At an event earlier this week at the Barbican hosted by Adrian Lester to launch his new book – The Actor and The Space – Cheek by Jowl’s Artistic Director Declan Donnellan alongside Nick Ormerod outlined the company’s forthcoming plans, which include a new Romanian production of Hamlet; a new collaboration with their Spanish company following the recent success of their first Spanish language production Life is a Dream; and a documentary film collaboration with Sophie Fiennes.
After the success of their 2022 production of Oedipus, Donnellan and Ormerod returned to Craiova this February to première a new production of Hamlet. The sell-out show received critical acclaim and will remain in the theatre’s repertoire, with a number of tour dates abroad to be announced soon.
This marks the second collaboration between the company’s Artistic Directors and the ensemble of the Teatrul Naţional “Marin Sorescu”, and reaffirms Cheek by Jowl’s strong and long-standing relationship with Romanian artists and audiences.
After the success of Cheek by Jowl’s first Spanish-language production, Life is a Dream, the company will return to Spain later this year to create a new production. Created by Donnellan and Ormerod, it will open in Spring 2025, with full information (including title, casting, and co-producers) to be announced this June.
In the summer of 2021 Cheek by Jowl joined forces with filmmaker Sophie Fiennes to create the
first in-depth documentation of their unique process and philosophy across a two-week
acting workshop held in Twyford Abbey, a derelict gothic mansion on the outskirts of London.
Working on four key scenes and several soliloquies from Macbeth, eight British actors were paired into couples to work with Declan and Nick. Bringing her experience shooting performance and observational documentary, Fiennes operated as a single shooter with the camera harnessed to her body. She moves amongst the ensemble, responding intuitively inside the shared space.
This film project – title tbc, currently in early stages of post-production, offers privileged access to Cheek by Jowl’s method of creating theatre, witnessing its potential to unlock the actor’s imagination and bring the performance to life.
