1963. The scandal that shocked society. Stephen Ward deals with the victim of the Profumo Affair - not, as is widely supposed, John Profumo himself, the disgraced Minister for War, nor even the fatally wounded Conservative government of Harold Macmillan, but the society osteopath whose private libertarian experiments blew up in his own and everyone else's face. ' In a trial as emblematic to the twentieth century as Oscar Wilde's was to the nineteenth - from which he was the only protagonist to emerge with some dignity and honour - Ward became the targeted scapegoat of a furiously self-righteous Establishment. By no means a hero, he was a reluctant martyr, thanks to an unholy alliance between press and police of a kind we can all too readily recognise today; inadvertently, he was the hinge between two worlds and the harbinger of a revolution in manners, music and morals when the ordered, stuffy, respectful universe of the fifties gave way to the classless, truculent, unstoppable sixties.'
In February 2012, Webber first revealed in an interview with Chris Evans that he was considering working on a show based on the Profumo Affair. A first reading of the musical was held in London in early 2013, with its first public outing coming in March, with Milos Karadaglic performing the title song from the show on an ITV special Andrew Lloyd Webber: 40 Musical Years. The track was later released as a digital download.
Officially confirmed on 28 June 2013, producers announced that the show would play the Aldwych Theatre, with tickets going on sale immediately. The show has a book with lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and is directed by Richard Eyre, with choreography by Stephen Mear, set design by Rob Howell, lighting design by Peter Mumford and sound by Paul Groothuis.
Production history
West End (2013)
Stephen Ward is expected to begin previews on 3 December 2013, at the Aldwych Theatre, London, before holding its official opening night on 19 December. On 6 September 2013, full casting was announced with Alexander Hanson playing the title role of Stephen Ward, Charlotte Spencer as Christine Keeler, Joanna Riding as Valerie Hobson, Charlotte Blackledge as Mandy Rice Davies, Anthony Calf as Lord Astor, Daniel Flynn as John Profumo, Ian Conningham as Ivanov, Chris Howell as Murray, Ricardo Coke Thomas as Lucky Gordon and Wayne Robinson as Johnny Edgecombe.
Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Stephen Ward
Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Stephen Ward
Version 1
Stephen Ward (2013-12-Aldwaych Theatre-London)
Type de série: OriginalThéâtre: Aldwych Theatre (Londres - Angleterre) Durée : 3 mois 1 semaine Nombre : Première Preview : 03 December 2013
Première: 19 December 2013
Dernière: 29 March 2014Mise en scène : Richard Eyre • Chorégraphie : Stephen Mear • Producteur : Star(s) : Avec: Alexander Hanson (Stephen Ward), Charlotte Spence (Christine Keeler), Charlotte Blackledge (Mandy Rice Davies), Anthony Calf (Lord Astor), Daniel Flynn (John Profumo), Joanna Riding (Valerie Hobson), Ian Conningham (Ivanov), Chris Howell (Murray), Ricardo Coke Thomas ( Lucky Gordon), Wayne Robinson (Johnny Edgecomp), Martin Callaghan, Kate Coyston, Jason Denton, Julian Forsyth, Amy Griffiths, Paul Kemble, Emma Kate Nelson, Carl Sanderson, Emily Squibb, John Stacey, Helen Ternent, Tim Walton.Presse : "The show sharply captures the mood and atmosphere of the early Sixties, in which formality, snobbery and deference were giving way to greater freedom."
Charles Spencer for The Telegraph
"... uneven musical play ..."
Paul Taylor for The Independent
" ... we never get to fully understand Ward's character ..."
Michael Billington for The Guardian
"... like a very unsexy production of Chicago. The girls look great but half the cast really should have kept their clothes on."
Simon Edge for The Daily Express
"Ward is the narrator for his own story, and ... we get frustratingly little sense of what drove this complex man."
Fiona Mountford for The Evening Standard
Extrait: "I'm Hopeless When It Coes to You"
Stephen Ward (2013-12-Aldwaych Theatre-London)
Joanna Riding incarne Valérie Hobson, l'épouse de John Profumo dans le musical «Stephen Ward» de Andrew Lloyd Webber. Dans la chanson «I'm Hopeless When It Coes to You», elle envisage l'avenir de leur mariage après que Profumo ait publiquement avoué sa liaison avec Keeler.
Qualité: ***** Intérêt: ****
Langue: Anglais Durée: 0:03:16