Alex and The Crown

Details about the part Alex plays on "The Crown" at Romper>

The Crown's "Giddy delight"

Good reviews for Alex in "The Crown" again. Yahoo New this time:

"And every word out of the mouth of the former king Edward VIII (Alex Jennings) is a giddy delight."

Full review at Yahoo.

VSO Christmas

Alex read at the VSO International Christmas Concert at Central Hall Westminster on 8 December.

VSO volunteers are our greatest ambassadors - Alex Jennings reads The Modest Ambassador by Dick Bird #VSOChristmas pic.twitter.com/2TbmOGvvCE

— VSO International (@VSO_Intl) December 8, 2016

The Duke

Alex got some very good reviews for his portrayal of the Duke of Windsor in "The Crown".

The Telegraph says he "has a gift for adding an extra dimension to real-life characters, be it Alan Bennett, Anthony Eden or Stephen Spender, and that's very much the case here – his Duke is always far more than an impersonation of the uptight character we’ve all seen in grainy reels of Pathé news footage. Jennings held this episode together. Without him, it would have been a hollow examination of protocol and powerplay seen through a distant, dispassionate lens."

Full review at the Telegraph.

And a little more about Alex's appearance in the 5th episode at the Telegraph.

Acting Lessons

Apparently Alex has been taking acting lessons:

Featuring @annobyrne, Alex Jennings and Robyn Nevin, Octavia is back to give a behind the scenes look at her groundbreaking acting techniques. #myfairlady #myfairladyaus #julieandrews #acting #musical | Instagram takeover with @zoyfrangos

Een video die is geplaatst door My Fair Lady Musical (@myfairladyaus) op 15 Okt 2016 om 8:35 PDT

Jen's Review

Jen went to see "My Fair Lady" in Sydney and sent this review:

I would like to share some cheery thoughts about My Fair Lady.

This is an elegant production directed by Julie Andrews, who initially played Eliza Doolittle on Broadway. It has splendid production values and strong performances. The cast includes rising star Anna O’Byrne as Eliza and a who’s who of Australian theatre (Reg Livermore, Robyn Nevin, and Tony Llewellyn-Jones).

Alex has superb comic timing as Higgins, a prickly and peculiar character. I thought he brought a lot of laughs with his enunciation, singing and dancing in songs such as “Why Can’t the English?”, “The Rain in Spain” and “A Hymn to Him.” He also really connected with the audience and elicited sympathy in the more serious and reflective song, “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”

My Fair Lady recently broke a box office record (most tickets sold for a production at the Sydney Opera House), which would suggest that limited tickets are available until it closes 5th November. If you are able to get to Sydney by then, I would recommend booking a ticket to see Alex in this entertaining and fun show!

Thanks Jen!

War Requiem Poetry

A number of short films of Alex reading First World War poetry at YouTube.

They were taken from the War Requiem website.

Thanks to Kate!

MFL Review

A long and detailed review of My Fair Lady at Limelight Magazine. Good words for Alex!

"Heading the outstanding cast is British actor Alex Jennings, reprising a role that earned him an Olivier Award in 2003. His Higgins has deepened over the years from arrogant tyrant to slightly bewildered, prissy academic. Nowadays we would likely consider this misanthrope ‘on the spectrum’. One of Shaw’s keys is when Mrs Higgins refers to her son and Pickering as a “pretty pair of babies, playing with your live doll” and Jennings captures compellingly the curiously infantilised aspect of the man. As a theatrical technician, he is second to none, every line considered and connected to build and explore a complex human being. His lead-in to I’m an Ordinary Man reveals no railing misogynist but a fellow who has likely been burned somewhere along the line. His panegyric to the poetry of language really does inspire. The points at which we see his growing feelings for Eliza are beautifully plotted, making Jennings' Higgins seductively sympathetic at times. The songs are delivered with confidence and finesse, just on the voice enough to prove he has the notes, while relishing the text in a bravura display of Lerner-esque acerbic patter. When it comes, I’ve Grown Accustomed to her Face takes us to a place of considerable pathos and loneliness – just as it should."

Full review at Limelight Magazine.

Alex on Women

Alex talks to the Sydney Morning Herald on all he knows about women...

"There is so much men can learn from women: empathy, sympathy, emotional openness and a lack of bullshit. Women are intuitive and are kinder. Plus, they are less openly competitive - there's not that alpha-male competitiveness going on. In my view, women are better than men."

He talks about his wife, his mother and grandmother, Maggie Smith, Anna O'Byrne, Julie Andrews, Helen Mirren and Theresa May.


