The Crucible

The Crucible
Writer:	Arthur Miller
Director:	Yaël Farber
Lighting:	Tim Lutkin
Designer:	Soutra Gilmour
Movement:	Imogen Knight
Music and sound:	Richard Hammarton
Cast:	John Proctor RICHARD ARMITAGE Elizabeth Proctor ANNA MADELEY Abigail Williams SAMANTHA COLLEY Reverend John Hale ADRIAN SCHILLER Deputy Govenor Danforth JACK ELLIS Mary Warren NATALIE GAVIN Giles Corey WILLIAM GAUNT Rebecca Nurse ANN FIRBANK Tituba SARAH NILES

Introduction

Yaël Farber's production of The Crucible ran for 12 weeks from Saturday 21 June to Saturday 13 September 2014 at The Old Vic theatre in London. The news was first broken on 11 April 2014 by Baz Bamigboye, Entertainment Columnist with the Daily Mail, who tweeted that Richard was in final talks to star as John Proctor. In response to a question on twitter, Baz said the deal was 99% and in his column in The Daily Mail he stated:

"Armitage has had what were described to me as ‘several very exciting’ conversations with Ms Farber about how she plans to interpret Miller’s drama. However, he is still in final discussions."

Here is a scan of the article in the print edition of The Daily Mail, with thanks to jh of the C19 forum:

Official confirmation of the production was announced by The Old Vic on 15 April in the form of this news article on their website. The announcement also made The Stage's news page and BBC News also reported that Richard will appear at the Old Vic in London.

A full casting announcement was made on 14 May by Playbill.

First picture of John Proctor and a video interview from The Old Vic

On 30 May, The Old Vic posted the first picture of Richard in character as John Proctor from The Crucible on their website. They also uploaded a video to YouTube with Richard talking about this role. He says he feels like he has been preparing for the role for the last ten years. Rehearsals had begun by this stage.

Synopsis from the Old Vic website

Richard Armitage stars in Arthur Miller’s classic American drama brought vividly to life in this visceral new production by internationally acclaimed director Yaël Farber.

In a small tight-knit community, personal grievances collide with lust and superstition, fuelling widespread hysteria. Miller’s timeless parable attacks the evils of mindless persecution and the terrifying power of false accusations.

Richard Armitage’s credits include the forthcoming film Into the Storm. Other film and TV credits include The Hobbit trilogy, Captain America: The First Avenger and Spooks. Theatre includes The Duchess of Malfi and Macbeth for the RSC.

Yaël Farber is a multiple award-winning director and playwright. Her production of Mies Julie won a string of international awards at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival, was named one of the Top Ten Productions of 2012 by The New York Times, and Top five Productions of 2012 by The Guardian.

Arthur Miller is one of America’s greatest playwrights. His many plays include All My Sons, Death of a Salesman and A View from the Bridge.

Opening Night - Saturday 21 June 2014

Judging by comments left on twitter, the opening night performance of The Crucible was wonderful: 'probably the best stage show I've ever witnessed', 'emotionally charged and wonderfully acted' with some 'incredibly inspiring performances' and 'best stage acting I've ever seen'. Here is another huge compliment about Richard's performance. This photo shows that the performance was awarded a standing ovation.

Here are some photos before the play began: photo 1, photo 2, photo 3.

Richard met audience members outside the stage door after the performance, and continued to meet with the general public on every single night of the 12 week run. He even met with disappointed audience members when the show was unexpectedly cancelled due to an electrical fault on Monday 25th August. A set of candid photos can be found here on pinterest and also in the The Crucible Stage Door gallery.

Press Night and Reviews

Previews started Saturday 21 June, with tickets selling at a slightly cheaper price, then on Thursday 3 July the press night took place. Richard and the cast of The Crucible attended an after show party at The Savoy Hotel, London and photos from the event are on the Rex Features site, AP Images and Getty Images and on photographer Robert Zajaczkowski's Facebook page.

Reviews from all reputable newspapers and media outlets over the next few days were unanimously outstanding. The production gained NINE five star reviews from The Daily Telegraph, The Times, Time Out, The Guardian, Evening Standard, The Independent, The Daily Express, The Mail on Sunday and The Sunday Times. It was also awarded many four star reviews. Click Reviews to read them in detail.

On 5 July Richard's agent, United Agents, posted an article on their website celebrating The Crucible's five star reviews.

The Crucible trailer

Dim lights Embed

Music from The Crucible

On 15 and 29 August, the composer of the music for The Crucible, Richard Hammarton, shared two tracks from the production. Listen to them here on Soundcloud. 'The Crucible' is the opening sequence of music and 'Ash' follows. The music will give you an impression of the atmosphere of the production for those who are not able to see it, and remind others of the ominous and eerie tone that the music evoked. Those violin notes were repeated often throughout the play.

On 28 August Richard Hammarton stated he was hoping to make the entire soundtrack available for download and does not intend to sell it (see this tweet) but the filming may have influenced this decision (see this tweet posted on 15 September).

The tracked entitled 'Ash' plays at the start of the third act, when black ash was falling on to the stage before the entrance of Tituba and Sarah Good in the jail.

Filming The Crucible

After numerous denials that The Crucible could be filmed, The Old Vic finally announced that it would be collaborating with Digital Theatre to film the production, which would be made available worldwide as a digital download later this year (release date tbc) and will be shown in selected cinemas. The announcement was made in a series of tweets on twitter: one, two, three.

An extra matinee performance on Tuesday 9 September was scheduled (possibly also because the performance on Monday 25 August had to be cancelled at the very last minute due to an electrical fault) and both the matinee and the evening performance on Tuesday 9th were filmed.

According to a visitor to this site, there were seven cameras (two behind the front row at the side of the stage, two opposite on the other side, one on each end of the fourth row in the stalls and one on top of the central stairs. Four cameras were manually operated and the others probably remote controlled. All cameras were static and quite small.

Various pictures from the filming of The Crucible have appeared on twitter from staff of Digital Theatre. The co-founder of Digital Theatre, Robert Delamere, tweeted a picture showing storyboards of The Crucible as preparation for filming the play, which will take place during tomorrow's performance. This picture from @CecileBvd shows the gallery while filming was taking place. The co-founder of Digital Theatre, Tom Shaw, posted this picture of a camera and the stage. Robert Delamere, also a co-founder, shared this picture of Crucible director Yaël Farber in discussion with Adrian Schiller (Rev. Hale).

Richard told us on 11 September that he was interviewed by Fiona Lindsay for Digital Theatre. Presumably this interview will be available via the Digital Theatre Plus website soon.

Richard Armitage In Conversation

The Old Vic announced on 31 July that there would be a special event: Richard would be interviewed on stage at 5pm on Tuesday 2nd September to talk about his career and his current role as John Proctor. Priority booking was given to patrons and friends of the theatre. Information on the Old Vic website.

You can read my account of the conversation here. This account is not a transcript, but a recall of what I remembered with help given from some visitors to this site.

Three days after the event Film and TV Now published an excellent article with direct quotes from Richard and also a transcript (part 1) plus audio. Then on 11 September they published the second and final transcript. This transcript is edited, for example when talking about visiting Salem, I remember that Richard also talked about taking photographs of the cot in Rebecca Nurse's house and other photographs.

For more details from this conversation, please see my RA in Conversation page on this site.

Richard's twitter Q&A

Richard answered questions about The Crucible on twitter on Friday 12 September at 5pm (UK time). The Old Vic posed the questions via their twitter account and Richard answered them from his own twitter. For a full transcript, visit the RA twitter Q&A page. This is where we first heard what is coming up next for him.

Richard's farewell tweets to The Old Vic

8 September: Richard with the very friendly security guy Ola.

9 September: Apologies to Kristin Scott Thomas for the state of his dressing room! (Or more precisely, Keith Moon by Annie Leibowitz). Another apology - aka the Rolling Stones.

10 September: Richard with stage door manager Ned Seago. Ned also runs the History tours at the Old Vic.

12 September: A thank you to Glynn Macdonald for her expertise.

The final performance

After a momentous 12 week run, the last performance of The Crucible was held at The Old Vic on Saturday 13 September 2014 to a packed house and with a long standing ovation from the audience. Richard marked the occasion by tweeting the following: "Good night and thank you for all your support @oldvictheatre #TheCrucible". The video in that tweet is disabled, so he posted again with a working video from @AnglophileTV: "My thanks to @oldvictheatre @yfarber #TheCrucible @DigitalTheatre @AnglophileTV A summer to remember".

The footage in the video took place on Tuesday 9 September, the last performance that the director Yaël Farber was able to watch as she was in Harvard having delivered a speech entitled 'The Power of Truth.' Ms Farber tweeted her response to her final viewing on the morning of the 10 September.

Interviews

There were a total of seven print interviews, one television interview and a radio interview with Richard during the run of the play. All audio and video interviews have been archived here.

Print interviews are as follows:

>> 25 June 2014 The Telegraph 'Richard Armitage, interview: "I think I'm quite a frightening person"'. Photographer Dan Burn-Forti has posted 3 photographs on his tumblr account that were taken on behalf of the Telegraph.

>> 29 June 2014 The Independent '"The Crucible" returns: The witch hunt that implicates us all'. A fascinating article with Crucible director Yael Farber, accompanied by a striking picture of Richard as John Proctor.

