'Streetcar' arrives to America

After finishing its run at the Sydney Theatre Company, their production of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' in which Cate stars as Blanche DuBois, has arrived in America, starting with a run in Washington. 'Streetcar' can be seen at the Kennedy Center until November 21. After that, the production travels to N.Y.C.'s Brooklyn Academy of Music, where it will run from November 27 — December 20.

The premiere produced some favorable reviews, of which some excerpts can be found below!

"Blanchett has clearly worked to master the fluttery fragility and affected refinement of this damaged Southern belle (...), yet what makes this portrait most compelling isn't the hyper-neurotic body language — how Blanchett manically powders her nose or frantically grasps for a bottle of liquor — but the emotional candor and intensity the actress brings to her character's words and expressions."
USA Today

"If Cate Blanchett's nerve-shattering turn as Blanche DuBois doesn't knock the wind out of you, then there is nothing on a stage that can blow you away."
Washington Post

Cate injured after 'Streetcar Named Desire' performance

An Australian production of the Tennessee Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire” turned more physical that expected for its star, Cate Blanchett, who was injured by a stage prop during a performance Wednesday night, Agence France-Presse reported. Ms. Blanchett, who is portraying Blanche DuBois in a production for the the Sydney Theater Company, was performing a fight scene with Joel Edgerton, who is playing Stanley Kowalski. During the scene, Ms. Blanchett was accidentally struck on the head by a prop radio held by Mr. Edgerton. Agence France-Presse quoted audience members as saying that Ms. Blanchett continued to act in the scene, but she had blood on her head and on her neck. The house lights in the theater were then turned on and the audience was asked to leave the building. It was later announced that the performance had been canceled.

Source
Thanks Kate for the headsup!

Cate & Andrew attending the Helpmann Awards

On Monday, July 27, Cate and Andrew attended the Helpmann Awards in Sydney, where outstanding achievements in the live performance sector - for example, theatre, opera, dance, comedy and more - for the past year were celebrated.

Cate herself was nominated for Best Female Actor in a Play for her performance in "War of the Roses", but eventually missed out to Robyn Nevin in "Women of Troy", another STC production.

It was a successful evening for the Sydney Theatre Company, which in addition to the above mentioned won another 6 awards, among them Best Male and Best Female Supporting Role in a Play, Best Direction and Best Play (all "War of the Roses").

Pictures to follow soon.

Minutes of a Separation

A while ago, the Sydney Theatre Company did a production for watchmakers IWC, to celebrate their 140 year existence, called 'Minutes of a Separation'. It's a 15-minute multi-media theatrical presentation, featuring Cate on film and live performances from Joseph Fiennes and aerialists from award-winning Australian physical theatre company "Legs on the Wall". Minutes of a Separation was directed and written by Nigel Jamieson.

IWC has just launched a site where you can read more about 'Minutes of a Separation', the 140 year celebration, as well as watch the performance! Many thanks to Roger for letting me know. Click the below link to visit the site about the gala event.

Celebrating 140 years of IWC Schaffhausen.

Blackbird in Marl

As announced in this entry, I went to Germany and saw the Cate-directed play "Blackbird" with forum members Layara and Amelie, which was great! Unfortunately, Cate didn't attend the premiere night on Thursday, when I was there, as scheduled, but instead came to Marl on Sunday.

So, I didn't get to meet her, but fortunately, forum moderator Layara was able to attend again on Sunday, and she did meet Cate. She took some pictures of Cate at the Q&A session, following below! Enjoy.

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Cate in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

Cate is set to be directed by Liv Ullmann, a film director and actor best known for her collaborations with Ingmar Bergman, in a theatrical rendition of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. Cate will perform the part of heroine Blanche DuBois. The production will be a part of Andrew and Cate's 2009 program for the Sydney Theatre Company. They signed on as its artistic directors last year.

Ullmann has been in Sydney this week making preparations with the company's co-directors, Andrew Upton and Blanchett. "It is an honour to work with the STC," Ullmann said. "[Williams] holds the audience through the revelation of quiet and ordinary truths and I'm excited by the prospect of discovering these with … inspiring artists."

Although the company's 2009 program will not be announced until later this year, A Streetcar Named Desire is sure to be a selling point. Hugh Jackman has also been tipped to appear in a classic Australian drama. "Having an artist of Liv Ullmann's exacting vision at the helm of STC's production of one of the greatest plays of the 20th century will be wonderful," Blanchett said.

'Blackbird' does well

Cate's directorial debut, the play 'Blackbird', is doing well. It's set to be part of the opening weekend of the New Zealand International Arts Festival on Friday. Cate will visit Wellington to attend the premiere night.

Blackbird has met with critical acclaim during its run at the STC, and earned a 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Play.

'A Kind of Alaska' is a success

Cate's directorial debut, 'A Kind of Alaska', was received warmly at its debut. The play shared its night with 'Reunion', directed by Cate's husband Andrew Upton. Here's what a critic had to say about Cate's poke at directing.

Blanchett-Upton collaboration has hallmarks of success
Mark Hopkins

Cate Blanchett made a triumphant main stage debut as a theatrical director last night with Harold Pinter's A Kind of Alaska.



On the same bill for the Sydney Theatre Company was her husband, playwright Andrew Upton, making his directorial debut with David Mamet's Reunion. Given the couple have been appointed as co-artistic directors of the STC from 2008 it is great to report that this flagship theatre company is in good directorial hands.

