Production photos released ahead of Elegy's official opening tonight

27 April 2016 19:54

Having been in previews since 21 April, Elegy opens at London's Donmar Warehouse tonight – and to mark the occasion the theatre has released powerful images of Zoë and her co-stars in the show.

Zoë is pictured as Lorna alongside Carrie (played by Barbara Flynn) and Miriam (Nina Sosanya). The production's bold set includes a giant tree trunk, split in two, which symbolises the traumatic experiences explored during the play.

Performances of Elegy are scheduled until 18 June. The Donmar is releasing £10 tickets for front row seats on Monday mornings, with a very, very small number of other tickets also available.

Let's wish Zoë and the rest of Elegy's cast and crew all the very best for tonight's performance!

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Elegy: world premiere this evening!

21 April 2016 17:53

In just over an hour-and-a-half, Zoë will appear in the world premiere of Elegy at London's Donmar Warehouse. Previews of the play, which explores the workings of the human mind and the power of our emotions, will then continue until its official opening, on 27 April.

Elegy is among The Stage's latest theatre picks, while news of the play's imminent first performance has also been reported in the US's theatrical press, namely by Playbill.com and BroadwayWorld.com.

Elegy's writer, Nick Payne, has given an insightful interview about what audiences can expect, published by the Evening Standard today. The interview reveals that the play poses an unsettling question: what if you urgently needed brain surgery but a side-effect of the operation was that you'd lose your memories of the love of your life?

The Evening Standard notes that Elegy has 'a sense of impending, inevitable tragedy'. The play begins at the end of the story, and so, as Payne points out, 'It's not about what's going to happen next. When you know what happens next, the question is ''Why?'''

Zoë, who Payne enthusiastically describes as 'amazing' and 'brilliant', plays Lorna in the production, alongside Barbara Flynn (Carrie) and Nina Sosanya (Miriam); the director is Josie Rourke. Interestingly, Elegy marks the second time that Zoë has been part of an all-female cast of three at the Donmar, in a play written by a man and directed by a woman. The first time was in 2001, for Boston Marriage, which was written by David Mamet and directed by Phyllida Lloyd.

Performances of Elegy are scheduled to take place until 18 June. The Donmar is releasing £10 tickets for front row seats on Monday mornings, with a very, very small number of other tickets also available. Tickets have been selling quickly, and so I'd recommend booking sooner rather than later, if you haven't already done so.

Let's wish Zoë and the rest of the cast and crew all the very best with Elegy! It sounds like a thought-provoking, intense production that's likely to pull at our heartstrings, as well as encouraging us to consider ideas about love, identity, memory and what it means to be human.

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Zoë and other leading actors voice concern about GCSE drama

18 April 2016 17:18

In a letter to The Sunday Times, published on 17 April, Zoë and a number of other leading actors have voiced their concern about the potential impact of new GCSE drama courses that don't require students to attend live performances.

The letter argues that recordings of plays are not adequate substitutes for experiencing 'magical' live theatrical events. It emphasises that the new GCSE courses may lead to 'pupils missing out on invaluable social, cultural and artistic experiences'.

Among the other signatories are Zoë's My Family co-star, Robert Lindsay, and teachers' association National Drama.

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Photos: first look at Zoë rehearsing for Elegy's world premiere!

18 April 2016 16:41

Excitingly, the world premiere of Elegy is now just days away – and to whet our appetites for the play, the Donmar Warehouse has released some fantastic rehearsal photos of cast and crew in action.

Zoë is pictured alongside her co-stars, Barbara Flynn and Nina Sosanya, in a series of intriguing images. Some of the photos suggest that Elegy, which explores the power of the human brain and the effects of augmenting life, may well be a tearjerker.

If you haven't booked tickets yet, you still have a chance to do so, though I'd recommend acting quickly. The Donmar is continuing to release £10 tickets for front row seats on Monday mornings, with a very, very small number of other tickets also still available.

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Zoë discusses 'the conflict within Emilia' for BBC Radio 4's Shakespeare's People

18 April 2016 15:48

Zoë has discussed one of her favourite Shakespearean characters, Emilia from Othello, for Shakespeare's People, a series commissioned by BBC Radio 4 arts programme Front Row to mark the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death.

Zoë's reflections on Emilia, the character she played in the RSC's highly acclaimed 1989 staging of Othello, were broadcast during Front Row's 14 April edition. Her comments were interspersed with clips of her performance in the RSC production.

Zoë praised Emilia's 'beautiful, clever understanding of the frailty of men and women'. Iago's disenchanted wife believes that both sexes 'feel the same' and are deeply affected by jealousy and betrayal, two themes at the heart of Shakespeare's play.

When she played the role, Zoë decided that 'the conflict within Emilia' was caused by the fact that she's 'in denial' about her husband's true nature. It's not until the very end of the play, when tragedy has struck, that Emilia sees Iago for what he is.

You can listen to Zoë's comments about Emilia in full on the BBC's website.

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