>> 1 July 2014 Jill Lawless' article 'Richard Armitage goes from "Hobbit" to "Crucible"' for the Associated Press has been published today on many online sites including the New York Times and the Washington Times. I like this link to Yahoo News as you can open a gallery of large pictures to show Richard posing in the seats at the Old Vic theatre and also with director Yael Farber. This link to AP images shows the full set of photographs. The interview reveals what Richard will do in the name of research!

>> 3 July 2014 BBC News 'Richard Armitage: Crucible is 'a full-body experience'. Richard talks about visited Salem, how the play is a 'full body experience' and how much he has missed the stage.

>> 4 July 2014 The Evening Standard 'Theatre is still my first love, says Richard Armitage'.

"John Proctor was a role he had 'coveted' since studying at Lamda, and working with director Yaël Farber at the Old Vic was 'exciting'. 'Every night I get that rush of nervous excitement. I can’t wait to speak that incredible text,' he said."

Here is a scan from the print edition, showing the review and the interview. Click to enlarge.

>> 6 July 2014 The Sunday Times has published an interview with Richard by Tanya Gold, which took place in his dressing room at The Old Vic: "Acting is one thing," he says, "Being an actor is another." Here is a scan of the article. Click to enlarge and then click again to zoom in.

A photoshoot of Richard taken by Francesco Guidicini on behalf of the Sunday Times has appeared on ProfilebyNews.com. There are twelve photos in total and the photoshoot took place on 23 June according to the details on the site. Another link to more of the photoshoot can be found on NewsSyndication.com. There are 49 photos in total. This photoshoot took place on the first floor foyer of the Old Vic, the entrance to the Dress Circle.

>> 11 August 2014 The Hindu 'Bollywood films are great entertainment'. Despite the late publishing of this article have posted an excellent new interview with Richard that has taken place recently, judging by the comment that after the interview he was about to leave to do another performance of The Crucible. In reference to the play he said 'I feel changed by this role, and it’ll be interesting to see how my work changes after' and a comment at the end of the article quotes as follows: 'Similarly, I speculate, there must be a once-in-a-lifetime role his heart desires. “Ye-es, there is,” he replies after a pause, “and I may have just auditioned for it.”'

Publicity Stills

28 June 2014 Rex Features have published pictures from The Crucible that were taken on 26 June, without an audience: 1st link, 2nd link.

29 June 2014 Photographs by Geraint Lewis, used as publicity stills for the media. These pictures are superb quality and you can click each one to enlarge.

16 June 2014 The Old Vic published 31 photos from rehearsals of The Crucible on their Facebook page, 11 of which contain Richard. I have added them to the Crucible gallery.

15 June 2014 The Old Vic theatre's twitter page kept us up-to-date with posters promoting The Crucible. I have collected all the posters (photography by Jay Brooks) and posted them in the Crucible gallery. Click 'original image' to see the full size of each photo.

Ali's programme and prop

I went to the matinee of The Crucible today with friends and had a wonderful time. Here is a picture of a prop which was grabbed by John Proctor, torn and discarded (thanks to Hedgeypig for snaffling it for me). Click to enlarge.

Old Vic Education Pack

The Old Vic released an education pack for The Crucible on 19 June containing pages of information about Arthur Miller, the play and the Old Vic's 2014 production. The pictures are the same as the ones posted on their Facebook page (see Publicity Stills above). Link to Old Vic New Voices Education Packs and a direct link to The Crucible education pack.

Reviews

>>Time Out London magazine. 5/5 stars. Click the image to enlarge. The small image at the top has been cropped from the Contents page. Thanks to Aprilsviolet for this scan.

"The scenes of courtroom clash are truly astonishing, every utterance by Armitage and Jack Ellis's witchfinder-in-chief Danforth like an avalanche...And the gradual, painful thawing of relations between Proctor and his wife Elizabeth (Anna Madeley) is just devastating."

>> The Mail on Sunday, The Crucible, Old Vic, London. 5/5 stars. Thanks to LadyT for the scan.

"Richard Armitage...is a blazing John, tormented and guilt-racked. The tension between him and his wife is electric: Anna Madeley's Elizabeth is miserably aware of the 'wintry' house she kept that helped drive him away."

>> The Daily Express, The Crucible review: Chilling reminder of hysteria, mass murder and fantastic theatre. 5/5 stars.

"Armitage commands the stage without overwhelming everyone else. He combines moral and physical strength with human weakness in a way that is entirely credible. As his betrayed but fatally loyal wife, Elizabeth, Anna Madeley is equally impressive and their ultimate reconciliation is profoundly affecting."

>> The Sunday Times, The Crucible, Old Vic, London SE1. The entire article is here (online but behind a paywall).

The Crucible
Old Vic, London SE1
Yaël Farber’s revival of Miller’s witch-hunt classic feels conjured, rather than directed. “I have a sense for heat,” says John Proctor’s wife when she accuses him of still hankering after another woman. So does this production: it’s as if all Farber and her powerful cast have had to do is hold a touchpaper to Miller’s ever-apposite portrayal of rampant political paranoia and let it rage like a forest fire. By the time it’s burnt to its bitter end, the audience can smell the falling ashes. Miller wrote his drama – both a warning and a lament – during the Cold War suspicions and McCarthyite purges of 1950s America, but set it in 17th-century Salem. Richard Armitage’s imposing Proctor knows how to use the heft of his shoulders and his stormy eyes — at times, he seems like a mythic figure out of Lorca. The staging uses little more than wooden chairs, a whiff of woodsmoke and a long corridor of hazy light. People are forever moving in and out of darkness here.
Maxie Szalwinska

>> The Times, The Crucible at the Old Vic, SE1. 5/5 stars. This article is behind a paywall, so thank you to @rashisama1 for posting the full article on tumblr.

"I’ve seen Arthur Miller’s great play many times before, but it has never mesmerised and moved me quite like Yaël Farber’s revival manages to do here...Armitage leads with passion as Proctor: it’s big acting, but Farber gives him the context for it. His scenes with his wife (Anna Madeley) have a repressed passion whose eventual release is overwhelming."

>> London Evening Standard, The Crucible, Old Vic - theatre review: 'At first Richard Armitage smoulders, later he blazes'. 5/5 stars.

"This revival of Arthur Miller’s great play, by South African director Yaël Farber, is astonishing. The production has a bold simplicity yet grips like the most complex thriller...Armitage at first smoulders, all dark looks and muscular seriousness. Later he blazes, raging against the paranoid insanity that engulfs him — and also against his own fallibility. Meanwhile Madeley brings a tense restraint to Elizabeth, capturing her wounded sense of virtue. Their intimate moments wrench the heart."

>> The Telegraph, The Crucible, Old Vic, review: 'The intensity of a thriller'. 5/5 stars.

"In her thrilling production at the Old Vic, which lasts three and a half hours but never loosens its dramatic grip, the South African director Yaël Farber doesn’t labour the point but trusts the audience to make its own connections with our own troubled times...Richard Armitage, best known for TV dramas and The Hobbit movies, proves an exhilarating stage actor, with blazing eyes and a righteous fury about him, as well as manifest decency. His deep guilt about his brief affair with Abigail, who has become his nemesis, is powerfully caught. And his final reconciliation with his wife, beautifully played by Anna Madeley, who admits her own part in their troubles, proves extraordinarily intimate and moving."

>> The Guardian, The Crucible review - full of raw, visceral power. 5/5 stars.

"the South African Yaël Farber, director of an acclaimed Mies Julie, has come up with an extraordinary production that preserves the integrity of Miller's language while investing the action with a raw, visceral power I've never witnessed...Richard Armitage, though sounding a bit vocally strained, admirably conveys Proctor's mix of muscularity and guilt and Anna Madeley is excellent as his quietly accusatory wife."

>> The Independent, The Crucible, Old Vic, review: 'Unmissable'. 5/5 stars.

"Yael Farber's mesmerising production of Arthur Miller's great play unfolds with the sick dread of a horrible dream from which you are powerless to awake...Richard Armitage brings a powerfully imposing presence and a ferociously passionate contrarian spirit to this farmer who is haunted with guilt about his marital infidelity..."

>> City AM, Review: The Crucible at the Old Vic. 5/5 stars.

"The performances are strongly physical: as John Proctor, Richard Armitage propels the production forward with a mighty, powerful goodness, and in their phony demonic throes the accusing girls writhe and contort their bodies into terrible shapes."

>> TheArtsDesk.com,The Crucible, Old Vic. 5/5 stars.

"Armitage makes a fine job of John Proctor – a roaring, contrarian beast of a man who shouts because he cannot be heard, but it’s Madeley who moves."

>> Theatrecat, The Crucible - Old Vic, SE1. The gates of hell creak open. 5/5 stars.

"It will haunt the memory for months, this profound, dark-lit, smoke-scented deep-booming production of Arthur Miller’s play...the pair’s progress from delicate marital adjustment to terror, are given breathless intensity by Armitage and a fine-drawn Anna Madeley as his wife...the final admission of Proctor that he finds in himself “a shred of goodness. Not enough to weave a banner with”. But do weave one for this unstinting, profound production. It does honour both to Miller and to the Old Vic."

>>The Wall Street Journal 'Morality Lessons from London'.

"If I had to rate Yaël Farber's new staging at the Old Vic of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," I'd agree with my critical colleagues who awarded it the full 5 stars. Staged in the round, Soutra Gilmour's simple period costumes and plain sets focus concentration on the dialogue and the actors' movements...The cast includes a big-deal movie star, Richard Armitage, but Ms. Farber has made an ensemble piece, united largely by the stylized movement direction of Imogen Knight."

