his works for the stage.
The Bridge has reopened with a
reduced capacity of 250 seats and
stringent safety measures. Audiences are
invited to book seats with the assurance
that there will be automatic refunds for
any performances that can't go ahead.
For tickets and futher information
visit: www.bridgetheatre.co.uk
Finsbury Circus City Garden.
Photo: Manuel Harlan
RIVERSIDE STUDIOS TO ENCORE
NT LIVE PRODUCTIONS
With Riverside Studios’ programme
of monthly first read throughs and
discussions of new plays, ‘Riverside
Reads’, commencing this week,
Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed ‘Tenet’,
currently playing, and the commencement
of ‘Dive-In’, the multi-disciplinary arts
venue is to present additional screenings
of National Theatre Live as part of their
cinema programme.
The encores include Bridge Theatre’s
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed
by Nicholas Hytner (26 September),
National Theatre’s Frankenstein directed
by Danny Boyle (24 October), and
Phoebe Waller Bridge’s Fleabag
(28 November), presented by DryWrite,
Soho Theatre and Annapurna Theatre.
LIGHTS OF LONDON PRODUCTIONS
PRESENT THE TEMPEST
Lights of London Productions are to
present William Shakespeare’s The
Tempest in Finsbury Circus City Garden
with two performances on Saturday
12 September at 15.30 and 18.00.
Shakespeare's tale of tyranny and
transformation, fantastical figures, family
feuds and forgiveness is brought to life
by Lights of London's professional
acting troupe in the superb surroundings
of Finsbury Circus City Garden in this
premiere adaptation using original text,
trimmed down and spatially adapted to
the times. The production lasts 1 hour
and 15 minutes without an interval.
A Midsummer Night's Dream. Photo: Manuel Harlan.
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