Alex read T.S. Eliots Ash-Wednesday at Southward Cathedral on 20 November. Faber and Faber just published some video footage on Twitter:

Juliet Stevenson and Alex Jennings joined us for a mesmerising reading of works by T. S. Eliot alongside the performance of works by Benjamin Britten by the City of London Sinfonia. pic.twitter.com/XOaexwwqmh

— Faber & Faber (@FaberBooks) December 20, 2019

Piazza Rehearsal Footage

WTTW news has some interview and rehearsal footage for "The Light in the Piazza" at the WTTW website.

Playbill

Playbill has a series of rehearsal photographs for The Light in the Piazza at Playbill.

Fox Interview

Another tv interview in Chicago:

Chicago

Alex is in Chicago preparing for the run of The Light in the Piazza.

All adoring the goddess that is @ReneeFleming. 📷 by @malcsinc #AlexJennings #LesleyMoors @LITPMusical @LyricOpera pic.twitter.com/eardNmlmdd

— Daniel Evans (@DanielGwynEvans) December 6, 2019

From the Folkestone Book Festival

View this post on Instagram

This year's festival included a 'spellbinding' 'jaunt to the magical @lympnecastle for a fascinating afternoon lost in the world of Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea' (audience comments). Thank you to Imogen Stubbs, Alex Jennings, Ruby Philogene MBE, @dolly_doo_wop, Lucasta Miller & Andy Miller for making this such a memorable event. 📷 by @philippanting . . . . . #folkestone #folkestonebookfestival #bookfestival #book #booklover #bookworm #books #kent #eastkent #thingstodoinfolkestone #strangeconcords #lympnecastle #jeanrhys #widesargassosea #charlottebronte #alexjennings #imogenstubbs #rubyphilogene #dollydoowop #lucastamiller #andymiller #wordsandmusic #spiritual

A post shared by Folkestone Book Festival (@fstonebookfest) on Dec 2, 2019 at 6:09am PST

Julie Andrews Video

From a Julie Andrews fan account:

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Julie receiving a standing ovation after her appearance at the SouthBank Centre discussing her new memoir with Alex Jennings. {November 2nd, 2019} •Video Credit: @chaospercentage #JulieAndrews#DameJulieAndrews#Singer#Actress#Dancer#Author#Writer#Director#Icon#Legend#MaryPoppins#TheSoundofMusic#SoundofMusic#AlexJennings#SouthBankCentre

A post shared by Dame Julie Andrews♛ (@julieandrewsedwards) on Nov 16, 2019 at 10:41am PST

Julie Andrews

Fane Productions posted some lovely pictures of the Julie Andrews interview in the Royal Festival Hall:

#TBT to A Conversation with Julie Andrews at the Southbank Centre earlier this month. Thank you to @julieandrews and Alex Jennings for an evening that we're sure will be treasured by everyone that came pic.twitter.com/CdWNJ2FJfa

— Fane (@FaneProductions) November 14, 2019

Creative Folkestone

Great pictures of Alex by Philip Panting taken at the Creative Folkestone festival:

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Portrait of actor Alex Jennings captured at @creativefstone book festival event at @lympnecastle yesterday. #actor#photography#photographer#silluette #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite#naturallight#reportage#bookfestival#folkestonebookfestival#folkestonecreative #alexjennings

A post shared by Photographer (@philippanting) on Nov 18, 2019 at 7:03am PST

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Actor Alex Jennings behind the scenes of the @creativefstone @fstonebookfest event at @lympnecastle yesterday. #photography#photographer#actor#alexjennings#blackandwhitephotography #reportage#moments#bookfestival #folkestone #behindthescenes #reading#creative#creativefolkestone

A post shared by Photographer (@philippanting) on Nov 18, 2019 at 10:30am PST

Thanks to Kate!

About Ted Day

Alex talks about his role in the new BBC series Gold Digger:

"I also seem to have been on a bit of a roll playing various forms of sleazebags recently, and Ted was a fresh and new version of that, he is much more complicated than simply being a bad guy. There were moments in the writing that allowed me to understand the complexity of the pain this character was in. He has some serious anger issues but it wasn’t black and white in the scripts, so I felt there was something quite complex to explore within him, which was exciting."

The full interview is on the BBC website.

Thanks to Kate!

Siskel Film Center Q&A

Alex will appear at the Siskel Film Center in Chicago on 6 December after an encore showing of Hansard. He will answer questions about his career.

More information and tickets at Siskel Film Center.

Hastings International Piano Festival

Alex will appear with Lucy Parham and Patricia Hodge at the Hastings International Piano Festival on 1 March 2020. They will perform "Nocturne", the programme about Frédéric Chopin. Rufus Wainwright is on the same bill, performing on 28 February.


More information and tickets at the website for the Hastings Festival.

Gold Digger

The new drama series Gold Digger has started on BBC One. Alex plays Ted, the leading character's ex-husband. More information on the characters at BT.

The Crown Does Red Nose Day

Apparently there was a party...

