Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts and Michael Sheen take on the latest big screen adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd. Scheduled for release in May the story of independent, beautiful and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene (Mulligan), who attracts three suitors: farmer Gabriel Oak (Schoenaerts), the reckless sergeant Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge), and landowner William Boldwood (Sheen). One hopes, that with such a great cast, we’ll have a treat on our hands. The trailer looks lovely and Mulligan looks like a modern heroine, less glossy than Julie Christie. We’ll see…
Digital Theatre Plus continues to add titles to its growing list of films including the 25th anniversary production of The Royal Ballet’s The Nutcracker filmed at London’s Royal Opera House. This all-time ballet favourite, in which young Clara is swept into a fantasy adventure when one of her Christmas presents comes to life, is at its most enchanting in Peter Wright’s glorious production. While this has become a festive classic, it’s a useful showcase for world-class ballet and timeless music from Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker becomes the 10th production in the Royal Opera House Collection, bringing world-class opera and dance productions direct to your classroom. For details, visit www.digitaltheatreplus.com
Celebrating its fifth year, Globe On Screen returns in 2015 with a new season of sell-out performances from the London home of Shakespeare. The series offers audiences the chance to see plays from their local cinema, in high definition and full surround sound. The fifth season features the critically-acclaimed The Duchess of Malfi starring Gemma Arterton, the inaugural production in the new candlelit Jacobean theatre at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Other productions include Arms and the Man, Dominic Dromgoole’s Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra, Lucy Bailey’s notoriously bloody Titus Andronicus, and The Comedy of Errors. The new season will be screening in cinemas throughout the UK as well as in selected locations across North America, Australasia and Europe. Tickets for Globe On Screen’s 2015 season will go on sale in January.
PS: Well done to 13-year-old Hannah Mason from Wiltshire who scooped the top prize in a national storyboarding competition hosted by the film and education charity Into Film, the Intellectual Property Office and the Industry Trust for IP Awareness, which saw her story made into a short animated film by Oscar®-winning studio Aardman Animations.