DAME JUDI CONGRATULATES THE NEXT GENERATION
Added: (Sat Feb 12 2022)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
DAME JUDI CONGRATULATES THE NEXT GENERATION
Oscar nominated national treasure; Dame Judi Dench has congratulated a young theatre company for their award-winning production of George Bernard Shaw’s intimate comedy Village Wooing.
SHAW2020’s production, directed by Jonas Cemm and starring Joe Sargent as ‘A’ and Maryann O’Brien as ‘Z’, won a ‘Standing Ovation’ award at the 2021 London Pub Theatre Awards and is a finalist for an OffFest award at this year’s Offies.
Dame Judi, who is nominated for best supporting actress at this year’s Academy Awards for her breathtaking performance in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, appeared alongside the late Richard Briers in Village Wooing on ITV in 1979.
"Congratulations to Jonas and the team for the nomination and win for Village Wooing, a play I have fond memories of performing in. It’s wonderful to see SHAW2020's work continue to thrive as shown by this industry recognition. I wish their production continued success", said Dench who is a Shaw Society vice-president.
Village Wooing: a comedietta for two voices, is a charming sixty minute two-hander in which the characters, simply named 'A' and 'Z', play a relentless game of cat and mouse across land and sea.
Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist, and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death in 1950 and beyond. With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation. He was awarded the 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature and an Oscar for his screenplay of Pygmalion in 1939.
Jonas Cemm, Artistic Director of SHAW2020 said, “We have been overwhelmed with the success of Village Wooing and we are so thankful for the support from the Shaw Society and thrilled that Dame Judi continues to champion us, we certainly value her seal of approval. The show will return this summer, visiting The Jack Studio and Upstairs at the Gatehouse during its London leg of the tour".