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Big thanks to @emmafreud #clairefoy #jaredharris @jaredharris #mattsmith #victoriahamilton #alexjennings #gregwise #teaparty #hecrown #thecrownnetflix #queenelizabeth #rednoseday #rednosedayusa

A post shared by 👑 Claire Elizabeth Foy 👑 (@queenclairefoy) on Nov 7, 2019 at 8:28am PST

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Big thanks to @emmafreud #clairefoy #jaredharris @jaredharris #mattsmith #victoriahamilton #alexjennings #gregwise #teaparty #hecrown #thecrownnetflix #queenelizabeth #rednoseday #rednosedayusa @rednosedayuk

A post shared by 👑 Claire Elizabeth Foy 👑 (@queenclairefoy) on Nov 7, 2019 at 8:19am PST

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Big thanks to @emmafreud #clairefoy #jaredharris @jaredharris #mattsmith #victoriahamilton #alexjennings #gregwise #teaparty #hecrown #thecrownnetflix #queenelizabeth #rednoseday #rednosedayusa

A post shared by 👑 Claire Elizabeth Foy 👑 (@queenclairefoy) on Nov 7, 2019 at 8:25am PST

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Royal charity tea party with Queen Claire Foy, Prince Matt Smith and cast from The Crown S1 & 2 for @comicrelief @rednoseday Repost @emmafreud IG story, with many thanks! #ClaireFoy #MattSmith #TheCrown #RoyalTeaParty #ComicRelief #RedNoseDay #VictoriaHamilton #JaredHarris #GregWise #AlexJennings

A post shared by Claire Elizabeth Foy (@clairefoy84) on Nov 7, 2019 at 8:27am PST

Essential Classics

Alex appeared on Essential Classics on BBC Radio 3 all of last week.

Our guest, star of The Crown, The Queen and now Hansard @NationalTheatre @NTLive Alex Jennings takes us to Venice to discover a hidden gem of a collection of art. I talk to him this morning on Essential Classics @BBCRadio3 @BBCArtsPR @suzyklein has an array of stunning music. pic.twitter.com/jOD7EKaDXH

— Ian Skelly (@Ianskellyradio3) November 5, 2019

The episodes are available at: Essential Classics.

Julie Andrews

Matthew Bourne attended the interview at the South Bank Centre and posted this picture:

“Are we lucky, or what?” is something #JulieAndrews finds herself saying when thinking about her life & career. Same could apply to all of us @southbankcentre today listening to her talk effortlessly for 2 hrs to #AlexJennings Wonderful! The shared love in the room was palpable pic.twitter.com/uFyryYlEN7

— Matthew Bourne (@SirMattBourne) November 2, 2019

Wide Sargasso Sea

Alex will be reading excerpts of Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys with Imogen Stubbs at Creative Folkestone this Sunday afternoon.

More information and tickets at Creative Folkestone.

Ash-Wednesday

Alex will read T.S. Eliots Ash-Wednesday at Southward Cathedral on 20 November!

We are happy to announce that Alex Jennings will read Ash-Wednesday by T.S. Eliot.

Join us for a special evening of spoken word and music, celebrating the work of Benjamin Britten and T.S. Eliot, at @Southwarkcathed on 20 Nov.

👉 https://t.co/WsMe1MXpJV #InPlaceandTime pic.twitter.com/XKRlFU2t2U

— CityofLondonSinfonia (@CityLdnSinfonia) November 11, 2019

Julie Andrews

Alex talked to Julie Andrews about her career at the South Bank Centre today. Alex and Dame Julie worked together on the Australian production of My Fair Lady. A short report is at BT

Gold Digger

Gold Digger starts on Tuesday 12 November, 9 p.m. There are six episodes.

Thanks to Natasha.

Metro Interview

Hugh Montgomery interviews Alex for Metro on his return to the stage and his recent screen work.

Read the interview at Metro.

Return to the Piazza

Alex will join Renée Fleming on the "Light in the Piazza" tour to Chicago's Lyric Opera House in December. He will also join the show in Sydney in August 2020.


For more details see Broadway.com.

Tickets for the Sydney show at Sydney Opera House.

Hansard Reviews

The first reviews for Hansard are in. They tend to have reservations about the play, but high praise for both actors!

In the Evening Standard Nick Curtis writes:

"The bulk of the 90-minute running time, with a Thatcherite MP and his wife at war in the Cotswolds, exchanging insults like fighting cocks, is elevated by Lindsay Duncan and Alex Jennings, both on beady, withering form."

Full review at Evening Standard



In The Telegraph Dominic Cavendish writes:

"Jennings, ramrod-backed and vaguely ruddy-cheeked, is good at suggesting a concertedly bluff attitude that’s also a lordly, controlling condescension."

Full review at The Telegraph.



In the Guardian Michael Billington writes:

"Jennings has the trickier task in that it is hard to sympathise with his character’s air of misogynistic entitlement. He is forever putting down his wife, dislikes drama and fiction because “the people who in real life contribute the absolute least get all the sympathy”, and takes predictable pot-shots at the Guardian for its mix of “righteous indignation and typographical inaccuracy”. Yet Jennings suggests that Robin’s patrician superiority conceals a vulnerable, emotionally wounded human being."

