It’s the role described as ‘the hoop through which every actress with her eye on greatness must jump.’
Ingrid Bergman, Peggy Ashcroft, Maggie Smith, Diana Rigg, Cate Blanchett, Glenda Jackson and Rosamund Pike have all played Ibsen’s manipulative, tragic heroine Hedda Gabler.
And now former pop star Lily Allen is to play the role known as the ‘female Hamlet’.
In a bold move which signals considerable ambition, Allen, 38, will play the lead in a new adaptation of Ibsen’s play titled Hedda, by British director Matthew Dunster.
It will be only her third stage role, following a well-received stint in 2:22 A Ghost Story — in which she was directed by Dunster — and a slightly less well-received performance in Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman.
In a bold move which signals considerable ambition, Lily Allen, 38, will play the lead in a new adaptation of Ibsen’s play titled Hedda, by British director Matthew Dunster
In the footsteps of greatness: Glenda Jackson and Ingrid Bergman have both played Ibsen’s manipulative, tragic heroine Hedda Gabler
The play will run at the Theatre Royal in Bath next summer, from July 25 to August 23, and then possibly go on tour.
She tells me: ‘I am absolutely thrilled to be given the chance of playing Hedda Gabler. I adore working with Matthew Dunster and can’t wait to explore this piece with him.
‘I’m very excited to bring her to Bath next summer, in the intimacy of the Ustinov studio, it’s going to be great.’
Dunster added: ‘Lily and I were talking about women we knew that were trapped in relationships where men had all the power, and how these 21st century women were still being controlled and destroyed.
‘The conversation turned to plays where we could explore those ideas. We thought of Hedda Gabler and the connections were obvious, exciting and devastating.
‘I relish watching Lily challenge herself, she pushes me, and I really value our ongoing collaboration.
‘We want to offer up a Hedda that is absolutely for now.’
Allen snagged an Olivier Award nomination for 2:22 A Ghost Story. Before then she had a small role as actress Elizabeth Taylor in the 2020 film How To Build A Girl, which was produced by her mother, Alison Owen, and based on the book by Caitlin Moran.
She was also in the comedy series Margate.
Revered role: Sheridan Smith played Hedda Gabler opposite Adrian Scarborough
Allen, who is married to Stranger Things actor David Harbour, enrolled in drama school in New York in the autumn of last year and remarked that it was the first time she had studied since leaving school aged 15.
She added that live theatre was: ‘utterly terrifying; I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared than before the opening nights’.
Dunster was the associate director of Shakespeare’s Globe and the Young Vic.
His West End productions include 2:22 A Ghost Story and Shirley Valentine, which starred Sheridan Smith.
In January next year he will direct a stage adaptation of The Hunger Games.
I hear his reimagining of Hedda Gabler will lean into her status as ‘betrayed’.
Louis Theroux’s company, Mindhouse Productions, has taken out two loans, one of them against a forthcoming ITV documentary about homelessness.
The documentary-maker and podcaster has also closed another company, Mindhouse Undefeated.
The director of productions at Mindhouse, Sophie Ardern, said: ‘These are all perfectly normal activities for a production company creating content for a variety of broadcasters with different funding models.’
Louis is thought to be working on a documentary about boybands currently.
Louis Theroux’s company, Mindhouse Productions, has taken out two loans, one of them against a forthcoming ITV documentary about homelessness
Wannabe carpenter Renate is an A-list thriller
Before her leap to fame in The Worst Person In The World in 2021, Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve was thinking about quitting acting in favour of carpentry, which seemed a better bet.
She’s firmly in the A-list now though, with a role as dangerous, sexy (and murdered) prosecutor Carolyn Polhemus in an adaptation of Scott Turow’s courtroom thriller Presumed Innocent.
In the 1990 film of the book, that role went to Greta Scacchi, with Harrison Ford as Rusty Sabich, her one-time lover accused of doing her in.
This time around, Sabich is played by Jake Gyllenhaal and the story is told over eight episodes on Apple TV+.
The show has been made by the legendary David E. Kelley — who’s behind Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal and Big Little Lies.
It streams from June 12.
Renate Reinsve stars as dangerous, sexy (and murdered) prosecutor Carolyn Polhemus in an adaptation of Scott Turow’s courtroom thriller Presumed Innocent
Alan Carr is still hoping for a role in the movie Mamma Mia 3.
‘While I was working as a judge on the TV series Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream, I had a few wines with Judy Craymer, a key figure in the Mamma Mia world,’ explains funnyman Alan.
‘I suggested a part in Mamma Mia 3 and she said: ‘Yes, fabulous idea.’
I revealed this at the Press conference and I could see by the way Judy gritted her teeth that I probably wasn’t going to get a starring role!’
Alan Carr is still hoping for a role in the movie Mamma Mia 3
Meghan, her ‘London bestie’ and a new PR chief
Meghan Markle’s close friend, British PR girl Lucy Meadmore, is behind her hiring a new publicity agent to deal with PR in the UK and Europe.
After years of refusing to deal with the press, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has tapped Charlie Gipson to engage with media interest in her and husband Prince Harry.