Sydney Morning Herald

Thanks to Jen!

More Lady Publicity

Alex attended the party after the official opening night along with other cast members.

Sydney Opening Night

"My Fair Lady" has now opened in Sydney.

There is another picture gallery at Broadway World.

The Sydney Morning Herald gives the production four stars and has this to say about Alex:


"Jennings demonstrates complete mastery as Professor Higgins. His diction and clarity is outstanding, his timing impeccable. It seems more Harrison's Higgins than his own, at times, but his crisp energy and charisma lifts the portrayal far above the level of impersonation."

Full review at: Sydney Morning Herald.

And then there was this one at the afterparty:

Alex Jennings (Henry Higgins) #MyFairLady #GalaPremiere #AfterParty #kilt

Een foto die is geplaatst door My Fair Lady Musical (@myfairladyaus) op 6 Sep 2016 om 7:34 PDT

Thanks to Kate!

Leopold

There is a review of Victoria in The Telegraph.

And some background information on the character at the Radio Times.


The third episode was shown on ITV last Sunday. The series continues next week.

More Higgins

With and about Alex, a piece from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Thanks to Jen!

And there are a lot of pictures on the My Fair Lady Australia Facebook Page.

My Fair Lady Press

The first images and videos of the Sydney production were made available today.

Anna O'Byrne, who plays Eliza posted this picture:

📸 Don Arnold @myfairladyaus #myfairlady #elizadoolittle #theraininspain

Een foto die is geplaatst door Anna O'Byrne (@annaobyrne) op 31 Aug 2016 om 9:30 PDT

Various tweets with short extracts:

"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" #MyFairLady #sneakpeek pic.twitter.com/EqNLYEUrrs

— My Fair Lady AU (@myfairladyaus) September 1, 2016

"I could pass you off as the Queen of Sheba" #MyFairLady #FlowerGirl pic.twitter.com/GeeVsDZ9q7

— My Fair Lady AU (@myfairladyaus) September 1, 2016

Toi toi toi to the cast & crew of @MyFairLadyAus for the opening performance at @SydOperaHouse tonight! pic.twitter.com/zIY3xcQSiw

— Opera Australia (@OperaAustralia) August 30, 2016

A short article by Ben Neutze was published at the Daily Review.

Pickering Talking

Tony Llewellyn-Jones gave in interview about the new production of "My Fair Lady" in Sydney. He plays Colonel Pickering. Lovely picture with the article...

Read the article at the Sydney Morning Herald.

Alex Radio

Alex reading "Explorers of the Nile" was just repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra and so is now available on the BBC iPlayer.

Thanks to Jen!

Alex reading Michael Palin's "The Truth" is also back on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Denial Trailer

The trailer for "Denial" is now available. Just one shot of Alex...



Thanks to Kate!

Stuff Happens

Alex has been confirmed taking part in a rehearsed reading of "Stuff Happens" at the Lyttelton Theatre. Other readers are Bill Nighy, Adjoa Andoh, Isla Blair, Gunnar Cauthery, Anton Lesser, and Simon Paisley Day. The reading takes place on 6 July to mark the Chilcot Inquiry report.

More information and tickets at National Theatre.

White Sands

Alex reads the book of the week on BBC Radio 4 this week. The book is "White Sands" by Geoff Dyer. The broadcasts can be listened to on the iPlayer.

The omnibus edition will be broadcast on Sunday on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Thanks to Jen!

Reverie

Sounds like we have a recording to look forward to:

Happy time wth #AlexJennings @air_edel studios recording #Reverie today for the CD. Next stop @StablesMK on Sunday pic.twitter.com/zIIJaYwg5e

— Lucy Parham (@LucyParham) May 31, 2016

Higgins Interview

Alex talks to Jo Litson about his upcoming appearance at the Sydney Opera House at Scene and Heard.

He is looking forward to this time down under:
“And I’ve never been to Australia before so it’s a big treat,” he adds, saying that his wife, landscape gardener Lesley Moors, will come with him while their two children, now in their 20s, and his “dear, old Dad” will also visit."

Not too sure I agree with all his opinions:

"Now 59, Jennings thinks there will be differences in his portrayal to when he last played the role.

“Since I last did it my singing has grown. When I was doing Willie Wonka I worked with a brilliant singing teacher called Mary King and she has given me confidence and brought on my singing,” he says.

“And I’m older – though I’m not as old as Rex Harrison was when he finished doing it. But there is going to be a bigger age difference between me and Eliza than there was when I last did it so any sense of romance would perhaps be less appropriate.”

Thanks to Uli!