>>Londonist 'Fighting The Darkness In The Crucible'.

"Richard Armitage’s flawless portrayal of John Proctor will stay with you for a lifetime. His version of the deeply troubled anti-hero may well rocket John Proctor into your mind as one of the greatest on-stage characters of modern times."

>>The Daily Express (edited version of the review posted first in yesterday's news. Thanks to Jen. 5/5 stars.

>>The Sunday Express 'No wrongs in Satanic rites'. 4/5 stars. Click the link for online version or click the image below to enlarge a scan of the print version. Many thanks to Smitkit for the scan.

"Armitage is the rock-like centre of Yaël Farber's revelatory production. The Crucible...can seem both worthy and wordy in performance but by taking the play at a thrillingly slow pace and remaining utterly faithful to Miller's text, Farber restores its power both to scare and to shock."

>> The Observer, The Crucible review - an engrossing, fiery evening. Susannah Clapp: 4/5 stars. (The Observer is a Sunday newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group, which is why the link opens the Guardian website).

"Richard Armitage, another Hobbit escapee, is the man agonised by the knowledge of his infidelity to his wife and now trying to be faithful to his friends. He is, though sometimes hoarse, impressive both when forceful and when nearly broken."

>> New York Times, The Body of Salem, Its Nerves Frayed

""Ms. Farber makes the most convincing case that I’ve encountered for the greatness of this 1953 drama"...Mr. Armitage...gives us a John who is first and foremost a physical being, a farmer who has spent most of his life fighting against privation. His rumbling voice comes from his viscera, and he stands like a man who feels undressed without his plow...Mr. Armitage gives palpable, sinewy force to John’s struggle, making the moral instinct feel primal, something that’s genetically coded but hard to bring into dominance."

>> What's On Stage, The Crucible, Old Vic. 3/5 stars.

"Abigail's got her teeth into the honest farmer John Proctor, played with gallant good looks and some physical power by Richard Armitage. Armitage and Madeley play this scene [at the Proctor's kitchen table] beautifully, and Tim Lutkin's lighting sculpts it in startling silhouette..." and from that point the reviewer and I disagree 😉

>> The Stage, The Crucible. 4/5 stars.

"Farber brings out its continued relevance with gutsy vigour, and Richard Armitage (a theatre actor before Hobbit fame) relishes mining the depths of John Proctor...The final reconciliation of the Proctors is unforgettable."

>> Financial Times, The Crucible, Old Vic, London - Review. 4/5 stars.

"Richard Armitage’s Proctor is a gruff, bearlike individual, tormented by his slip from grace and movingly matched by Anna Madeley as his wife, frozen in hurt. Their personal journey towards mutual forgiveness pulls against the gathering darkness elsewhere and proves very moving here."

>> Official London Theatre, The Crucible.

"Proctor is an imposing, prowling, growling figure with more rough edges than an Elizabethan neck-piece maker. Paradoxically brimming with pride and power while haunted by shame and remorse, he is constantly balancing on a tipping point, ready to explode with fury or collapse under the pressure of his principles...Armitage proves a colossal presence at the heart of a chillingly atmospheric revival of Miller’s classic."

>> Digital Spy, Richard Armitage is stunning in terrifying adaptation of The Crucible: Review. 4/5 stars.

"Physically, John is an imposing presence, but he is gradually chipped away at and broken down. Armitage makes him appear constantly exhausted by the accusations thrown at him and the people around him, even before he gets dragged into the trials. Eventually his body is weakened too, and when John makes a reappearance in The Crucible's dying moments, the change is striking. It's a triumph in make-up, costume and performance on Armitage's part that the sight of him makes you feel pained...His last stand is incredibly rousing, and cements just how good Armitage is at appearing inwardly bold when hunched or brittle when tall."

Useful Links

Old Vic Theatre - The Crucible

The Crucible Gallery

The Crucible Stage Door gallery

Crucible audio and video interviews

Contact Ali with news at [email protected]

17th September

1. Richard has provided the voiceover on another Barclays Premier league advert, which I have added to the 2014 Adverts page. Thanks to Violet.

2. Kino TV's interview with Richard and Max during the UK press junket for Into the Storm is worth a watch - especially for the comments about Sharknado. Thanks to Sahraobsessed.

3. The Old Vic are auctioning one of their huge Crucible posters signed by the whole cast on ebay. Proceeds from the sale will go towards The Old Vic Theatre Trust, a registered charity.

4. A new poll is on the left-hand side asking about whether Richard's decision to join twitter has influenced your decision to join too. Previous poll results are here.

15th September

1. Tapestry artwork for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has been released on to various online news sites. Here is Digital Spy's announcement with a link to enlarge the image. Similar artwork was produced for the previous two Hobbit movies, as seen in the Hobbit Stills gallery for film 1 and film 2. I have added the new tapestry artwork to the end of the gallery with two close-ups of Thorin.

2. Richard announced on twitter this evening that Into the Storm is number 1 at the box office in China!

14th September

After a momentous 12 week run, the last performance of The Crucible was held at The Old Vic last night to a packed house and with a long standing ovation from the audience. Richard marked the occasion by tweeting the following: "Good night and thank you for all your support @oldvictheatre #TheCrucible". The video in that tweet is disabled, so he posted again with a working video from @AnglophileTV: "My thanks to @oldvictheatre @yfarber #TheCrucible @DigitalTheatre @AnglophileTV A summer to remember".

The footage in the video took place on Tuesday 9 September, the last performance that the director Yaël Farber was able to watch as she is currently in Harvard having delivered a speech entitled 'The Power of Truth.' Follow her timeline on twitter for more information about the conference she is attending. Ms Farber tweeted her response to her final viewing on the morning of the 10th, here.

For those who missed previous news, the performance was filmed (hurray!) so we will all be able to enjoy a download soon. I will post news here of its availability as soon as it is announced by Digital Theatre.

12th September

For the full list of questions and answers from Richard's twitter Q&A with @OldVicTheatre held today, plus he Crucible irector Yaël Farber's response to one of those questions, click here. Richard also reveals what is coming up next for him...

11th September

1. As mentioned in the news on 2nd September, Richard will do a twitter Q&A tomorrow, answering your questions submitted via twitter using the hashtag #AskArmitage. The Old Vic tweeted today that it will take place at 5pm (UK time).

2. Film and TV Now have published the second part of their twitter transcription of the RA Conversation held on 2nd September. This transcript is edited, for example when talking about visiting Salem, I remember that Richard also talked about taking photographs of the cot in Rebecca Nurse's house and other photographs. For more details from this conversation, please see my RA in Conversation page on this site.

3. Another photograph was tweeted yesterday from Richard as a farewell to the Old Vic. Here he is with stage door manager Ned Seago. Ned runs the History tours at the Old Vic, which I'm looking forward to attending in a couple of days.

4. Richard told us today that he was interviewed by Fiona Lindsay for Digital Theatre.

5. Various pictures from the filming of The Crucible have appeared on twitter from staff of Digital Theatre. This picture from @CecileBvd shows the gallery while filming was taking place. The co-founder of Digital Theatre, Tom Shaw, posted this picture of a camera and the stage. Robert Delamere, also a co-founder, shared this picture of Crucible director Yaël Farber in discussion with Adrian Schiller (Rev. Hale).

9th September

1. Into the Storm is now available to pre-order on DVD or Blu-ray. I have added it to the three RichardArmitageNet Amazon Stores (UK, US, Germany) on the home page of this site - look for the RAnet store links under each Amazon logo in the middle of the page. If you pre-order using these links, Amazon will pay this site a small commission which I will pay to charity.The DVD is expected to be released in December 2014.

The Into the Storm soundtracks are also available to buy now - click the 'Soundtracks' category on the right-hand side when you open the RAnet Amazon store.

2. A donation of £97.82 plus gift aid has been made today to the Young Minds Trust, one of the six charities Richard has nominated on JustGiving.com. Details of how referral fees are accrued are here. Thank you so much for using the links to Amazon UK, US and DE on the home page of this site.

3. Richard told us he will be posting pictures from the Old Vic as a farewell now that we are in the last week of The Crucible performances. The first picture was posted overnight, showing himself and Ola, ever-reliable and collector of presents, the friendly security chap.

4. On 28 August, an interview was published on the Italian site Best Movie after interviewing Richard about Into the Storm during the UK press junket. He talks about having to leave New York City when Hurricaine Sandy hit the city in 2012. Thanks to Claire and Alessio for this English translation.

5. 13 more pictures have been added to the Hobbit Stills gallery from page 7 row 3 onwards, with many thanks to Ingrid and the farfarawaysite.com (have a look on this site for other Hobbit/LOTR pictures and also Robin Hood). The last picture on page 8 is very large - click 'original image' to see the full size (click again to zoom).

8th September

1. Congratulations to Susan Day for winning the signed programme and prop from The Crucible! Thank you very much to all who entered and to those of you who left me a message, it was lovely to read them all, thank you. We had over 400 entries and I'm very grateful to the person who has donated these items.

2. The co-founder of Digital Theatre, Robert Delamere, tweeted a picture showing storyboards of The Crucible as preparation for filming the play, which will take place during tomorrow's performance.

3. Sarah Dunn has posted a new photo of Richard on her Facebook page, which was taken in late 2013. There are three pictures in total on her website. Scroll through using the buttons underneath the first photo. Previous news articles about Sarah Dunn's photography are in the News Archive 2014 (28th April, 2nd March, 13th February) and in the News Archive 2013 (21st December).

