Foyle's War

Just the briefest glimpse of Alex in the trailer for the new series of "Foyle's War". Not sure if that means he will be appearing in the first episode, which goes out on 4 January.

Twitter Questions

Alex did the Charlie Choc Twitter Q&A:

Look who's here! Our Wonka Alex Jennings & Oompa Loompas! Ask Qs now using #AskCharlieChoc pic.twitter.com/WPSCghYA40

— Charlie Choc UK (@CharlieChoc_UK) December 19, 2014

Did anyone join in? I was out and missed it, unfortunately!

Cocktail Sticks

Well, a good way to start the new year. BBC Radio 4 will broadcast the NT production of "Cocktail Sticks" on 3 January at 2.30 to 3.30 pm.

More information at BBC Mediacentre.

So Sorry...

everyone, about this one:

#Actor Alex Jennings portrayed #composer Frédéric #Chopin @StJohnsSmithSq Sunday on break from playing #WillyWonka in @CharlieChoc_UK ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ is now on stage in the West End #London. Alex infamously played on screen Prince Charles in #TheQueen for @miramax and has won many @olivierawards including the #LaurenceOlivier Theatre Award Best Actor in a Musical for his 2002 for performance in "My Fair Lady" He performs often with @LucyParham in her #composersInLove series. @playbill @londonist

Een foto die is geplaatst door Amy Z (@atzoey) op Nov 11, 2014 at 9:10 PST

And a

completely different one:

So lovely to see my Gandalf from my Lord of the Rings workshop in which I played Galadriel. #AlexJennings#SoSweet pic.twitter.com/Q7GGfVCyO3

— Natalie Mendoza (@Natalie_Mendoza) December 2, 2014

More Alex and Harriet

Chill on a Tuesday pm. Harriet Walter Alex Jennings @LucyParham in a Chopin fest @StJohnsSmithSq What's not to love? pic.twitter.com/bxBVueHcnc

— sven arnstein (@Sven_Arnstein) December 2, 2014

And some of the reading and the music at:

More Nocturne

Another picture from Lucy Parham, this one from the Q&A after the performance:

@drsarahwalker thank you for hosting fab Q & A @StJohnsSmithSq wth Harriet Walter & Alex Jennings after the concert! pic.twitter.com/kmifAl85kk

— Lucy Parham (@LucyParham) November 24, 2014

Nocturne

Lucy Parham has tweeted a lovely picture of Alex and the other performers at St Johns Smith Square yesterday afternoon:

Final @Sheaffer_Page matinee @StJohnsSmithSq today with Harriet Walter/Alex Jennings @drsarahwalker @allthatjazz26 pic.twitter.com/KXi9OgubP1

— Lucy Parham (@LucyParham) November 23, 2014

Children in Need

Alex appeared with the cast of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' on the BBC's Children in Need fundraiser last Friday. The segment can be seen here:



Thanks again to Kate!

Strange Meeting

Alex reads Wilfred Owen's "Strange Meeting" on the website of the Britten-Pears foundation. The video is available on YouTube.



Thanks to Kate!

November Planning

Some changes have appeared in the diary of Lucy Parham appearances. Alex is no longer mentioned for the BBC Radio 3 broadcast on 20 November. Juliette Stevenson will not now appear on 9 and 23 November but Harriet Walter will.

For more information see Lucy Parham's website.

Thanks to Kate!

Official

The first official picture was released today. Looks like fun!

More, more

If you want more pictures of the filming of "Lady in the Van", Kate is collecting them all on her Alan Bennett blog. So check On the Outskirts of Nowhere.

More Lady

The Telegraph now also has news and pictures. Or mainly pictures at Maggie Smith as homeless Lady in the Van.

Thanks to Eric!

And There You Have It

More at: Express.

No Dylan Thomas

Alex will not be appearing at the Dylan Thomas Centenary Gala because of filming commitments.

Dylan Thomas Centenary Gala

Alex is one of the actors appearing at the Dylan Thomas Centenary Gala at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 26 October. Other readers are Tom Hollander, John Owen Jones, Siân Phillips, Jonathan Pryce, Griff Rhys Jones and Owen Teale.

For tickets and more information see the Queen Elizabeth Hall website.

Thanks again to Kate!

Van

The van has arrived so the filming must be about to start. No lady yet. Or gentleman.

Check: Twitter.

Thanks to Kate!

Don't Be So Dramatic!

... is the name of the podcast that has published the Alex Q&A that took place last week. You can find it at: Stitcher Radio, or you can download the podcast from iTunes.

Thanks to Kate!

Alex Event Report

Linda has reported back on the Q&A session today:

"I just got back from the Alex Jennings event at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He was in fine form, relaxed and jovial, often with a huge smile on his face, which was lovely to see. He was looking especially handsome today in his normal brown shoes, striped socks, jeans, grey T-shirt and black linen jacket. A very fine sight, indeed.

