OBSERVER: All About Eve
The Australian premiere of Ivo van Hove’s West End stage adaptation of All About Eve will play from November 20- December 12 at Malthouse’s Merlyn Theatre.
Based on Mary Orr’s The Wisdom of Eve and Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s cinematic masterpiece and directed by Dean Bryant, the production’s ensemble cast will be led by Christie Whelan Browne in a dual role performance.
Joining Whelan Browne in the cast is Brent Hill (Hamilton, School of Rock), Kevin Hofbauer (MTC’s Macbeth, Malthouse Theatre’s Hour of the Wolf), Evelyn Krape (MTC’s Uncle Vanya), Christina O’Neill (MTC’s My Brilliant Career, Malthouse Theatre’s Hour of the Wolf), newcomer Tea Moma, and Junior Nyong’o, who last year starred opposite his sister, Academy Award-winner Lupita Nyong’o, in The Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park season of Twelfth Night.
The drama unfolds inside a dressing room in New York City, as Broadway legend Margo Channing is introduced to her biggest fan, Eve Harrington.
Margo is the undisputed queen of the theatre, and Eve is happy to serve in whatever small way she can. But Margo knows something all women in her position do: danger lurks everywhere, and a society that lifts you up is just as eager to tear you back down.
Whelan Browne performs the dual roles of Margo and Eve – famously originated on screen by Bette Davis and Anne Baxter and later played by Gillian Anderson and Lily James in van Hove’s West End production.
Her multi-character interpretation draws inspiration from stagings such as Andrew Scott’s Vanya, unifying predator and prey live on stage in a singular feat that coincides with her 21st anniversary in professional theatre.
Performance Dates: November 20-December 12
Previews: 7.30pm, Tuesday-Saturday; 6:30pm Monday
In Season: 7.30pm, Tuesday-Saturday; 6:30pm, Monday; 2pm, Saturday
Time to Talk: 7.30pm, Tuesday 1 December
Venue: Malthouse’s Merlyn Theatre
Bookings: malthousetheatre.com.au
Cheryl Threadgold