IN CELEBRATION

[Tcup4jdh]

I have found a bunch of things on Orlando's play so I thought I'd start a thread under the name of the play specifically. If it's unnecessary, please delete.

I'll start with the oldest stuff first.....

Orlando Bloom thrilled with play role

Saturday, June 9 2007, 09:33 BST

By Daniel Kilkelly 'Kingdom of Heaven'

Orlando Bloom has revealed that he was thrilled to be offered a part in a play after finishing work on the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

The actor has agreed to play Steven in David Storey's In Celebration, which will open at the Duke of York's Theatre in London next month.

"I have been kind of desperate to do a play for the longest time and this opportunity came up when I met this director, Anna Mackmin, who I'm now working with on a play called In Celebration - a play by David Storey," Bloom told Parkinson. "I was just hungering for an opportunity to be part of an ensemble cast in a great play. It's a phenomenal play."

Asked how he is coping with the Yorkshire accent required for the role, Orlando replied: "I tell you what my dialect coach, Jill, said 'Whatever you do, don't do your accent - save it for the audience [paying] when they come in!' I'm working on it though!"

Parkinson airs at 10.25pm tonight on ITV1.

Source

[Cat]

This is a much better idea. I deleted the other thread. Don't be 'alarmed' by the 'edited by Cat..blah' thing in your post. I was trying to solve this another way but it didn't work out. I didn't change anything.

Orlando leaving the Duke of York theater after appearing in the David Storey's 1969 play 'Celebration'.



Play Summary:

“In Celebration is a 1969 drama that tells the story of three brothers who are unhappy as they have to travel back to their parents’ Yorkshire home for their 40th wedding anniversary. Once there, tension immediately begins to mount between the three brothers until one of them begins angrily lashing out at the rest of the family, tearing apart their illusion of happiness.”

Here are some promo images from the play




SOURCE/SOURCE

[Intensely Deceiving]

I wonder how the first day went? I'm sure we'll be hearing some reviews soon.

[Tcup4jdh]

Orlando has inherited a little brother...


'My boy thinks he is Orlando's brother' Jun 18 2007


By Sam Wonfor, The Journal

Louis Healy is delighted with his dad's latest acting role. The six-year-old son of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Billy Elliot The Musical star, Tim Healy just happens to be an avid fan of the box-office-smashing Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise.

So the prospect of his dad taking to the stage with none other than Pirates good-guy Orlando Bloom is creating much excitement in the Healy household.

"He's loving it," says Tim who today starts his second week of rehearsals for Orlando's West End debut, a revival of David Storey's 1969 stage and screen plaudit-winner, black comedy In Celebration.

"When I get home there's me and Louis on the couch with our swords watching Pirates of the Caribbean ," he continues.

"He's worked out that because I'm playing Orlando's daddy, Orlando must be Louis's brother, so he's very pleased with that. He was the same with all the Billys when I was doing Billy Elliot - they were all his brothers too."

As he says, Tim plays the father of Orlando and his two brothers who return to the family home in Wakefield to celebrate their parents' 40th wedding anniversary.

"My character is a 69-year-old man who is still working down the mine. He was determined that his sons would never have to go down the pit and they've all done very well - going off to University and London and becoming successful.

"They get home for the celebration, but it ends up turning into a bit of a tragic occasion as lots of things start coming out during the meal. It's brilliantly written."

Of Orlando, Tim says: "He's a great lad. Very humble, unassuming and totally unaffected by his success in the movies. He's a great actor, too, and I'm really excited to be working with him."

In Celebration opens for previews at the Duke of York Theatre, London on July 5. For tickets, call 0870 060-6623 or visit www.incelebration.co.uk ...

Source

[Cat]

I just found the official website.

http://www.incelebration.co.uk/

There's an interview up and Orlando's in it.

[Tcup4jdh]

There are many pix from Orlando's opening night, etc. posted in other places. I saved some of them and will post them here over the next few days. I've been on vacation and have much to catch up on.

[Intensely Deceiving]

I have an article I need to post here but I'm being a lazy poop. I still need to find wet Will pics too. arrrrrrrrrrrrrr......... There isn't enough time in the day for everything! Okay, I'm going to try get the article right now and that'll be one. That shouldn't take too long.

edit: OOOOKAY! Photobucket is not working for me AT ALL so I will try again.... possibly tomorrow. We'll see if I have time before work.

[Tcup4jdh]

Take your time I'll wait. In the meantime here are some pix from his opening night...

. ... ... ... ... ... ...


More next time. I have some especially for Gertrude.

[Jocasta]

Hi Tc!
I don't know if you've got these from the 16th July (opening night?)...

[Tcup4jdh]

Thanks Kate. I have those but mine are tagged. Very Cool. Oh! Love your new signature. So many Joshes. I've got to get back over there. I've been so neglectful. So many things to catch up on since I've been on vacation.

[Cat]

Not loving the pornstache, but thanks for the pictures girls!

I want to see this play.

ETA: I found some pics from a few days ago. He's greeting fans and looking great doing it!