Indeed there are many signs the Blanchett-Upton collaboration may be a stunning success.

Reunion and A Kind of Alaska are challenging plays. In Reunion Caroline (Justine Clarke) searches for her father Bernie (Robert Menzies). After 20 years of separation the play charts a reunion of delicate negotiation, compromised by generational difference as much as habits of individual loneliness. In A Kind of Alaska Deborah (Caroline Lee) wakes after 29 years in a sleeplike state. In her mind she is still 16 and her doctor (Menzies) and later her sister (Clarke) attempt to connect her with a reality her mental state finds alien.

Upton's direction reveals a playwright's ear for dialogue and a bold sense of placing actors for symbolic effect. Blanchett's directorial achievement is so sure as to defy her debut status. She shows a great sense of visual imagery in staging and striking confidence with dialogue and silence.

Both directors are aided by outstanding performances and a brilliant set by Ralph Myers that uses water to create a dark mirror that no character dares look into. Sound designer Sherre Delys and composer Chris Abrahams achieve a disturbing soundscape.

Performed at the Wharf, Sydney Theatre Company, Pier 4, November 30

Blanchett to lead theatre company

Australian actor Cate Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton are to become joint artistic directors of Sydney Theatre Company in 2008. The company announced yesterday that Robyn Nevin, who has been artistic director since 1999, would be stepping down when her contract runs out at the end of next year.

"I love these two Australian artists," Nevin said in a statement yesterday. "They are true theatre creatures, each wonderfully gifted, and I am thrilled they will bring these gifts to the company."



An STC spokeswoman said yesterday the statement had been issued to control news of the changes. Rumours about Blanchett's involvement with the company have been circulating in Sydney arts circles for months.

One of Blanchett's earliest professional roles was with STC, where she performed alongside Geoffrey Rush in the David Mamet play Oleanna, in 1993. She has had an increasing involvement with the STC since 2004, when she appeared in the title role of a critically acclaimed staging of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. The production was reprised at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York last March.

Blanchett, 37, will make her directorial debut with Harold Pinter's A Kind of Alaska, opening at the STC's Wharf theatre later this month.

Upton, 40, a theatre writer and director, recently joined the STC as artistic associate, but has been working regularly with the company since Nevin took control seven years ago.

He will assist Nevin in programming the 2008 season, ensuring, the company hopes, a smooth succession. Nevin, Blanchett and Upton were unavailable for comment yesterday, but are planning to speak publicly about the handover tomorrow.

Enter Blanchett, stage left

First Robyn Nevin announced she is stepping down as artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company at the end of 2007, a move few had predicted. But even that bombshell was upstaged by the announcement of her replacements: Cate Blanchett and her husband, the writer Andrew Upton.

"It [the appointment] takes your breath away," said the director of the STC's Wharf Revue, Jonathan Biggins, echoing the sentiments of many in the arts community. "It's very, very exciting."

Blanchett and Upton, who returned from Britain this year and live in Hunters Hill, will start at the STC at the end of 2007, shaping the 2008 season with Nevin. They will "write and act" with the company as well as steer its programming.

"STC has made such strides under Robyn's direction that her shoes will be big ones to fill," Blanchett said. "The quality of the work achieved over the last few years and the establishment of the STC Actors Company have raised the bar for theatre in Australia and Andrew and I look forward to deepening, extending and consolidating that achievement."

Nevin, 64, who is revered as a performer but sometimes feared as a director and head of the de facto national theatre company, will leave her post after 8½ years. She has weathered criticism of her programming - "Anglocentric and worthy" said one commentator who declined to be named - her decision to establish the actors' company and the recent appointment of her daughter, Emily Russell, to the company.

In February, she told the Herald, "the last thing on my mind is leaving". Yesterday she insisted it was simply the right time to walk away.

"In 1999, I said I wanted STC to be a fine drama company," she said. "Well I think it is that now, and getting there has been an extraordinarily volatile and hugely satisfying journey thanks to the staff, the artists and the audiences of Sydney. And now it is time to hand it on to the next generation."

Nevin paid tribute to Blanchett and Upton, saying: "I love these two Australian artists. They are true theatre creatures, each wonderfully gifted, and I am thrilled they will bring these gifts to the company."

Blanchett, who first appeared at the STC in a 1993 production of Oleanna, has become increasingly involved with it despite the demands of her movie career. She starred in the 2004 production of Hedda Gabler that toured to New York and will make her directorial debut this month with the STC's A Kind of Alaska.

Upton, recently appointed the STC's Artistic Associate, has written and adapted several plays for the company. He is directing its production of David Mamet's Reunion this month.

"As a team we come to the role as joint artistic directors first and foremost as an actress and a playwright," Blanchett and Upton said. "Both of us are passionate about the theatrical artform in all its mad variety."

The chairman elect of the STC board, Ian Darling, said the company had been talking to Blanchett and Upton for "some time" to ensure a smooth succession.

Praise for Nevin came from the STC's former chairman, James Strong, who said "she's always aspired to very high artistic standards which in the end is the key role of the artistic director". Playwright David Williamson said: "She [Nevin] lived and breathed and ate and drank the Sydney Theatre Company, determined to elevate it to its highest levels of performance and production. I've seldom seen anyone so determined and single-minded."

Hedda Gabler at BAM photos

New pictures of Cate during a Hedda Gabler performance with the Sydney Theatre Company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, February 27, 2006.

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