Stage Door News
Toronto: Cineplex Events’ Stage Series returns to cinemas this fall
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Cineplex Events’ opens the curtain on their popular Stage Series, offering theatre-lovers the chance to experience the beauty of the stage. With live performances on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stage Series provides an opportunity to revisit some of the best theatrical productions of the year on over 60 Cineplex screens across Canada.
The Fall 2020 lineup includes a range of acclaimed encore performances from the National Theatre in London as well as Canada’s own Stratford Festival; kicking off with Cyrano De Bergerac starring James McAvoy on August 21.
Following Cyrano de Bergerac, additional encore productions include:
- National Theatre Live’s Fleabag, written by and starring Golden Globe winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge;
- The historic Shakespeare tragedy King Lear, lead by Sir Ian McKellen;
- The haunting and ghoulish Frankenstein, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller;
- Stratford Festival’s Caesar and Cleopatra, starring Christopher Plummer;
- Harold Pinter’s comic classic No Man’s Land, with Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen and;
- Shakespeare’s intense and powerful Coriolanus, starring Tom Hiddleston.
Cineplex’s top priority has always been the health and safety of its employees and guests and creating a safe, comfortable and welcoming environment. Theatres are open with enhanced safety and cleaning measures as well as updated procedures to allow for physical distancing both inside and outside auditoriums. To learn more about Cineplex’s new health and safety measures, visit www.cineplex.com.
For more information about the series, participating locations and a complete schedule of Cineplex’s Stage Series, visit www.cineplex.com. Sign up for Cineplex Events' monthly newsletter to receive previews to upcoming Events Cinema programming, exclusive interviews, contests and more.
CINEPLEX EVENTS STAGE SERIES ENCORE LINE-UP
CYRANO DE BERGERAC - National Theatre Live
Beginning August 28, 2020 (On Sale August 21)
| Directed by Jamie Lloyd Starring James McAvoy James McAvoy (X-Men, Atonement) returns to the stage in an inventive new adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, broadcast live to cinemas from London's West End. Fierce with a pen and notorious in combat, Cyrano almost has it all - if only he could win the heart of his true love Roxane. There’s just one big problem: he has a nose as huge as his heart. Will a society engulfed by narcissism get the better of Cyrano or can his mastery of language set Roxane’s world alight? |
FLEABAG - National Theatre Live
Beginning September 17, 2020 (On Sale September 4)
Directed by Vicky Jones
Starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Phoebe Waller-Bridge's award-winning comedic play may seem oversexed, emotionally unfiltered and self-obsessed, but that's just the start. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea-pig café struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose.
KING LEAR - National Theatre Live
Beginning October 8, 2020 (On Sale September 25)
| Directed by Jonathan Munby Starring Sir Ian McKellen Jonathan Munby directs this contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s tender, violent, moving and shocking play. Considered by many to be the greatest tragedy ever written, King Lear sees two aging fathers – one a King, one his courtier – reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends. |
FRANKENSTEIN - National Theatre Live
Beginning October 22, 2020 (On Sale October 9)
Directed by Danny Boyle
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller
The stage adaptation of Frankenstein makes its way back to theatres this Halloween. Captured live at the National Theatre in 2011, Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) directs Olivier Award-winning actors Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Hamlet) and Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary, Dexter), who alternate their roles as the Creature and Victor Frankenstein.
CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA - Stratford Festival
Beginning November 5, 2020 (On Sale October 23)
Directed by Des McAnuff
Starring Christopher Plummer and Nikki M. James
Shaw’s legendary wit turns political drama into sparkling comedy when veteran strategist Julius Caesar becomes mentor to the enchanting teenage queen of Roman-occupied Egypt. Their first encounter under a desert moon will lead to a shift in the course of history, as Cleopatra gradually overcomes her timidity to become a determined player in the game of power politics. Shot over three days during Stratford’s Shakespeare Festival and stars Christopher Plummer as Caesar, Nikki James as Cleopatra.
NO MAN’S LAND - National Theatre Live
Beginning November 19, 2020 (On Sale November 6)
Directed by Sean Mathias
Starring Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart
One summer's evening, two ageing writers, Hirst and Spooner, meet in a Hampstead pub and continue their drinking into the night at Hirst's stately house nearby. As the pair become increasingly inebriated, and their stories increasingly unbelievable, the lively conversation soon turns into a revealing power game, further complicated by the return home of two sinister younger men.
CORIOLANUS - National Theatre Live
Beginning December 3, 2020 (On Sale November 20)
Directed by Josie Rourke
Starring Tom Hiddleston
Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, The Night Manager) plays the title role in Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge. When an old adversary threatens Rome, the city calls once more on her hero and defender: Coriolanus. But he has enemies at home too. As famine threatens the city, the citizens’ hunger swells to an appetite for change, and on returning from the field, Coriolanus must confront the march of realpolitik and the voice of angry people.
Photo: James McAvoy as Cyrano de Bergerac. © 2019 Marc Brenner.