Elizabeth

Alex recently recorded the audiobook "Elizabeth" by John Guy.

You can listen to an extract on Soundcloud.

You can order the book at Penguin.

Penguin HQ can be a fun place for a spot of people-watching, and we recently bumped into Alex Jennings in our recording studio, who you might recognise from various films and TV programmes - he played Alan Bennett in the film The Lady in the Van. Alex was in the studio to record the audiobook version of John Guy's ELIZABETH: a history of Elizabeth I as never known before. Handily, it's out today and you can find out more at http://po.st/ListenToElizabeth

Een foto die is geplaatst door Penguin Books (@penguinukbooks) op 19 Mei 2016 om 4:28 PDT

Thanks to Kate!

My Fair Lady Presentation

Alex couldn't attend the cast presentation for "My Fair Lady" in Sydney, but he was there on video:

British actor Alex Jennings is Higgins in #myfairlady couldn't be here in person

Een foto die is geplaatst door Chris Hook (@epicchook) op 11 Mei 2016 om 5:33 PDT

Thanks to Kate!

Alan Bates Awards

Alex was one of the judges for the Alan Bates Awards on 5 May. This is him with the other judges:

About last night... it wouldn't have been possible without our judges #DeborahWilley #AlexJennings #JuliaCrampsie pic.twitter.com/hY7rCZcOxx

— The Actors Centre (@TheActorsCentre) May 6, 2016

A video interview is at Youtube:



Thanks to Kate!

Lucy Parham

Lucy Parham posted a picture on Twitter taken backstage with Alex and Harriet Walter at the Campden Literary Fest last weekend:

@CCMusicFest @campdenlitfest happy memory of backstage from last night! pic.twitter.com/5nUUoHdqHv

— Lucy Parham (@LucyParham) May 9, 2016

Thanks to Kate!

Geraint Lewis Collection

Photographer Geraint Lewis has a huge collection of theatrical photos online. Some of Alex in there, from "Present Laughter", "Stuff Happens", "Collaborators" and "The Relapse". Worth taking a look,

Check Geraint Lewis Collection.

The Crown - Trailer

The trailer for "The Crown" is now available through the IMDb:

Henry Higgins Returns

Alex will play Henry Higgins in a production of "My Fair Lady" in Sydney, Australia from 30 August. Julie Andrews will direct the production.

Information and tickets at show website.

Happy Birthday

Alex celebrates his 59th birthday today!

Hamlet!

The Complete Walk is now available on the BBC for six months. So, you can watch Alex at Elsinore!

.

There is a link on this page to some of the other films as well.

Thanks to Kate!

Dread Poets' Society

If you haven't seen it yet:



With a very dashing Lord Byron!

The Complete Walk

Today is the day of the complete walk, on the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Alex was Hamlet on the big screen on the South Bank:

Alex Jennings in this little known ditty #TheCompleteWalk pic.twitter.com/PH8SKZ54v7

— David Stephenson (@TheTellyRocket) April 23, 2016

Hamlet

The Globe have posted a picture of Alex as Hamlet at Elsinore:

The film will be shown this weekend as part of The Complete Walk.

Bristol Old Vic

The Alex Jennings entry on Facebook now shows some pictures of Alex at the Bristol Old Vic school. Just check Alex Jennings.

The Little Walls

The Little Walls by Winston Graham was repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra, and can be heard on the iPlayer for four weeks.

More information at BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Thanks to Jen and Kate.

From Page to Screen

Alex talked about "The Lady in the Van" on From Page to Screen and they posted a couple of videos on Youtube:




And:




And a picture on Instagram:

The wonderful Alex Jennings - special guest for #LadyInTheVan #FPTS16 #Bridport #filmfestival #frompagetoscreen

Een foto die door frompagetoscreen is geplaatst op 2 Apr 2016 om 4:15 PDT

Thanks to Kate!

The Halcyon

Filming has started on a new ITV drama series about a five star hotel at the centre of London society during the Second World War. Alex is named as one of the actors to appear in the series, alongside Steven Mackintosh and Olivia Williams. Other parts are played by Kara Tointon, Matt Ryan, Hermione Corfield and Mark Benton.

The press release is at the ITV Press Centre.

Thanks to Uli and Kate!

Demi-God?