He was asked questions by an old friend, Paul Clayton for half an hour, then the audience asked questions. We learned about his early career and Alex talked about several of his favourite plays and directors, his time at Warwick University where he met his wife, how he felt about acting in Stratford as opposed to working in London (enjoyed Stratford, but very full on as no escape), whether he would work in the States (he would now that his children are off his hands), his work on television and in movies. I asked him if he would consider doing Professor Harold Hill in the Music Man and he said he'd love to. I commented that he already had a good American accent, and Paul Clayton asked Alex why he had brought his agent with him!

It was really enjoyable. I wish you could have been there! thanks for letting me know about it, Jolande. I think there were about 70 people in the audience, most of them quite young (20's)."

Thanks Linda!

Roald Dahl Day

Alex appeared in the live event celebrating Roald Dahl Day this afternoon on the stage of Drury Lane singing "Pure Imagination" with the audience. You can see the show and Alex's performance on Puffin's Virtually Live website. Alex appears after about 29 minutes.

More Castles Background

A longer behind the scenes documentary is now available on the Open University website, with a little more Alex to watch.


See the OU.

Backstage Castles

Getting into work, sitting in the back.

Thank you to Iain McKee, who was in the front.

In Conversation

On 16 September at 1 pm Alex talks off the record to Paul Clayton at the the Grand Salon at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The event is free but you do have to book.

For booking and more information check: Tristan Bates Theatre.

Thanks to Kate and Uli.

If anyone is going, can you send us a report? And picture, of course!

Castles in the Sky - Trailers

Two different trailers for the film that will be broadcast on BBC Two this Thursday:

Short version.

Long version.

Thanks again to Kate!

More Castles

More information and a behind the scenes video of "Castles In The Sky" on the BBC website. As usual, the video is only available in the UK. A few choice words from Alex in there.

See BBC Two.

Special thank you to Penny!

Cocktail Sticks

You can now pre-order the audio recording of "Cocktail Sticks" at Amazon. It's a radio adaptation of the play performed at the National Theatre, probably to be broadcast later. The recording should be available from 15 January 2015.

For details see Amazon.

Thanks again to Kate!

Castles in the Sky

This BBC World War II drama will be shown on BBC Two on 4 September from 9-10.30 pm. Eddie Izzard plays Robert Watson Watt, Alex is Henry Tizard. The drama tells the story of the invention of radar.

For more information see the BBC Media Centre.

Ice Bucket

Yes, he's done it.

Watch as #CharlieChoc's brave cast get drenched on stage for the @mndassoc #IceBucketChallenge! https://t.co/UV11JKhG3y

— Charlie Choc UK (@CharlieChoc_UK) August 21, 2014

And more...

... Charlie pictues.

Curious Incident

On 8 July Alex attended the press night for "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" at the London Transport Museum. There is a picture at Getty Images.

Thanks again to Kate!

The Trailer!

And after all those pictures, the new trailer is now available!

On Acting

In the series "Actors on Acting" Alex talks to the Guardian about playing Henry Higgins, Hamlet and Willy Wonka, making the parts his own and not being able to let go.

The article can be found at the Guardian website.

Thanks to Penny!

War of Words

Kate has provided some pictures of the "War of Words" reading in London last Monday.

Thanks Kate!

Propeller Theatre

Alex supports the Propeller theatre, which has lost some of its funding:

For more information check the Propeller website.

OK, just

One more then:

New Production Photos

All production pictures by Johan Persson

More celebrations - Pictures and Video

The Charlie facebook page has a birthday album now with a few more celebration pictures.

And the video, including some Alex comments is at YouTube.


For all pictures see Facebook.

Charlie's Birthday Celebrations

Charlie celebrated its birthday with a party. Broadway World has some of the pictures. Alex can be seen on and offstage.

For the story and other pictures see: Broadway World.

Broadway.com Interview

Alex talks to Broadway.com about Willy Wonka and a few other things. Just a few of the questions:

After a distinguished a career as a classical actor, it must be lovely to give musical theater another go.
Oh, it is. Working in musicals is something I always dreamed of, and then it happened with My Fair Lady, which was a completely joyful experience. And then came Charlie, which I am aware makes considerable demands on me, but I’m really enjoying it.

You made your public debut as Wonka at the Olivier Awards before you’d started performing the role. Was that daunting?
I made the mistake of looking at it online recently, which was a big error [laughs]. It was completely terrifying. The screen flew out and there I was as Willy Wonka thinking, “I wonder if I could just walk back into the wings now!”

No worries about the glass elevator that flies you and Charlie over the audience?
Not really. I don’t particularly suffer from fear of heights, but I do make sure to hold on very tightly to Charlie’s hands.

You'll be playing two roles—or two versions of the same role—in the film adaptation of Alan Bennett’s The Lady in the Van.
I’m guessing that may come off a bit like the twins in The Social Network: Alex Jennings acting with Alex Jennings? [Laughs.] Hopefully, we’ll be filming in the house in north London where the events [in the play] actually happened; Alan is writing to the neighbors as we speak.