7th September

1. Congratulations to Felicia for winning a front row seat to see The Crucible's evening performance on Tuesday 9th September. This production will be filmed for Digital Theatre as those sitting in the first two rows have been contacted to ask if they would wear dark colours. Click the Digital Theatre link and sign up to their news feed (scroll down the page) for an announcement about when the film will be released.

2. The competition to win a signed copy of the programme for The Crucible signed by Richard Armitage and Samantha Colley, plus a piece of the arrest warrant for Elizabeth Proctor, will close tomorrow (Monday) at 9.00am UK time.

5th September

1. The Old Vic have made the announcement we were all hoping for - their production of The Crucible will be filmed and will be available to download and watch online worldwide. It will also be shown in selected cinemas. Online and cinema release dates will be announced later in the year. You can sign up to receive further announcements from the Digital Theatre website. Note: I have updated this link as they have added a special Crucible sign up box on the home page.

2. As soon as the filming announcement was made, Richard launched the competition he mentioned yesterday, to suggest muted clothing that the audience could wear in the first two rows. The winner will receive a signed programme. I'm guessing ideas don't have to be particularly serious! Check out his twitter feed for the tweets that followed, as I couldn't possibly describe the pictures - too funny!

The Old Vic haven't announced which performance or performances will be filmed yet, stay tuned to their twitter feed and the Digital Theatre mailing list for more news. I'll post news here too of course.

3. Film and TV Now have published an excellent article with direct quotes from Richard and also a transcript (part 1 so far) plus audio! I found this just after re-editing my RA in Conversation page this afternoon with help from some friends of the site - credited at the end. I guess this is not needed now so I will archive soon, but I am grateful for the feedback as I know many of you were desperate to know what he said. Thank you for the kind emails too.

4th September

1. HatchMansfield.com have published an article showing Richard signing a jeroboam of Champagne Taittinger. This might be the bottle that was given away in the Old Vic's competition (news 25th July below), although the article refers to a fundraising auction next year so perhaps he signed two bottles. Here is a link to the PDF annoucement with a bigger picture.

2. Richard has tweeted that there will be an announcement from the Old Vic today and also a competition from himself. No news yet...

3. A new competition has been launched today to offer a free front row seat to see The Crucible on Tuesday 9th September, donated by a generous visitor to the site whose friend can no longer attend. Please click the link to find out how to enter and please read the terms and conditions. This competition closes on Sunday 7th September at 6.00pm (UK time). Good luck!

4. And still more competition news... the competition announced on 31 August below, to win a signed copy of the programme for The Crucible signed by Richard Armitage and Samantha Colley, plus a piece of the arrest warrant for Elizabeth Proctor is ongoing until Monday 9.00am (UK time), especially for those not able to see the play.

2nd September

1. The conversation with Richard Armitage takes place at the Old Vic today. I was told at the end of the July that there were no plans to have the event filmed, but I will be attending and will write up as much as I can remember and will make every effort to post on this site this evening if I can.

Update: you can read my account of the conversation here. Lots of paraphrasing...trying to recall accurately. I tried my best! (Hopefully there will be a video and then I can delete/edit this).

I keep adding bits by the way as I remember them. I'll probably add even more tomorrow.

2. Thanks to Iseult and Susan for allowing me to add their candid pictures from the Old Vic stage door, taken 9th July 2014. The Crucible Stage Door gallery is now in chronological order with the date on each file name - the new pictures are #33-35 in the gallery and they include some lovely pictures of signed props. Many thanks to these ladies for sharing the photos with us. Credit is given in the file name of each photo.

A tip for using my gallery: did you know that you can let a slideshow run through the whole gallery without needing to click your mouse? Every gallery on this site has a button with an arrow pointing right in the top right corner. Click this arrow to start the slideshow, or double-click it to set the number of seconds before the slide changes to another picture. Press OK and sit back and watch.

3. Richard tweeted his thanks minutes after the 'conversation' finished this evening. As a follow up to this event, the Old Vic are hosting a live Q&A on twitter on Friday 12th September. To submit a question, tweet it using the hashtag #AskArmitage. You won't need to tag Richard or the Old Vic in your tweet - save characters and just use the hashtag.

31st August

Not able to see The Crucible live? Here is a competition you might like to enter...win a signed copy of the programme for The Crucible, signed by Richard Armitage and Samantha Colley, plus a piece of the arrest warrant for Elizabeth Proctor!

This competition is open to anyone in the world, and ideally, the very kind anonymous donor and I would prefer it if the winner was someone who has not been able to see the play. For those who have seen the play, please be kind and allow another person to share in the experience that we were lucky enough to witness.

One email per person please. Check you have the right answer too!

29th August

1. Richard was photographed by Sarah Dunn again yesterday for a Hobbit-related photoshoot. He posted a picture of himself and Sarah Dunn on twitter and also with Ian McKellen who was there too. See news on 14th May 2014 below for more info about previous photoshoots with Sarah Dunn.

2. Richard Hammarton, who composed the music for The Crucible, has shared another of the tracks from the production on Soundcloud. 'Ash' was mentioned in the news below on 15th August, and now the opening sequence of music has been added, simply called 'The Crucible'. Click the link to listen. He is hoping to make the entire soundtrack available for download and does not intend to sell it - stated on this tweet.

3. In yesterday's news, I linked to Michael Thomas' Just Giving page after he completed the ice bucket challenge. Scroll down that page to see a new picture that has been added showing Michael Thomas, Richard Armitage and Michael's stem cell donor and partner.

4. A donation of £104.04 plus gift aid has been made today to the Anthony Nolan Trust, one of the six charities Richard has nominated on JustGiving.com. Details of how referral fees are accrued are here. Thank you so much for using the links to Amazon UK, US and DE on the home page of this site.

5. Due to popular demand, 10 more jigsaws have been added. Sorry for the long delay.

27th August

1. One of the other cast members of The Crucible has completed the ice bucket challenge outside the stage door today, between this afternoon's matinee performance and the evening performance. Michael Thomas, who plays Reverend Parris, accepted the challenge in aid of the Anthony Nolan Trust, which is one of the charities that Richard has recently added to his JustGiving page. It is worth reading the dedication on Michael Thomas' Just Giving page to find out why this challenge is particularly poignant. Video of the challenge is here, thanks to Kaprekar on twitter.

2. A new Into the Storm interview with Richard and Max Deacon has appeared on the Israeli news site Ynet. Thanks to Arfan for the link.

3. Update: apologies, the new pictures have been removed from their blog. The Anglophile Channel have uncovered some pictures from the Jay Brooks photoshoot for The Crucible showing Richard as John Proctor. The 'tonight' in the title of the blog refers to Tuesday night's performance, but please note that the phone lines at the Old Vic are no longer open for returns. Return tickets might be available if bought in person on the day of the performance. This information provided by the Old Vic twitter page.

4. In this clip on Antena3.com Richard speaks a little Spanish as he introduces the previously mentioned Into the Storm featurette (news 29th July).

25th August

Richard has added the two charities he mentioned during the Ice Bucket Challenge to his JustGiving page, making that 6 charities in total. Here is a link to one of the tweets he sent this afternoon (UK time). Already the donations have been coming in thick and fast - you are all so incredibly generous! I have added links to each of the 6 pages on the home page under the Amazon logos.

If you are not on twitter, you can still read his twitter feed. It's very entertaining!

23rd August

1. Last night outside the stage door of the Old Vic, Richard accepted the Ice Bucket challenge for ALSA.org but also for AnthonyNolan.org and YoungMinds.org.uk. Here is the official video from The Anglophile Channel who nominated him. Two other videos from different angles are here and here.

2. In this article by Tim Morehouse on the Huffington Post site, Richard gives his reasons for joining twitter.

22nd August

Richard has joined twitter! Happy Birthday Richard!

19th August

A reminder that today is the last day to leave a birthday message for Richard as the page will close for new comments at 9pm tonight (UK time). Scroll down the page to leave a message in the comments box. Thank you for all your lovely messages, I will pass them on.

18th August

1. Digitial Spy's Into the Storm interview with Richard and Max in London asks a great question at the start about which Hobbit stars Richard would want to take into a storm. At the end of the interview Richard teases that he has a cameo role in a soon to be released film...is that cameo for a film based on a popular British TV series that has currently been filming in London - thoughts?

For info, comments on this site are most commonly left on the home page (see the 'Write Comment' link just above the 'News' heading) as it is easy to reply to other's comments there, or you can leave messages in the guestbook if you wish. Thanks.

2. RTE's interview from the same UK press junket is good fun, Max suggesting that he had a major influence over Richard's performance as John Proctor.

3. The Old Vic have confirmed they will ship a Crucible poster and programme to the US for £16.50 plus postage and packing. Please email [email protected] for more information.

4. To win free tickets to see Into the Storm in Cork, Ireland tomorrow night, plus a backpack and other goodies, please email me at [email protected]. The first reply will win. I will update this news item as soon as someone claims the tickets.

17th August

Screencaps from the Andrew Marr interview (20th July) and the Canada AM interview (1st August) have been added to the Interviews gallery. This page is in chronological order.

16th August

1. More candid pictures have been added to The Crucible Stage Door gallery from Armitagina, Let, Lisa and @Haldirs_Bow from twitter. Many thanks to these ladies for sharing the photos with us. Credit is given in the file name of each photo.

