Most famous for his screen direction of Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting, Danny Boyle is coming to the capital to direct Nick Dear’s version of Frankenstein. Staged at The National Theatre, the production marks the first time Boyle will have his work staged there. Working with the RSC, with whom Boyle began his directing career, Frankenstein will mark the highlight of the NT’s upcoming winter season.
Referring to his theatrical roots, artistic director at the NT Nicholas Hytner told The Stage: “What will be exciting will be to see how a theatre director with a really recognisable personal style has been altered by what he’s discovered about himself over 15 years making movies.”
Though this might seem like a new manoeuvre on behalf of the big-name director, commentators are seeing this as the latest move in a long line of celebrity acquisitions for theatre moguls.
Shaping many West End cast-lists, producers of London shows have long been keen on attracting Hollywood stars to the theatre to boost ticket sales. Beginning with popular names from the worlds of film, music and television like Christian Slater and Madonna, recent West End plays have featured performances from Jude Law, James Earl Jones, Rachel Weisz and David Tennant. Is Danny Boyle’s return to the West End merely the next level of a celebrity descending upon the West End?
A bone of contention for many theatre commentators, West End producers have always maintained that the acquisition of big names to get involved in London shows has lead to the largest theatre audiences in history. Appealing to new audiences that are coming to the capital on hotel and theatre packages, high profile shows are reaching out to those that might not necessarily consider themselves die-hard theatre fans.
Against the backdrop of the longest and deepest recessions since modern records began, cheap theatre breaks have offered families a financially viable alternative to taking a foreign holiday.
Also, perhaps the decision to bring Boyle to the West End is not so remarkable as it seems at first. After all, some directors have made a career out of mastering both stage and screen as a twin discipline. One example is the English director Stephen Daldry who, after shooting to fame by directing the films The Hours and Billy Elliot, then moved on to direct the stage version of Billy Elliot in both the West End and on Broadway.
So what’s next for the West End? Can we expect to see a flood of movie directors using London’s premier theatre district to gain some artistic kudos? Currently riding on the unparalleled success of his film Avatar, James Cameron may consider turning his talents to the stage, or Steven Spielberg? If Danny Boyle can make a successful return to the world of London theatre, then others will surely follow.
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