You’re no stranger to Dame Maggie Smith, having acted opposite her in The Importance of Being Earnest in 1993.
And I had a wonderful time with her—a really fabulous time. How can you not enjoy being on stage with one of this country’s greatest if not the greatest living actresses? All that is left is to try to live up to the mark and match her, and what’s been wonderful is that the Charlie producers are giving me the necessary time off to do the film before returning and continuing in the part through to next May.

Is your current experience in Charlie making you look around the musical landscape to see what else might possibly appeal?
Not in any sense of being very proactive, since that’s not usually how I go about getting work. But it has given me more confidence in this field, certainly, and I have to say I do love Sondheim and would love to do one of his musicals one day. I wonder whether that could ever happen?


Read the full interview at Broadway.com.

Charlie's Birthday

Yesterday "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" celebrated its first birthday. There was a party, of course, and Alex attended. The pictures are from Charlie's official twitter feed.

The Secret Scripture

Alex will be reading Sebastian Barry's "The Secret Scripture" on BBC Radio 4 Extra with Doreen Keogh from tomorrow, 23 June at 14.00. The 10 episodes will be broadcast over the next two weeks. For more information see: BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Thanks again to Jen!

Wonka Talk

Alex talks at length to Lloyd Evans of The Spectator about appearing in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and other plans. He talks about the funny voices, acting with children, other ambitions, politics and his "transatlantic presence". The article will appear in the printed edition of 21 June.

Read at The Spectator.

Words of War

Monday afternoon 30 June Alex will take part in a reading of poetry, letters and memoirs of the First World War. Harriet Walter also takes part. The reading will take place at St Johns Church, Waterloo Road and is an NT platform. For tickets and information check the National Theatre website.

Thanks again to Kate!

Autumn Charlie Schedule

Alex will take time off from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" in the autumn to film "Lady in the Van". The official website gives the following message: "Mr Jennings' performance schedule is subject to change between the following dates inclusively: 6-25 October 2014 and 3-29 November 2014." So I guess if you want to be sure to see Alex in the show you need to book outside these periods.

For full announcement: official website.

Equity

The actors union Equity is holding elections. No guesses who Alex will be voting for. Malcolm being Mr Sinclair.

See Original tweet.

Thanks again to Kate!

Lonely Mountain

Alex did the narration for this lovely short animation you can watch on Vimeo.

Guardian Caricature

Nicola Jennings has drawn Alex as one of a series of caricatures in the Guardian.

For the original and other drawings see the Guardian.

Belle

Alex appears in the new film Belle.

The official trailer is available on YouTube.

The official website is at Belle.

Castles in the Sky

The film Alex made with Eddie Izzard, Tim McInnerney, Julian Rhind-Tutt amongst others in Scotland last year will open on 23 June at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

For more information or tickets check the Festival Website.

Meanwhile, last year Iain McKee posted a picture of the cast after the wrap on Twitter.

Drury Lane

The pictures are up outside the Theatre Royal Drury Lane:

Charlie Website

A couple of Alex pictures are now up on the official website, along with the pictures of the original cast. One is the picture used in social media today, the other:

Both pictures taken by Johan Persson.

For news and pictures see the official website.

First Night

Alex takes to the stage as Willy Wonka for the first time tonight, and this picture appeared on all the social media. And a change to the Wonka look!

Rehearsing Charlie

Some pictures of rehearsals with Sam Mendes were published today at Digital Spy.

Music Fest

Lucy Parham tweeted a rehearsal picture of Alex at the Campden Music Fest yesterday

Original tweet at: Lucy Parham

Thanks again to Kate!

Happy Birthday, Alex!

Lady in the Van

BBC Films announced today that they will adapt Alan Bennett's memoir "The Lady in the Van" with Maggie Smith playing the lady, Miss Shepherd and Alex returning to the part of Alan Bennett.

For more information see: Screen Daily.

Thanks again to Kate!

007

Alex plays Draco on Radio 4 in an adaptation of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" on Saturday 3 May at 14.30. Toby Stephens plays Bond, other parts are taken by Joanna Lumley, Alfred Molina, Lisa Dillon, John Standing, Janie Dee, Lloyd Owen, Joanna Cassidy, Clare Dunne and Julian Sands.

For full details see: BBC Radio 4.

Thanks to Uli!

One More

From Official London Theatre.

Backstage at the Oliviers

The Charlie facebook page has created an album backstage at the Oliviers. Some nice shots in there. All the pictures were taken by Helen Maybanks.

All pictures at Charlie on Facebook.

Charlie Newsletter

The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory newsletter reported back on the Oliviers and on Alex taking over. The newsletter includes a backstage picture of Alex and Douglas Hodge:

The newsletter also contains a link to the ITV Player, where the ceremony can be watched

If you want to receive the newsletter sign up at the Official website.