2. Geek Town interviewed Richard and Max in London - nothing new in this video interview, but it is a nice interview.

15th August

1. The Hindu have posted an excellent new interview with Richard that has taken place recently, judging by the comment that after the interview he was about to leave to do another performance of The Crucible. There is nothing new in the interview regarding promotion for Into the Storm, but lots to think about regarding future roles: “I feel changed by this role, and it’ll be interesting to see how my work changes after” and the comment at the end of the article: 'Similarly, I speculate, there must be a once-in-a-lifetime role his heart desires. “Ye-es, there is,” he replies after a pause, “and I may have just auditioned for it.”'

2. In Richard and Max's recent British press junket, they were also interviewed by HeyUGuys. This is a good fun interview where Richard coins the phrase 'found footish' and there's a joke about a sequel in London involving a red telephone box.

3. Another amusing interview from the same press junket, with Yahoo Movies UK & Ireland.

4. Conn Jackson interviewed Richard from London at the same time as several other interviews (including the Canada AM interview, news below 1st Aug, #1). Again Richard talks about acting with a wind machine, working with green screen and his character's story, and a different question on what he has learned in the last couple of years regarding his career (i.e. the art of Zen)!

5. According to Jason Chamberlain at 411mania.com, Richard is reason number 8 to love the Hobbit movies: "an Englishman who could become a leading man in his own right after these films are done. His performance as the honorable yet prideful Thorin has been very well crafted. He has shown Thorin's longing for his homeland and how it ever so gradually becomes a lust for power and wealth of his own."

6. High quality promotional pictures from Warner Bros have been sent to this site and added to the Into the Storm gallery. The four images on this page of the gallery are all new. Click on the thumbnails to view and then click 'original image' to see the full HQ size.

7. The composer of the music for The Crucible, Richard Hammarton, has shared one of the tracks from the production on Soundcloud. The title 'Ash' plays at the start of the second act, when according to the composer, black ash was falling on to the stage (although I thought it was leaves, but that was probably down to the orange/red lighting). The music will give you an impression of the atmosphere of the production for those who are not able to see it, and remind others of the ominous and eerie tone that the music evoked. Those violin notes were repeated often throughout the play.

8. PCM World interviewed Richard aboutInto the Storm when he was in NYC on the 4th August. There are some different answers to the usual questions about this film so it is worth a read. Apparently Richard decided to make sure Gary ran differently from the way Richard usually runs, and he enjoyed making sure the director didn't stay warm and dry at the end of a day's shooting!

10th August

1. The Weather Channel interviewed Richard Armitage and Sarah Waynes Callies on the day of the world premiere in New York. Watch the clip on Wake up with Al.

2. Crucible Stage Door photos have been added to the Candids gallery showing pictures of Richard meeting theatre-goers after the show. Many thanks to Aprilsviolet, Claudia, JulieS and Thoriness for donating these pictures. Click 'original image' to see the full size.

9th August

1. A reminder that a competition to win a ticket to see The Crucible on Friday 12 September has been launched and will close next Saturday at 9am (UK time). I will be posting the ticket to the winner from my home in the UK, so if you enter the competition please consider that it must arrive to you in time and if you live overseas it might be beneficial to provide me with a UK address. Good luck!

2. Urblife.com's interview with Richard talking about Into the Storm and commenting on the US audience reaction: "I live here now and I’d like to work here more. It’s just another area to explore. I love the culture here; I love the differences between all of the states. I think that’s something to be nurtured."

3. Cover art for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Visual Companion has been posted on twitter, with thanks to @Pryftan. It features Thorin in full armour. Click below to enlarge or visit the Hobbit Stills gallery for these pictures and other images from all three films.

4. There are some superb high quality photographs on the Monsters and Critics site showing Richard and other cast members at the Into the Storm world premiere. Richard appears on pages 1, 2, 9, 14, 15 and 16. Thanks to @Kaprekar30 and @sahraobsessed on twitter.

5. The Movie Bit are offering preview tickets for The Gate, in Cork, Ireland for 19th August to see Into the Storm. Click here to enter. Thanks to sahraobsessed.

8th August

1. A visitor to this site can no longer attend the performance of The Crucible at 7.30pm on Friday 12 September and has generously donated her ticket, saying "I don't want anything for it, just the knowledge that someone will enjoy and benefit from it and get the chance to see Richard in the flesh!" So...I have set-up a giveaway competition. Enter before Saturday 16th August 9am (UK time), make sure you will be able to pay your travel costs and attend on that evening, and also that the ticket will arrive in time (in case I have to post it overseas) and good luck!

2. Here are some more videos from the Into the Storm black carpet:

Brad Blanks interviews Richard but talks only about Thorin in The Hobbit, hairy feet and getting into nightclubs. This is a funny interview!
Beyond the Trailer interviewed Richard at the start and also at 3:43, and also interviewed Matt Walsh, Sarah Wayne Callies, Ken Cole (storm chaser, consultant for the film) and Nathan Kress.

3. This interview by Kristen of The Daily Buzz took place on Friday 1st August in London, the same time as the Canada AM interview (news below 1st Aug, #1) and The Morning Show's interview (news below 5th Aug, #7).

4. Richard and Sarah Wayne Callies talked to Yahoo Canada on Monday 4th, the day of the world premiere in New York. Thanks to cassiopeia2006 for uploading to YouTube.

5. Into the Storm reviews. I won't be posting a long list of reviews for this film because there are dozens of them and it's fair to say the reviews do not make for easy reading. (If a review appears that is quite extraordinary it might get a mention). Here's two of the more positive from the bunch:

The LA Times gives a fair response: "Into the Storm knows you bought your ticket for the tornadoes, not the dramatics, and acts accordingly."
The New York Post's typical easy-read and not-so-high-brow review: "Into the Storm’ delivers where it counts, though — it moves like lightning, with loads of well-staged disaster footage and a pulse-pounding climax."

6. Abby's interviews with other cast and crew interviews at the Into the Storm world premiere are available now on YouTube. Some fabulous funny clips from the lady herself too. Enjoy!

7. Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies and Steven Quale appeared on the SiriusXM radio station on Monday 4th August. Listen to the audio. Sarah posted this picture on her Instagram during the recording and the Getty site have 6 pictures from the SiriusXM studio.

7th August

1. Photographer Johan Persson has published a dramatic photograph of Richard as John Proctor on his website. I have added this to The Crucible gallery. Thanks to @EniKoni on twitter for finding this.

2. Marlise Boland of The Anglophile Channel asked other cast members and the producer Todd Garner what it was like working with Richard. The answers are in this video. I really like Nathan Kress' response to this and our Abby appears at the end.

3. The Richard Armitage US Facebook page were also represented at the Into the Storm premiere. Their first video showing other cast members is here.

4. Watch this video clip from Fox News for their report from the Into the Storm black carpet.

5. The result of the Old Vic's competition to win a signed bottle of champagne has been announced. This competition was first mentioned in the news below on 25th July. Congratulations to Jamie!

6. "This movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s a very good thing". Read Abby's review of Into the Storm for RichardArmitageNet.

5th August

1. Well Abby did an incredible job of behalf of my site in the press tent at the Into the Storm premiere, sending me tons of raw video footage that I need to edit together including a lovely funny interview with Richard and interviews with other cast and crew members.

Update: Here is our interview with Richard at the Into the Storm premiere last night! Thank you to Abby and Rosalie for doing a fantastic job. Another video will be posted soon, showing interviews with the rest of the cast and other special clips courtesy of Abby and Rosalie. There are lots of funny clips that I can't wait to share with you - just a bit of editing to do first!

2. Here is a picture that Todd Garner tweeted showing himself and a very smiley Richard (link to Kelly's twitter as Todd's original tweet to us all couldn't be accessed by some).

3. Stylist Ilaria Urbinati tweeted this and this to show Richard's outfits today (click the instagram links). Original picture credit must go to @marieastra8 - her tweet here.

4. Two pages of press pictures are on the Getty site from last night's Into the Storm New York premiere.

5. BigNewsNetwork.com have posted an interview that took place yesterday with Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies and Steven Quale. Richard says there was more time to rehearse than you might normally expect when filming a movie:

"because we had a lot of long takes in the film, we spent a lot more time rehearsing scenes before we actually starting shooting them. And that was when we had this great collaborative effort with everybody, including the camera operator, myself, the actors and we really got a sense of what felt real for the characters "

6. Marlise Boland's interview with Richard at the premiere is here on YouTube.

7. Updated: Richard appeared on The Morning Show on Global News in Canada today. Watch the video here. Thanks to @LadyCharlotte79 on twitter.

8. This interview in The Columbus Dispatch took place in London during the recent Into the Storm press junket. There is also a brief comment about The Hobbit at the end.

9. A press release received from Warner Bros today has announced the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug extended edition on Bluray and DVD, which will be released on 3rd November with a digital HD release in late October. The extended edition features 25 minutes of extra footage and more than 9 hours of new special features, including:

Commentary with Peter Jackson, Director/Producer/Screenwriter and Philippa Boyens, Co-Producer/Screenwriter
The Appendices – The Appendices Parts IX and X showcase an immersive multi-part history of the filming of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, covering pre-production in the various departments of the film in the months leading up to the start of principal photography, training, the work done on set and in the world of its digital effects.
New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth – Part 2

The Extended Edition is already available to pre-order from Amazon, so I will add it to the RAnet Amazon stores later today. Here is a packshot image, click to enlarge:

10. Here is a new clip from The Desolation of Smaug from the extended edition. I'm glad this has been included as I remember a very similar scene in the book!