I can reveal that Meghan’s close pal Lucy, one of the ‘talking heads’ on the incendiary Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary, goes way back with her new PR Gipson.
A friend says: ‘They know each other through the PR giant Edelman, where they both worked in the past, and Lucy recommended Charlie for the job.’
Gipson, 41, has represented commercial brands including Mars, Cadbury, Dominos and Lucozade.
Meghan Markle’s close friend, British PR girl Lucy Meadmore, is behind her hiring a new publicity agent to deal with PR in the UK and Europe
He will serve as the Sussexes’ main point of contact for all UK and European media, working alongside global head of communications Ashley Hansen and deputy press secretary Kyle Boulia, both in Los Angeles.
The Duke and Duchess opted not to retain any UK-based staff when they moved abroad in January 2020, instead building a team in California.
Gipson, from South-West London, has worked in consumer communications for 15 years and with Edelman for three.
Meadmore featured prominently in the Sussexes’ documentary and said that she advised Meghan on how to deal with the British press — sending out a warning to her that she would be ill-treated.
It’s thought she and Meghan met in 2014 when the Suits actress needed help in writing a travel blog about Costa Rica for The Tig; they jointly wrote an online article about a holiday in the country.
She was seen enjoying a ‘single girl summer’ with Meghan in 2016 in social media snaps, and has been described by the Duchess as her ‘London bestie’.
Meadmore was pictured at Harry and Meghan’s Windsor wedding, walking into St George’s Chapel with actresses Abigail Spencer and Priyanka Chopra.
Are Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney moving on from Wrexham — or just building an empire?
The pair invested in Wrexham AFC and then made a very successful docu-series for Disney+ about the club (the third instalment started this week).
Now they have invested in the struggling Mexican soccer team Club Necaxa.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have invested in struggling Mexican soccer team Club Necaxa
Will Del Toro’s Frankenstein see off Maggie’s monster?
Fate keeps on happening, as Lorelei Lee observed in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. And doesn’t director Guillermo del Toro know it?
He’s busy filming Frankenstein for Netflix in Toronto, with handsome Oscar Isaac as Dr Frankenstein, Jacob ‘Saltburn’ Elordi as the Monster and Mia Goth as Frankenstein’s girlfriend.
But his project will be beaten out of the traps by The Bride, a retelling of The Bride Of Frankenstein story by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
That one stars Christian Bale as the monster, and Jessie Buckley as the Bride.
Gyllenhaal’s movie has been in the works for seven long years, with actresses including Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson attached at various points.
Oscar worthy: Director Guillermo del Toro is busy filming Frankenstein for Netflix in Toronto
The Bride, a retelling of The Bride Of Frankenstein by Maggie Gyllenhaal, stars Christian Bale
It should be out this year — while Del Toro’s is unlikely to be ready until 2025.
Much the same happened with his Pinocchio, which was one of two films about the little wooden boy released in 2022 — the rival production being a Disney effort starring Tom Hanks.
Del Toro won an Oscar, though.
TV presenter Mark Wright has spent years building a mega-mansion in Essex — but he still keeps an eye on his neighbour Bradley Walsh.
At the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards he said: ‘I drive to the end of my road and I see his house… and it’s like a castle on the hill isn’t it? You are doing all right Bradders!’
For the record, Walsh’s house is a stonking barn conversion worth £2.5 million but Wright’s place — worth £3.5 million — has a gigantic swimming pool and manicured lawns.
Church hits out at ‘disgusting’ rich people
Charlotte Church has the Voice of an Angel — and the politics of Citizen Smith! The singer, who said last week that she is no longer a millionaire (but has £3.5 million in company accounts) now proposes a cap on wealth and says billionaires make her sick.
Church said: ‘Personally I think there should be a wealth cap for the whole world. It is disgusting and disgraceful that the five richest people in the world doubled their wealth since 2020. It is absolutely abhorrent.’
She adds that her second husband, musician Jonathan Powell, has opened her eyes to economics.
‘When I first met him he joked that I should have come with a little blue Tory sash.
Even though I was not political I was like ‘Why do I have to pay tax?’
Money talk: Charlotte Church proposes a cap on wealth and says billionaires make her sick
‘I just did not really understand. I did not think politics had anything to do with me.
We would talk and argue for the first couple of years when we met, about politics and society. I am deeply grateful and indebted to him for that.
He really made me see beyond my own fleshy prison of experience and opened up those channels of empathy.
‘He really opened up my mind to the eternal struggle. The power has been with the elites for thousands of years.’
The new rom-com sitcom Too Much — about to film in Notting Hill — feels like a real family affair.
It’s the creation of Girls star Lena Dunham, and co-produced by her husband Luis Felber.
The ten-part Netflix show tells the story of a New York workaholic who relocates to London and falls for an unlikely British suitor… much as Ms Dunham did in real life.
And the cosiness does not stop there.
One of the actors is Daisy Bevan — whose father Tim is the head of the show’s production company, Working Title.
Oh, and her mother is actress Joely Richardson, which makes Daisy, 31, a fifth generation member of the Redgrave acting dynasty.