David Oakes seems to like working with Alex:

The mighty statuesque rear form of a Demi-God; and a statue of Orpheus…! On set with @ITVVictoria’s #AlexJennings. pic.twitter.com/bZRrM6jsIW

— David Oakes (@David_Oakes) March 21, 2016

And a still from "The Crown":

Still from The Crown with Alex Jennings & Lia Williams pic.twitter.com/2AtOBDi7rp

— Cort Peterson (@CortPeterson1) March 13, 2016

The Complete Walk - Hamlet in Elsinore

Shakespeare's Globe is creating short films of all of Shakespeare's Plays for 23-24 April 2016, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. The films will be screened along the South Bank, and in other cities. Alex will play Hamlet, along with Michelle Terry, Nikesh Patel and Ashley Zhangazha, in a short filmed at Elsinore!

Other films feature , amongst many others, Sam West, Jamie Parker, Tom Burke, Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles, James Norton, Jonathan Pryce.

Anyone in London for that weekend?

More information at The Complete Walk.

Thanks again to Kate!

Pink Sea Bream

Just leaving this here...

From: The Telegraph.

You can buy the poster, and support the campaign at Fishlove.

Bridport's Film Festival

Alex will make a personal appearance at the Bridport's Film Festival on 2 April at the screening of "The Lady in the Van". There will be a Q&A after the screening.

More information at Bridport's Film Festival website.

Thanks to Kate!

Young Victoria

A tweet about Young Victoria with a picture of Uncle Leopold...

Thanks to @TheActionHorses for carting us about this arvo. Here be Uncle Leopold and "The Inimitable Goldbacher". pic.twitter.com/GZ8vAkiLiJ

— David Oakes (@David_Oakes) March 2, 2016

Thanks to Kate!

Stream, River., Sea

The Peter Souter radio play "Stream, River, Sea", starring Alex and Juliet Stevenson, will be broadcast again on BBC Radio 4 Extra, Friday 17 March.

Details at BBC Website.

Thanks to Jen!

Henry Fielding

Alex will take part in a charity event, "Henry Fielding: a Journey", for Coram on 11 April. The event will take place in Middle Temple Hall. The evening forms part of Coram’s 275th anniversary celebrations of the First Admission of a child to the Foundling Hospital in March 1741.

Other cast members are Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miller and John Sessions.

Tickets and information at Coram.

Thanks to Kate!

Churchill's Secret

The new series "Churchill's Secret" starts on ITV on 28 February at 20.00.

More information at the ITV Press Centre.

.

Thanks to Kate!

Rêverie Dates

Alex will appear with pianist Lucy Parham again in Rêverie this spring. Rêverie is about the life and music of Claude Debussy.

They will be at:

The Brunton Theatre at Musselburgh on 5 March

The Campden Music Festival on 8 May

The Stables in Wavendon on 5 June.

More information about the production and how to book tickets at: Lucy Parham's website.

Lucy Parham sent a tweet about their previous concert in February in Guildford:

Very happy evening at the best @YvonneArnaud. We love being with you! Alex Jennings joined me in Reverie. #debussy pic.twitter.com/IEIPmZuaY7

— Lucy Parham (@LucyParham) February 13, 2016

Thanks to Kate!

Award Nomination

Alex has been nominated for a an Audie award for his reading of "A God in Ruins"by Kate Atkinson. Winners are to be honoured at the Audie Awards Gala in Chicago on May 11
hosted by award-winning comedian and author, Paula Poundstone.

More information at AudioFile Magazine.

Thanks to Kate!

The Oldie

Alex has attended the "Oldie of the Year Award" ceremony in London. Information about the ceremony at The Oldie.

A couple of pictures of Alex at:
Picture 1
Picture 2

Thanks to Kate!

London Evening Standard British Film Awards

Alex attended the London Evening British Film Awards on Sunday evening 7 february. He presented Alan Bennett with the special award. Maggie Smith won the award for best actress for her role in "The Lady in the Van".

More information at London Evening Standard.

The pictures are at Getty Images.

Senses and Stage Left

More Alex on the radio this coming week:

Alex plays Frank in the four part drama series "Stage Left" from this Monday on BBC Radio 4. The episode starts at 14.15 and will then be available on BBC iPlayer.

"Senses" started today on BBC Radio 4 Extra. This was first broadcast in 1990. Impressive cast list for this comedy drama in 6 parts: Joan Sims, Charles Gray, Alex Jennings, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Geoffrey Palmer, Lynda Bellingham, Brian Murphy, Rodney Bewes, Liz Fraser, Rory McGrath and Maurice Denham. You can listen here.

Thanks, again, to Uli!

Victoria

More information on the new ITV drama "Victoria" is at the ITV Press Centre. Alex plays "Leopold I, King of Belgium and uncle to both Victoria and Albert, who was responsible for arranging their marriage."

The Crown

The trailer for "The Crown" has been released, it looks like Alex plays a good part in this!



Thanks to Kate!