11. Julie from RichardArmitageCentral was standing next to our Abby in the press tent at the Into the Storm premiere last night. Here is her video interview with Richard.

12. ScreenCrush have published their interview with Richard about Into the Storm. This is the first interview where Richard discusses his character name change, which appears to have happened without his knowledge as we suspected! There is also discussion of The Hobbit and his role in Star Wars. The picture used has appeared online a few times as an example of Richard's appearance in the film, although I stubbornly maintain it is not him and feel that these pictures actually show him (well definitely the first one anyway - spot the guy in the yellow hat).

13. Warner Bros France interview with Richard about Into the Storm, talking about how shooting this film was different from any previous experience. English translation here with thanks to Servetus.

4th August

1. This evening at the AMC Lincoln Square, NYC, the world premiere of Into the Storm is taking place. All of the main cast members including Richard will be there as well as the director Steven Quale and producer Todd Garner. I'm pleased to say that I also have a representative there on behalf of this website and with any luck there will be photos and video from the event posted on the site tomorrow.

2. Richard and Sarah Wayne Callies appeared on EITM (Elliot in the Morning) today, a radio show on WWDC-FM in Washington, D.C.and on WRXL in Richmond, Virginia. Watch the video announcement. RichardArmitageCentral have kindly recorded the interview as it could only be heard in the US - listen here.

3. A new interview with Richard about Into the Storm has been published in the Manila Bulletin. There are lots of thoughtful responses about this genre of film and what audiences might take away from watching it:

'In the end, he hopes that “audiences come away with a certain elevated heart rate” after watching the movie, adding that some might simply “enjoy a good disaster movie” while others might give more thought to social media or climate change. “It’s not a film that’s designed to do that but it would be perfect if it did.”'

4. Trailer Addict have posted an interview recorded with Richard Armitage and Max Deacon in London on 21st July. There are a few spoilers in this interview.

3rd August

1. Richard is due to appear on Canadian TV again in the next few days, although we don't know exactly which day yet. The Morning Show have posted this video with the announcement.

2. This short interview by AMHQ on The Weather Channel with Richard obviously took place on Friday 1st in London at the same time as the Canada AM interview. Thanks to sahraobsessed. Also here on YouTube.

1st August

1. CTV Canada AM interviewed Richard at 8.45am Eastern time today (1.45pm in the UK). You can watch the interview online here.

2. The birthday messages page is now open if you would like to leave a message for Richard's birthday on 22nd August 2014. Scroll down the page to leave a message. Please note this page will be closed for new messages at 9pm (UK) on Tuesday 19th August. As with previous years, these messages will be forwarded to Richard's agent.

31st July

1. It has been announced that Richard will be in conversation on The Old Vic stage at 5pm on Tuesday 2nd September to talk about his career and his current role as John Proctor. Tickets are not yet available and there will be priority booking for patrons and friends of the theatre. See the Old Vic's website for further information.

2. CTV Canada AM have tweeted that Richard will be appearing on their show tomorrow morning to promote Into the Storm. No exact time has been given yet.

29th July

1. This Trailer Addict interview with Richard about Into the Storm must have taken place during shooting in 2012 judging by the clothes and haircut, and there are lots of interesting insights into the character of Gary (the film is edited as the character was originally Gary Morris, but is now Gary Fuller), and the filming process.

2. A four minute featurette about Into the Storm has been posted on YouTube, showing lots of footage from the film including scenes not released previously, and plenty of behind the scenes material too. Do not watch if you are avoiding spoilers as there is a lot of new footage here.

3. B-roll footage from Into the Storm has been posted by ScreenSlam. Part 1 here and part 2 here (some deep water for Richard at 5mins).

4. Into the Storm world premiere details are as follows: Monday 4th August at the AMC Lincoln Square, New York City. The film starts at 7pm and Richard is confirmed as attending along with Sarah Wayne Callies, Max Deacon, Nathan Kress, Jeremy Sumpter, several other cast members, producer Todd Garner and director Steven Quale.

Also I can confirm that there are no plans for a UK premiere at present.

28th July

1. The German magazine Cinema August 2014 issue includes an article about filming Into the Storm and shows pictures of the green screen work featuring Richard and the rest of the cast. Click the images below to enlarge. An English translation is here thanks to Servetus. Many thanks to Claudia for the scans.

2. The Hobbit teaser trailer is here!

3. Screencaps from the teaser trailer and the new Hobbit poster featuring Martin Freeman as Bilbo are below - click to enlarge.

26th July

1. A donation of £228.93 plus gift aid has been made today to Childline, one of the four charities Richard has nominated on JustGiving.com. Details of how referral fees are accrued are here. Another fantastic donation to charity thanks to you using the Amazon logos on my home page - thank you!

2. Lots of new pictures of Richard and the cast of Into the Storm have been posted on Movienewsplus.com. Click 'Images' to see them all. The new pictures have been added to the Into the Storm gallery.

25th July

1. The Old Vic have launched a competition for UK residents only, announced on twitter and facebook. They have invented a champagne cocktail with a raspberry and lemon twist (picture) and are looking for a Crucible themed name for it. The prize is a bottle of Taittinger champagne signed by Richard Armitage. To enter, email the cocktail name to [email protected] with a suggested name and Richard will pick the winner! Enter before 6pm (UK) on 1st August 2014. Terms and Conditions here.

2. Yesterday at Nerd HQ in San Diego the cast of Into the Storm (except Richard) attended a special panel, answering questions from members of the public who had seen the film the night before. You can watch the hour long panel in full on YouTube (it starts at 2:56). There are comments about Richard's smelly wet suit by Sarah Wayne Callies 29:35 and lots of lovely comments about working with Richard at 42:35.

24th July

1. Soundtrack details for Into the Storm have been posted on filmmusicreporter.com. The soundtrack is currently available to pre-order from Amazon. Please use the Amazon links on the home page to order, as that will raise commission for charity. Thanks to sahraobsessed for the info.

2. On Monday, Richard and his co-star on Into the Storm Max Deacon, were interviewed in London by several journalists to promote the film. The first of these interviews has appeared on a Chinese site letv.com. It is a very brief series of clips of the pair. Thanks to @gomgomi03 on twitter. I had a few difficulties playing the clip on my PC and on my phone, but I found that if you refresh the page (yes you have to watch another ad) it will eventually play.

22nd July

1. The Huffington Post have provided an exclusive, very exciting 1m 33s clip from Into the Storm. Watch it here.

2. More TV Spots for Into the Storm can be seen on YouTube from Movie Madness Trailers. Numbers 8 and 9 are particularly good for clips of Richard.

3. This Adam Brown interview took place on 12 July at London Film and Comic Con, Earls Court. It's an interesting interview about working on The Hobbit but 4 minutes in he is extremely complimentary about Richard. Thanks to Aneta for the link.

21st July

1. Nathan Kress, who plays the youngest son of Gary (Richard) in Into the Storm, tweeted a new picture of himself and Richard yesterday. I have added this picture to the Into the Storm gallery, along with 3 large HD posters for the film received by the UK publicists. Click 'original image' to see the full size.

2. The UK press release confirms that the UK release date of Into the Storm has been brought forward two days to 20 August. I have also heard from two people on twitter who have watched advanced screenings of the film and they both say that Richard's character is now called Gary Fuller, not Gary Morris.

20th July

1. Richard was on Andrew Marr's show this morning talking about The Crucible, Spooks and The Hobbit. I have uploaded the interview to YouTube and will post screencaps later.

2. Thanks to Aprilsviolet for this scan of Time Out London magazine dated 8-14 July 2014 with their 5 star review of The Crucible. Click the image to enlarge. The small image at the top has been cropped from the Contents page.

3. There is a new poll on the site asking if you will go and see Into the Storm when it is released in the cinema/movie theater. Please vote on the left-hand side. Previous poll results are here.

4. Thank you to Jessie for sharing this signature banner for The Crucible. These signatures are available for personal use on forums if you include credit to the person who created it. If you would like me to share your banners or wallpapers please email me (Ali) at the address above, thanks.

5. The premiere of Into the Storm will be held at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square in New York City on Monday 4th August 2014. Richard will be attending as there is no Crucible performance on that day and Whats Up Hollywood have confirmed the line up for the evening and the venue. Here is a competition open to Canadians to win 2 tickets. This competition on ZayZay.com is for US residents only.

17th July

1. Richard will be on Andrew Marr's show on BBC1 this Sunday from 9.00 - 10.00. Here is the Radio Times programme information. I will record this and upload shortly afterwards. [See news 20th July above for a link.]

2. The Wall Street Journal have reviewed The Crucible: Morality Lessons from London.

16th July

1. According to n3rdabl3.co.uk, the UK release date for Into the Storm has been brought forward two days to 20 August 2014. We are still waiting for further confirmation.

2. Here is a scan of the Manchester Evening News article that was posted in the news below on 14th July. Click to enlarge. Many thanks to Smitkit.

15th July

1. Richard was on Steve Wright's show on BBC Radio 2 this afternoon talking about The Crucible and Into the Storm. I have uploaded today's radio interview and will upload any other video or audio interviews that may appear for this production to this page: Crucible Video/Audio Interviews.

You will still be able to listen to today's broadcast from the BBC Radio 2 site for the next 7 days: link here.

