Cate Blanchett to Brie Larson: Why Hollywood is having a moment in the West End

Hollywood A-listers, known more for their turns on screen than on stage, are flocking to the West End. But why? It's all in the risk.

There’s something kind of amazing happening in London’s West End right now. In short, Hollywood is here. Cate Blanchett has just finished a tour-de-force performance as the self-obsessed actor Arkadina in The Seagull, Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey is in the middle of his run playing Richard II at the Bridge Theatre, Vanessa Williams is still slaying every night in The Devil Wears Prada, and Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell are wrapping their disco take on Much Ado About Nothing. Brian Cox is still in The Score for the rest of April and Bohemian Rhapsody star Gwilym Lee plays Gareth Southgate in Dear England until the end of May.

The end of the month sees Gary Oldman open in Krapp’s Last Tape and Ewan McGregor in My Master Builder at Wyndham’s while Rachel Zegler is rehearsing for Evita at the Palladium ahead of her June debut. Meanwhile John Lithgow, who won this year’s Best Actor Olivier Award at a star-studded ceremony in the Royal Albert Hall yesterday (6 April), is transferring his barnstorming performance as Roald Dahl in Giant to the Harold Pinter Theatre from 26 April.

At the risk of over listing these names, during the past 12-odd months we’ve also seen Brie Larson and Stockard Channing in Elektra, Rami Malek in Oedipus, Sigourney Weaver in The Tempest, and Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick in Plaza Suite. Also joining Lithgow on the Olivier Awards shortlist was Adrien Brody, who didn't achieve the highly anticipated Best Actor double after winning the Oscar for The Brutalist last month, but missing out on the Olivier for The Fear of 13 at the Donmar Warehouse.

The question is, why do they do it? Just before The Fear of 13 opened, Brody gave an interview where he explained he was on the standard Donmar wage and was living in a flat above the rehearsal room.

“Theatre, you’re living in the attic and you’re working in the basement, and you don’t leave and nobody brings you lunch,” he said. “You go out and you’ll get a sandwich at Tesco, and you munch it down and try to absorb all this material and try to represent so much. And you’re with 10 other people doing the same.” Then he explained why he was putting up with that. “It is quite wonderful. I found it to be very gratifying – somewhat frightening, but gratifying – to face that.”

Emily Vaughan-Barratt, who produced Blanchett in The Seagull, Billy Porter in the latest cast of Cabaret, Paul Mescal in A Streetcar Named Desire, and Andrew Scott’s solo Vanya, says they do it because it’s the true test of talent.

“It's the way actors learn they want to be an actor — four years old, putting shows on for your mum and dad, the school play, then drama school where they focus on stage,” she explains. “There’s no stop/start, no filming in the wrong order. They see their character grow and explore, and there's no retakes. So it’s the ultimate adrenaline buzz – the risk. Some Hollywood actors acknowledge that it is not necessarily going to work. The reviews aren't always guaranteed to say 'Hollywood stars turned up. We love it.' They find that exciting.”

But Hollywood stars like Elizabeth Debicki – who’s joining Ewan McGregor in My Master Builder – could surely find a gig in New York? Not so much, in fact. Nica Burns, co-founder of Nimax Theatres, which owns the Palace, the Lyric, the Apollo, the Garrick, the Vaudeville and the Duchess theatres, says that London is the global capital of drama right now.

“There is a real market and demand for drama here,” she explains. “In the 20th century, America dominated musicals. Now we’re getting pretty good at them as well. We have a great reputation in the West End. We have the best directors and writers, our design teams from sets to costumes are the best in the world and an audience with a real hunger. We also have beautiful theatres and we’re building more with innovative designs that let directors experiment and innovate. Finally, we have a flourishing spread of well-informed and thoughtful critics.”

Those critics, as Burns and Vaughan-Barratt both point out, are a double-edged sword. Sigourney Weaver’s West End debut in The Tempest was almost universally panned. One review’s headline simply read "Taxi for Sigourney Weaver." For audiences, that can add a frisson of gladiatorial joy – what if this big screen legend can’t cut it on stage?

In The Seagull, Blanchett played a little with this trope. Her character is a flamboyant and slightly ham actor, with Blanchett over-egging the performance for all she was worth in the first half. When it came to a critical moment – she was pleading with her lover not to leave her for a 20 year old – Blanchett delivered her speech in an overly dramatic way then, half way through, stopped, took off her microphone and repeated the entire speech with such pain in her voice it was staggering.

That’s the luxury West End audiences are enjoying this year, Vaughan-Barratt explains. “Someone like Cate Blanchett, an international icon, you can really feel that her talent is undeniable when you watch her on stage. She's one of the most skilled stage actors I've ever seen. That’s why I can’t wait to see Gary Oldman or Martin Freeman this year. Just to see the raw talent on display.”

Yes, Martin Freeman from The Office, Sherlock, and The Hobbit is heading to the West End in The Fifth Step alongside Slow Horses star Jack Lowden. It’s a dark and testing take on the complications of joining Alcoholics Anonymous, opening in May. His casting should reassure anyone who is concerned that Hollywood royalty is keeping local stars from getting a look in. Also coming soon to a stage in the West End are Alfie Allen in Dealer’s Choice at the Donmar from the end of April, Tamsin Greig in Terence Rattigan’s classic The Deep Blue Sea at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in May, and Imelda Staunton leaves Hogwarts for Mrs Warren’s Profession at the Garrick.

“The important subtext to many of these shows – like John Lithgow in Giant for instance – is how they grew and developed in subsidised theatre,” Burns points out. “The tradition of great theatre writing in the UK goes back to the 16th century but it’s as strong today thanks to the Arts Council supporting our subsidised sector. That allows new writers and artists to develop and established ones to experiment. Nowhere else has that very special ecosystem.”

All of this was on show at the Oliver Awards ceremony at a packed Royal Albert Hall. As Elizabeth Debicki, Cate Blanchett, Adrien Brody, Georgina Chapman, Indira Varma, Tom Hiddleston, Hayley Atwell, Twiggy, Idris Elba, Lesley Manville, Sheila Atim and Papa Essiedu took turns on the green carpet in the evening sunshine you could briefly be forgiven for wondering if this was the West End or the West Coast.

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Photo credit: Cate Blanchett, Adrien Brody, Brie Larson, Vanessa Williams, John Lithgow. (Photos courtesy of production)