Theatre News Archive

The Children's Hour

January 24th
Here's another Elisabeth Moss article. Funny there's been no official shots or even rehearsal pics for this production. Looking at The Misanthrope history, such pics were out six weeks before the start of that play, and a full two months before the press night.

January 23rd
There's no media reviews from last night's opening performance of The Children's Hour, but there's plenty of citizen reviews on Twitter. Read a growing collection here.
Thanks Danielle

Elisabeth Moss was interviewed by The Guardian before curtain up yesterday.

January 17th
For reasons known only to themselves, Ticketmaster are now selling official tickets for The Children's Hour once again. My banner above was going to a dead link until I happened to notice, but now they're back. Don't forget - it starts this Saturday!!

January 14th
What appears to be the official site for The Children's Hour has appeared online. And The Evening Standard has a feature on three of the play's pupil actresses. They're clearly older than in the movie!

January 10th
The Daily Telegraph seems to have gone Keira mad lately - in both senses of the word. They have an article on her Vogue shoot, an article on the filming of Never Let Me Go and an interview which puts her in a very bad light. No idea if the journalist or Keira were in a bad mood, possibly both. It purports to show a case of a celebrity's 'smiles always on' attitude during interview sessions having slipped - and the sad fact is Keira already has a growing opinion in some people's minds that she's like this in real life - mostly from people who've only ever read articles like this one (thankfully those interviews are a minority, and are usually derived from the fact that she refuses to talk about personal things such as boyfriends and family, as was the case here). Who knows what went on before or during this interview, but the reader is only left with one possible opinion - the one the journalist wants you to have. Contrast this with Elisabeth Moss's comments of working with Keira on The Children's Hour.

January 7th
The Children's Hour will now continue at The Comedy Theatre until April 30th, extended from April 2nd. Although tickets are selling well, this is not a "due to demand" extension, as tickets erroneously became available until April 30th when they first went on sale, later corrected to April 2nd, so it's all part of the marketing I guess.

January 4th 2011
The Children's Hour is getting a good round of must-see previews as one of the highlights of 2011: The Guardian - What's On Stage - Daily Telegraph

December 18th
The first publicity shots for The Children's Hour have appeared.

December 14th
Howard Panter, boss of the Ambassador Theatre Group which produced, among many others, The Misanthrope and is currently producing The Children's Hour, says UK theatre is entering a new 'Golden Age'. Article.

December 9th
Keira and her Children's Hour co-star Elisabeth Moss have started rehearsals for the play with some practical lessons. They visited Brentwood School on Tuesday 7th (see pics here and here), and they were spotted in the audience of Black Watch at London's Barbican on Wednesday 8th.
Thanks Shot18

December 3rd
Here's a brief article about Keira's role in The Children's Hour, with a new pic. Rehearsals start next Monday.

November 22nd
The full cast for The Children's Hour is now as follows:
Ellen Burstyn - Amelia Tilford
Nancy Crane - Agatha
Amy Dawson - Rosalie Wells
Isabel Ellison - Catherine
Bryony Hannah - Mary Tilford
Carol Kane - Lily Mortar
Keira Knightley - Karen Wright
Tobias Menzies - Dr Joseph Cardin
Elizabeth Moss - Martha Dobie

November 19th
More cast has been announced to join Keira and Elisabeth Moss in The Children's Hour. Bryony Hannah will play Mary Tilford, the pupil at the centre of the storyline. Veteran actress Ellen Burstyn will play her mother. Carol Kane and Tobias Menzies have also been cast. Rehearsals start on December 6th. Official tickets are still available at the banner above.

November 5th
Tickets for The Children's Hour went on sale today. You can buy them from the banner above or by clicking here. Performances are Monday to Saturday from January 22nd to April 16th at 7.30pm (2.30pm matinees on Saturdays and Wednesdays), with a press night and official opening on February 9th. More cast will be announced soon.

October 25th
Here is the official synopsis for The Children's Hour:
When a troubled teenager starts to spin a web of deceit, all around her are soon caught up in it. Karen Wright (Keira Knightley) and Martha Dobie (Elisabeth Moss) have worked for years to establish their all-girls boarding school, and now, with the school flourishing and Karen on the verge of marriage, their lives and loves finally appear secure. However, when malicious student Mary runs away from the school and seeks to avoid being sent back, she draws on hearsay, gossip, and her own imagination, to concoct a story that threatens the school, the marriage, and their entire futures.

October 22nd

NEW PROJECT !!!

- Keira has now been confirmed in the role of Karen Wright in the first West End production of Lillian Hellman's 1934 play The Children's Hour. Elizabeth Moss (star of Mad Men) will play her partner as the owners of a girl's school who are both accused of lesbian relations by a disruptive pupil.
- Rehearsals will start in late November with performances commencing in January at a venue to be confirmed. An official opening will happen in February.
- Jerusalem director Ian Rickson will direct the play. Elizabeth Moss performed to rave reviews in Speed The Plow on Broadway, although this will be her London debut. There are plans to transfer the play to Broadway next winter.
- As a huge Audrey Hepburn fan I'm so excited about this project and I'm extremely pleased that Keira will play the role that Audrey played in William Wyler's 1962 movie.
- KeiraWeb will have official tickets on sale soon.
- Top links: Daily Mail - BBC - The Stage - PA - Playbill - KW Newswire
- The Children's Hour notes here and here.

October 20th 2010
The New York Post is reporting that Keira is lined up for a theatre revival of Lillian Hellman's 1936 play The Children's Hour, which was turned into a film in 1962 starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley Maclaine. The plan is for a London run early next year and then to transfer it to Broadway, New York the following winter. The story of accused lesbianism among the owners of a private girls school is based on real events in Scotland in 1810. Hellman's play ended with a confession, after her partner's suicide, that she really was in love with her.