2. The BBC posted a photograph of Richard at the BBC Radio 2 studio in London on their website today. You will find that photo and others showing appearances relating to The Crucible in the Crucible gallery. Fan photographs taken by the stage door outside The Old Vic and donated to this site will soon appear in the Candids gallery.

3. Photographer Dan Burn-Forti has posted 3 photographs on his tumblr account that were apparently for the Sunday Telegraph. An interview and picture from the shoot appeared in the Daily Telegraph on 25 June (also posted in the news below), so am not sure if another interview will appear in the Sunday Telegraph soon, or whether the Daily Telegraph posted the pictures instead.

14th July

1. Richard appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning and it has been kindly recorded and uploaded by cassiopeia2006: watch it on YouTube. There is promotional footage from The Crucible so it's well worth a watch!

2. Andy Serkis also appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning, which is held at the MediaCityUK studio in Salford. The Manchester Evening News has a report and pictures of Richard and Andy outside the studio. Also Andy Serkis tweeted this picture of himself and Richard earlier today.

3. There is an incredible review of Richard's performance in Londonist: Fighting The Darkness In The Crucible today.

Note: some of you may notice an Independent newspaper review has appeared online today, but it is the same one that I posted below on 4th July. The review has been edited but essentially re-published.

13th July

More reviews of The Crucible:

1. This scan is from the print edition of Friday's Daily Express and is an edited version of the review posted first in yesterday's news. Thanks to Jen. 5/5 stars.

2. The Sunday Express has also posted a review. Click to enlarge. Many thanks to Smitkit. Also online here. 4/5 stars.

3. The Observer, The Crucible review - an engrossing, fiery evening. Susannah Clapp: 4/5 stars. (The Observer is a Sunday newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group, which is why the link opens the Guardian website).

4. The Mail on Sunday, The Crucible, Old Vic, London. 5/5 stars. Thanks to LadyT.

12th July

Three new reviews of The Crucible have been published in the last few days. Two are 5 star reviews, the New York Times review is unrated but is positively glowing: "Ms. Farber makes the most convincing case that I’ve encountered for the greatness of this 1953 drama".

The Express, The Crucible review: Chilling reminder of hysteria, mass murder and fantastic theatre

City AM, Review: The Crucible at the Old Vic

New York Times, The Body of Salem, Its Nerves Frayed

"Mr. Armitage...gives us a John who is first and foremost a physical being, a farmer who has spent most of his life fighting against privation. His rumbling voice comes from his viscera, and he stands like a man who feels undressed without his plow...Mr. Armitage gives palpable, sinewy force to John’s struggle, making the moral instinct feel primal, something that’s genetically coded but hard to bring into dominance."

11th July

EniKoni on twitter has found a treat today: this short video clip filmed as part of the Esquire photoshoot last year. The Esquire interview can be found on the Interviews page. Scroll down to November 2013.

10th July

1. A photoshoot of Richard taken by Francesco Guidicini on behalf of the Sunday Times has appeared on ProfilebyNews.com. This photoshoot accompanied the interview published in the news 6th July below. There are twelve photos in total and the photoshoot took place on 23 June according to the details on the site. Another link to more of the photoshoot can be found on NewsSyndication.com. There are 49 photos in total. Thank you to @EniKoni on twitter for the links.

2. Marlise from The Anglophile Channel has uploaded this video showing her before and after watching The Crucible and there is some footage of Richard making his way down the line of fans, as he has done every evening since the play opened.

7th July

Richard talks about being attracted to the story of his character in Into the Storm rather than the storm itself, according to an interview with Total Film magazine which is quoted on TV3.ie:

"This is possibly not the kind of movie I would have run towards. The storm aspect of it, I swept aside and looked at the bones of the story: a single father, who is father and mother to two boys, and a family that's already breaking up, and how that's [exacerbated] by this single day. That was interesting enough."

Barbara has provided the original source of the inteview mentioned above, in the August 2014 issue of Total Filmmagazine. Many thanks Barbara! Click to enlarge and click again to zoom.

6th July

1. The Sunday Times has printed an interview with Richard by Tanya Gold, which took place in his dressing room at The Old Vic: "Acting is one thing," he says, "Being an actor is another."

Here is a scan, click to enlarge and then click again to zoom in.

2. Fraser Kelly, eponymous star of Urban and the Shed Crew watched The Crucible last night in London with his mother, who tweeted a picture of them all after the show with Richard. Looks like they had a fantastic night! Fraser has tweeted another picture here.

3. The first TV spot for Into the Storm has appeared in the US and thanks to @NBNathanKress we can see it here, featuring new footage from the movie.

4. More pictures from the The Crucible after show party have appeared on photographer Robert Zajaczkowski's Facebook page, which includes a lovely photo of a smiling Richard. Thanks sahRAobsessed for the link.

5. A donation of £273.76 plus gift aid has been made today to Barnardo's, one of the four charities Richard has nominated on JustGiving.com. Details of how referral fees are accrued are here. This means we have broken £5000 since this website became an Amazon Associate in February 2012. An amazing result, thank you all so much!

6. Following on from the news above (#3), Movie Madness Trailers on YouTube have posted three TV spots for Into the Storm: TV spot 1, TV spot 2, TV spot 3. Number 2 is the same as the one posted above. Thanks to @RCNY13 for the notification.

5th July

1. Richard's agent, United Agents, have posted an article on their website celebrating The Crucible's five star reviews. Read it here.

2. More reviews have appeared online for The Crucible:

What's On Stage, The Crucible, Old Vic. 3/5 stars.

The Stage, The Crucible. 4/5 stars.

Theatrecat, The Crucible - Old Vic, SE1. The gates of hell creak open. 5/5 stars.

3. The Stage have published an interesting article in the wake of yesterday's positive reviews. Read it here.

"An even bigger roar of critical approval greeted last night’s opening of The Crucible, with five-star raves from the Telegraph, Times and Time Out. Yes, it’s very good – but five stars suggests the truly exceptional."

4. Peter Jackson has posted on Facebook that a teaser trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is imminent.

4th July

1. Richard and the cast of The Crucible attended an after show party at The Savoy Hotel, London after last night's press night. Photos from the event are on the Rex Features site, AP Images and Getty Images.

2. Press reviews for The Crucible have been flooding in today, after last night's press night and the verdict is unanimously outstanding. The only slightly critical newspaper is not worth discussing since it is known for its inaccuracies 😉

Here is a summary with notable quotes about the play and Richard's performance.

The Times, The Crucible at the Old Vic, SE1. 5/5 stars. This article is behind a paywall, so thank you to @rashisama1 for posting the full article on tumblr.

Financial Times, The Crucible, Old Vic, London - Review. 4/5 stars.

The Telegraph, The Crucible, Old Vic, review: 'The intensity of a thriller'. 5/5 stars.

The Guardian, The Crucible review - full of raw, visceral power. 5/5 stars.

Official London Theatre, The Crucible.

TheArtsDesk.com,The Crucible, Old Vic.5/5 stars.

"Armitage makes a fine job of John Proctor – a roaring, contrarian beast of a man who shouts because he cannot be heard, but it’s Madeley who moves."

Digital Spy, Richard Armitage is stunning in terrifying adaptation of The Crucible: Review. 4/5 stars.

London Evening Standard, The Crucible, Old Vic - theatre review: 'At first Richard Armitage smoulders, later he blazes'. 5/5 stars.

The Evening Standard has also published an interview with Richard today. Online version: Theatre is still my first love, says Richard Armitage.

Here is a scan from the print edition, showing the review and the interview. Click to enlarge.

The Independent, The Crucible, Old Vic, review: 'Unmissable'. 5/5 stars.

3rd July

1. New audio clips from The Crucible. Yesterday, director Yael Farber was interviewed by Front Row on BBC Radio 4 and Free Thinking on BBC Radio 3. The clips are still available to listen if you follow the links, but will probably be removed after a week. The interviews included three extracts from the play, although it doesn't sound like they were recorded on stage, but perhaps in a studio. They feature Richard Armitage as John Proctor and Anna Madeley, who plays John Proctor's wife Elizabeth. I have extracted the three clips and uploaded them to the Sounds page, where you can listen or download.

2. The BBC News site has a fairly long interview with Richard, who talks about visited Salem, how the play is a 'full body experience' and how much he has missed the stage.

3. In this short article on the Breathcast site, Richard comments on the latest Hobbit film - the trailer is due to be released imminently. Thanks to Genie for the link. Note: there are lots of video advertisements on that page that play automatically.

1st July

Jill Lawless' article for the Associated Press has been published today on many online sites including the New York Times and the Washington Times. I like this link to Yahoo News as you can open a gallery of large pictures to show Richard posing in the seats at the Old Vic theatre and also with director Yael Farber. This link to AP images shows the full set of photographs. The interview reveals what Richard will do in the name of research!

30th June

Several interviews from the set of Into the Storm have been released today but they all appear to come from the same round table interview. The most comprehensive is the article from Collider, though there are many spoilers in this article about the film, more than have been released previously. (Worchester = Leicester by the way).

29th June

1. More publicity photographs have been posted online from the set of The Crucibleby Geraint Lewis. These pictures are superb quality and you can click each one to enlarge. It's bringing it all back to me! Spoiler warning if you have yet to see the play and don't want to see costumes, etc!