Source

[Tcup4jdh]

Unfortunately that was the look in the late 1960's. Thx Cat for the great pictures. He always looks great when he's with his fans. He perks up even when he's tired. Like at Disneyland.


Okay, these are for Gertrude for whenever she comes back...

... ... ... ... enjoy. (courtesy of Stephanie)

Others later.

[Eternal_Element]

No better way to earn street cred than to be in a play. Word.

[Gertrude]

I'm back and away again ...love all those pics Tc... thanks to all too

[Cat]

Haha, so many dogs on his lap.

I have more pictures from JustJared.com

Orlando making funny faces:


More here

A picture post dedicated to his mustache:


More here

[Eternal_Element]

I'm so conflicted. In some pictures he looks rather dashing....but in others I feel like I would avoid him in dark alleys.

[Cat]

^ Hahaha!
Yeah, he actually looks kinda slick in some of the pictures. I still find him very hot though. He actually looks kind of like he did in Ned Kelly. Just let the hair grow out a little and you'll be perfect, Orlando!

ETA:
I found a review of the play over at Times Online.

And what of Bloom, the principal attraction? He may make an acceptable elf, but can he really act? Yes, he can.

That's all I needed to see.
If you want to read the rest it can be found HERE

[Tcup4jdh]

Thanks for the pictures Cat. He does remind me of Joe Byrne too. I kinda like the mustache at least for the play and the period it is set in. But I prefer his Pirates one.

Glad you're back Gertrude even if it only for a short peek in. I thought you'd like those pictures.

And welcome E.E. , nice to see another fan hanging out here.

Here's a review from Jesse who went to see the play last week with Rosie B (she's seen it twice already and is planning to see it again)...

...Posted: Jul 22 2007, 02:34 PM
Jesse

Keeper Of The Key To Will Turner's Chest





In Celebration – 20th July 2007

*I have used both the names Steven and Orlando whilst writing this. Sometimes it seemed more appropriate to one rather than the other.*

My first impression on entering the Duke Of York’s Theatre was how small and intimate it appeared. You felt almost as if you were stepping back in time. I should imagine that the actual décor has changed very little since 1904 when James Barrie first opened his wonderful play ‘Peter Pan’. The stage set is spectacular – imagine a house that has had one of the interior walls removed. You can look into the living room, as well as the bedroom, which sits directly above the downstairs room. This is Steven’s room. Part of the back wall of that bedroom has fallen away on the back left to reveal another room, Mr and Mrs Shaw’s room. A dressing table, chair and small lamp is just visible. The ageless beauty of the theatre gives the feeling of the period. The actual set evoked many memories for me – a writing desk, protectors for the head and arms of the chairs, a clock and most notably a tea pot with a knitted stripped that was identical to one that my grandparents used around their brown ceramic tea pot.

Steven is first on stage. He literally bursts through a door yelling, “Dad…Dad?” Orlando is dressed in clothes typical of that period, is hair parted to the side and heavily gelled down, although in those days, the men would have used Brylcream. He wanders around the stage examining little objects and picks up a photo that is sat in a frame on the fireplace. We both noted how bouncy and relaxed Orlando appeared. He was not fidgety or restless. He had grown into the character of Steven. He spends a few moments on stage alone until Mr Shaw enters.

Orlando’s first interaction with other characters was full of amusing line, which earned a great deal of laughs from the audience. The audience in general was very receptive to the play. They laughed loudly in all the right places and remained silent during the serious scenes. There was no talking or giggling at inappropriate moments which certainly was a relief.

Mr Shaw who joins Orlando first is exactly as I read him. A wonderful character with a lot of dialogue but he delivers his lines in such a way that keeps your attention fully focused on him. So much so that there were times when I forgot Orlando was there. I particularly liked Tim Healy’s ‘miners cough’. I, as well as the audience laughed many times over his references to his ailment…”I tell you, if you stuck a pin in me you wouldn’t get any blood: a little pile of coal dust would be all you’d see run out.”

On another note, one of his lines led me to note the only complaint that I have with the play…”She’s cleaned that floor a dozen times if she’s cleaned it once. And them windows…it’s a wonder there’s any glass left in.”

I know it has been mentioned many, many times on various discussion sites, but the mirror in the living room and windows in the kitchen door are covered in finger marks. I know someone who is almost a carbon copy of Mrs Shaw. Just one single child’s handprint on a window or mirror warrants a damp cloth, a spray of Windowlene and a good buff and polish. The attention to detail has been so wonderfully thought over, that it seems a shame that the very one point that so many hundreds of people are continually noting has not been rectified.

Another character that has stepped straight out of the page of the book is Mrs Burnett. She is wonderfully protrayed by Lynda Baron. She reminds me very much of a relative, not only in appearance but also in character. The bantering between her and Mr Shaw drew many laughs for the audience. She is a person you instantly like and trust. In fact, I would love Mrs Burnett to live next door to me. She’s wonderful.