Full review at The Guardian.



Sarah Crompton, Whatsonstage:

"As Robin, Jennings gets a lot of the best lines, and some of the best arguments; he is no cardboard Tory, set up to be hated. But what's extraordinary is the depth of feeling he finds and conveys. At the close, as the terrible, sad, secret at the heart of this dysfunctional relationship is revealed, his face just crumbles, frozen in grief and unhappiness, absolutely breaking your heart."

Full review at Whatsonstage.

Hansard Opening Night!

Broadway World has the first production pictures of Hansard, taken by Catherine Ashmore

See Broadway World for all the pictures.

Break a leg to everyone involved in #Hansard for your press night tonight.

📷 by Catherine Ashmore pic.twitter.com/IUXzUUxmgf

— National Theatre (@NationalTheatre) September 3, 2019

Talking about Hansard

Alex and Lindsay talk about Hansard:

We caught up with Alex Jennings and Lindsay Duncan who play husband and wife in Simon Woods witty and devastating new play. #Hansard https://t.co/278x4zjoNs pic.twitter.com/tEHuyqXcYW

— National Theatre (@NationalTheatre) August 30, 2019

12 Days of ... Day 12: The Light in the Piazza

Today is the first performance of "Hansard", and the final one in this series of 12 posts looking back on Alex's stage career. I haven't seen all the plays he has performed it, I included the ones I have seen myself. So no Hamlet, no Peer Gynt, no Collaborators and no Speer. I'm sorry to have missed all these, but I'm looking forward to seeing "Hansard".

After a few years of concentrating on screen work Alex returned for a full-length stage production at the Royal Festival Hall in June. He played the part of Signor Naccarelli in "The Light in the Piazza", a musical by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel. The role involved singing with opera star Renée Fleming, and playing a suave, Italian dad. The production only ran for 20 performances in the Royal Festival Hall, but it might tour later.

More details and pictures at the AJ Diaries.

12 Days of ... Day 11: Willy Wonka

In 2014 Alex joined the cast of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, his second major musical. He took on the leading role of Willy Wonka. Colourful, energetic, slightly sinister and weird but also very funny.

For more details and pictures check the AJ Archives.

12 Days of ... Day 10: Hymn and Cocktail Sticks

More Alan Bennett, this time two short, autobiographical pieces. The plays were performed separately at the National Theatre in 2012. Alex takes on the part of Alan Bennett, as he does later in "The Lady in the Van".

"Hymn"was performed accompanied by members of Southbank Sinfonia, "Cocktail Sticks" with a small cast. The two plays later moved to the Duchess Theatre as a double-bill.

More pictures and information at the AJ Archives.

"Cocktail Sticks" was recorded and is available on CD.

12 Days of ... Day 9: The Habit of Art

In 2009 Alex played Benjamin Britten and Henry in Alan Bennett's "The Habit of Art", which featured a play within a play. The production was broadcast to cinemas worldwide as part of the first NT Live season. It can still occasionally be seen as an NT Live Encore. This was the first of several collaborations between Alex, Alan Bennett and Nicholas Hytner, both in the theatre and on screen.

More details and pictures at the Habit of Art.

12 Days of ... Day 8: Present Laughter

"Present Laughter" is a comedy but not uncomplicated, and to all intents and purposes a tricky one to stage. Alex played Gary Essendine at the National Theatre in 2007. The reviews were mixed, but I liked it.

The day we went to see it something had gone wrong and Alex had hurt his foot, so he left shortly after finishing the performance. Acting can be dangerous...

Details and pictures at the AJ Archives.

12 Days of ... Day 7: My Fair Lady

A little unexpected, but very enjoyable. Alex took on the role of Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady", taking over from Jonathan Pryce at Drury Lane. A wonderful performance which brought him his third Olivier Award. A small group of us attended the performance together, which resulted in a few special pictures at the stage door and one of our company almost being run over in the excitement.

.

From an interview Alex gave to Heather Neill of the Telegraph at the time: "He blames the tendency for people to assume a public-school, upper-middle-class family background on "floppy hair and a loud voice". The hair is still luxuriant, but it is being "severely controlled. Cameron [Mackintosh, the producer] said it made me look 25 and I had to get it off my face, so now it's slicked down. Shame. Until then it was my complete performance."

Charles Spencer reviewed the production in The Telegraph:

"Now Alex Jennings and Joanna Riding have replaced Jonathan Pryce and McCutcheon as Higgins and Eliza, and both are absolutely splendid.

Jennings may lack some of Pryce's twinkly gravitas, but this brilliant and charismatic actor, who has never quite achieved the star status he so richly deserves, succeeds superbly in locating the lost little boy behind Higgins's bullying bluster."

More details and pictures at the AJ Archives.

Alex went back to the part of Higgins in Paris in 2010, at the Théâtre du Châtelet. A different production, with a different feel to it. A great excuse to visit Paris and see this lovely show.

More details and pictures at the AJ Archives.


Wish I could have seen the Australian production too. Alas...