Enter Andrew, a character who totally surprised me. I initially read Andrew as being bitter, rude and arrogant, not at all likeable. He is all of those things, but Paul Hilton has completely turned the character around making him into a bouncy likeable rogue with a huge chip on his shoulder. He is full of wonderful little quips and drew a huge amount of laughter from the audience. A few times even Orlando was struggling to remain serious. He would cover his mouth with his hand and rub his finger over his moustache to stop the smirk erupting from beneath the surface. Andrew's descriptions of his paintings had the audience laughing so loudly that at times we were struggling to hear him deliver the next line.

Colin enters the stage and yes, a character portrayed exactly as I had envisioned him whilst reading the play. His character falls between the silent serious Steven and the extrovert, dramatic Andrew. Colin is the peacemaker – the negotiator. Numerous times he is mockingly called upon to ‘negotiate’ a family argument.

During the interval we chatted about the first Act and one question we discussed was, “I wonder if Sidi is here?” It could not have been more than a minute later when we hard a dog barking in the distance. Could that possibly have signalled Orlando was leaving his dressing room and young Sidi was none too happy? A few moments later the lights dimmed for Act 2!

Act 2 begins with Mrs Burnett entering the Shaw’s house to light fire. This is also when we meet the final character Reardon. He is a friend of the Shaw’s, a loveable elderly gentleman who has some wonderful long yet interesting lines and thoroughly engaging dialogue.

Once the whole cast return to the stage, you can see that Steven’s whole demeanour has changed. He has become even more introverted and has the look of a person haunted and tortured by his mind. He sits on a chair to the side of the stage, disengaged from the celebrations around him.

Mrs Shaw starts to sing, prompting the whole family to join in one by one. Steven half heatedly joins in at the end…”Cover my defenceless head. With the shadow of thy wing.” Shortly after this, Steven retires upstairs to his room.

Although you can see Steven’s bedroom and bed with ease it is not lit. The only light comes from the room below which cast an eerie, gloomy glow on that part of the set. Orlando sits on the edge of the bed staring ahead into the audience, running his heads through his hair and sighing deeply. You can feel the emotional turmoil that Orlando is projecting into the audience. He next lays down onto the bed and start to weep.

I found this very difficult to watch. Orlando curls up into a foetal position on the bed. You can hear his sobs getting louder and more desperate. Although Andrew and Colin are in the room below bantering over the sleeping arrangements, you can easily hear Orlando crying above them. He sits up then a few moments later Andrew enters the bedroom. He looks at Steven, then returns downstairs.

The next part of the play was such where you had two contrasting scenes to watch at the same time. Colin and Andrew are downstairs discussing Steven’s crying with Andrew adding his own dry humour to the situation…“Perhaps you can ‘negotiate’ some suitable compromise…let’s say…a whimper.” Upstairs Orlando is sobbing heavily, rubbing his hands through his hair, wiping tears away from his face, eyes wide and staring whilst he rocks gently back and forth. He stands up, picks up his dressing gown from the end of the bed, puts it on, then slowly goes downstairs. Once downstairs he sits on the sofa, still crying, then he pulls his feet up onto the seat, curls up tightly hugging his knees to his chest whilst huge sobs shake his body.

I do not know what is so distressing about watching a man cry. To see Steven so painfully distressed made me want to reach out and comfort him, to help ease his pain and anguish. I found myself taking big gulps and fighting the tears that that were threatening to spill from my eyes at any moment. It was without doubt THE most emotional scene that I have seen Orlando play. It was far more powerful than Drew in ‘Elizabethtown’. I personally feel he played that to perfection, by adding raw emotional turmoil to what must be a very difficult part of the play for Orlando to convincingly play night after night. The emotion of the scene overflowed into the audience. During some moments it was so quiet you could only hear Steven whimpering and the clock ticking on the fireplace.

As the play neared the end, I felt a little sad knowing that this is my first and probably last chance I will get to see this remarkable play. I enjoyed watching al the new mannerisms that Orlando brought to Steven that were not present in any of his other characters. The tight squeeze of the eyes when Jamey was mentioned, the clenching and unclenching of his hands when feeling stressed, the sadness and the silences, the tea drinking and the biscuit munching!

Although Steven is essentially an almost verbally silent character, Steven’s body language is the loudest of all the characters. He is screaming at the top of his lungs for help, yet no one is listening. Their lives churn relentlessly onward. The family, unable to comprehend the vocal cries from Steven choose to ignore the physical ones.

“Well then…that’s that eh?”

“Yes!”

“Did you enjoy it love?”

“I did. Yes…And you?”

“Aye…Aye.”...



OMG! I'm having a fit. I so want to see this play. I can see him in my head.

[Gertrude]

Originally Posted by Cat

Not loving the pornstache, but thanks for the pictures girls!

I want to see this play.

ETA: I found some pics from a few days ago. He's greeting fans and looking great doing it!




Source

Yellow flowers... Bloom's fave colour!


Never seen Sidi this clear... and who's the other dog?

[Tcup4jdh]

That's another dog he adopted. I read the name of the dog somewhere recently, but I can't where right now. I think he's had that dog for a while.