2. The Independent have published a fascinating article with Crucible director Yael Farber, accompanied by a wonderful picture of Richard as Proctor. I have added it to the Crucible gallery.

28th June

Rex Features have published pictures from The Crucible that were taken on 26 June, without an audience: 1st link, 2nd link. Thanks to @ForoRArmitage. Spoiler warning if you have yet to see the play and don't want to see costumes, etc!

26th June

The first full length trailer for Into the Storm was released at 10am PST, 6pm UK time today. Here it is, buckle up!

25th June

1. A new interview with Richard has appeared in the British newspaper,The Telegraph, accompanied by two new photographs taken especially for the interview.

2. Warner Bros have posted a short clip on Instagram from Into the Storm ahead of a new trailer which will appear online tomorrow at 10.00am Pacific Standard Time. Richard's voice is right at the start.

22nd June

Last night was opening preview night for The Crucible at The Old Vic, and judging by comments left on twitter, the performance was wonderful: 'probably the best stage show I've ever witnessed', 'emotionally charged and wonderfully acted' with some 'incredibly inspiring performances' and 'best stage acting I've ever seen'. Here is another huge compliment about Richard's performance. This photo shows that the performance was awarded a standing ovation.

Here are some photos before the play began: photo 1, photo 2, photo 3.

This excellent review of the performance by Sophie Harrold contains spoilers that you may not wish to read if you are going to see the play.

Fans met Richard outside the theatre after the performance and he posed for photographs. Several of these photos were posted on twitter (scroll through my twitter timeline to see some of them) and also tumblr and pinterest.

19th June

1. Four new Into the Storm promotional stills have been posted by @NBNathanKress on twitter. You can see them in the Into the Storm gallery (the last 4 photos).

2. Todd Garner has tweeted that the full trailer for Into the Storm will be played with the latest Transformers films in the cinema. It will go online at the end of next week.

3. The Old Vic theatre have produced an education pack for The Crucible, containing pages of information about Arthur Miller, the play and the Old Vic's production. The pictures are the same as the ones posted on their Facebook page previously, as mentioned in the news below on 16th June. Link to Old Vic New Voices Education Packs and a direct link to The Crucible education pack.

The production begins this Saturday. I will write about seeing the play in a week's time, but if you'd like to leave a comment about your experience of the play then please do so using the 'Write a comment' option halfway down the home page.

4. The next issue of Total Film UK magazine (issue #222) will contain a 2 page feature about Into the Storm including a Q&A with Richard. I believe it will be out in 2 weeks time. Thanks to @GeekInc18 for the information.

16th June

The Old Vic have published 31 photos from rehearsals of The Crucible on to their Facebook page, 11 of which contain Richard. I have added them to the Crucible gallery.

15th June

1. The Old Vic theatre's twitter page has been keeping us up-to-date with posters promoting The Crucible. I have collected all the pictures (photography by Jay Brooks) and posted them in this new gallery. Click 'original image' to see the full size of each photo.

2. The Old Vic has tweeted that you are in with a chance of winning one of two signed posters if you sign up to their newsletter before noon (UK time) on Monday. See their twitter feed for 3 tweets on the subject.

3. Fraser Kelly, the young star of Urban and the Shed Crew posted this funny picture of himself and Richard yesterday on twitter showing them during the recent filming. I have added this picture to the Urban gallery.

4. David Hewson has posted The Times newspaper's review of his audiobook Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel on his blog. This audiobook, co-written with A.J. Hartley and read by Richard, was reviewed by Christina Hardyment, who states: "Richard “Thorin Oakenshield” Armitage is an outstandingly versatile narrator. This is the one of the most powerful listening experiences that I’ve had."

5. The Barclays Digital Eagles advert narrated by Richard has been uploaded to YouTube by BarclaysOnline (the video I uploaded previously had to be taken down as it was an incorrect version of the advert apparently).

6. Some generous comments about working with Richard from some of his fellow dwarves at Calgary Expo, starting from 5m 40s. Thanks to faboamanto.

7. There was something not quite right about that Crucible poster - Tannni spotted it and fliipped the image. This is the right way around. Click 'original image' to see the full size. Thanks Tannni!

8. This video from HobbitCon shows Graham McTavish and Ken Stott talking on stage about running around as dwarves in the park in Wellington. A very amusing story that includes a mention of Richard. Thanks Aneta.

30th May

The Old Vic theatre has posted a new picture of Richard in character as John Proctor from The Crucible on their website. They have also uploaded a video to YouTube with Richard talking about this role. He says he feels like he has been preparing for the role for the last ten years. Rehearsals have begun and tickets are for sale for the run which begins on 21st June and ends on 13th September.

25th May

Apologies for those trying to order the Hamlet audiobook via the RichardArmitageNet Amazon stores. I have realised now that the error cannot be fixed because the audiobook is usually purchased with a free trial membership to Audible, so I've removed it from the RAnet stores. However, you can still order it and raise commission for charity. I have updated the links in the news 20th May below to give you the direct link via Amazon UK or Amazon US to the audiobook.

Alternatively, you can order ANY item from Amazon by clicking on one of the three Amazon logos on the home page of this site and then buying items from Amazon in the usual way. The fact that you opened the Amazon window after clicking a link on my site will ensure every item you buy raises money for charity.

22nd May

1. The Urban and the Shed Crew production team have posted a picture of Richard Armitage and Neil Morrissey and passed on the information that Neil is on tonight's episode of The One Show at 7pm in the UK. I'll be watching and will report any news relating to the production. This picture has been added to the gallery. Update: no mention of the film unfortunately.

2. I have received a definitive answer on the question of whether Richard's narration of Bernard Cornwell's Lords of the North will be published. AudioGo Ltd, the only publisher of that title, went into administration last year. Unfortunately the answer is that there is no likelihood of it being published at this time. Harper Audio London and I have been tweeting about it today - you can read my tweets or theirs even if you are not on twitter - they own the UK publishing rights and someone else bought the recording rights so that means it cannot be published. They did state "in the UK at least" as they own the UK publishing rights to the title, but I confess I'm not holding out much hope for this audiobook being made available again. Treasure your copy if you own it!

20th May

The audiobook Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel by A J Hartley and David Hewson and narrated by Richard Armitage is out today! You can order it from Audible UK, Audible US, Audible Germany or Audible France. Alternatively you could order via the RichardArmitageNet Amazon UK link or the RichardArmitageNet Amazon US link, which is cheaper if you are not an Audible member, plus your purchase will raise money for charity.

The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch website has an article out today promoting the release of the audiobook with a quote from Richard, including: "Audio work like this reminds me of all the reasons I became an actor: the simple art of storytelling."

Another article about the audiobook in The Denver Post.

17th May

1. A gallery of screencaps from the Audible interview posted in yesterday's news is now in the 'Interviews' part of the gallery. I am assuming this interview took place in February when the audiobook recording took place, hence the name of the gallery. You can pre-order it from either Audible.co.uk or Audible.com or use the UK or US RichardArmitageNet Amazon Store links under the Amazon logos on my home page for a cheaper offer (unless you are an Audible member). Click the 'Richard Armitage Audiobooks' category in the RAnet Amazon Store to see a full list of audiobooks narrated by Richard available at Amazon.

Ordering from my Amazon store will also earn commission for charity at no cost to yourself. This title is not yet available from Audible Germany or Amazon Germany.

The audiobook will be released on 20th May and is 9 hours 40 minutes long.

2. A donation of £203.11 plus gift aid has been made today to Shelter, one of the four charities Richard has nominated on JustGiving.com. Details of how referral fees are accrued are here.

16th May

A video interview with Richard discussing his reading of Hamlet: A Novel, the audiobook written by A J Hartley and David Hewson, is now on YouTube.

14th May

1. Update: Five behind-the-scenes pictures from Urban and the Shed Crew have been posted on the heckyeahannafriel tumblr page, thanks to the admin of that page for posting. They are now in the Urban and the Shed Crew gallery.

2. Two behind-the-scenes pictures have also appeared from Into the Storm. The pictures were posted on the Italian Into the Storm Facebook page and they are now in the Into the Storm gallery. Thanks to Janine.

3. Photographer Sarah Dunn has posted two behind-the-scenes shots of Richard from her photoshoot: picture 1 and picture 2. Previous news articles about Sarah Dunn's photography: news 28th April, news 2nd March and in the News Archive 2013 on 21st December.

4. Full casting details for The Crucible at The Old Vic in London has been announced on Playbill today. Thanks to @RA_Central on twitter.

13th May

The Daily Mail has published an article showing photos from filming ofUrban and the Shed Crew. Neil Morrissey has appeared on hit shows in the UK for many years which is why he and Anna are the main topic of the article, but the Mail is also not known for its accuracy in this country, hence the errors in the article. There is a picture of Richard, the actor who is actually playing Chop, near the end. Thanks to Lynda for the link.

The picture showing Richard has been added to the Urban and the Shed Crew gallery.

12th May

I'm afraid that Richard is not the narrator of D-Day's Sunken Secrets airing on PBS in the US on 28th May as stated below, however he is the narrator of the British showing on Channel 5 in the UK on Monday 19th May at 9.00-10.35pm. I will post some clips after it has aired. Thanks to Evy for this confirmation.

10th May

1. The third and final part of "Thorin Thursday" has been posted on The Hobbit Facebook page. This interview took place during the UK press junket on 31st March. Part 1 here. Part 2 here.

2. This picture of Richard was taken at the Empire Awards ceremony on 30th March and is from this gallery on EmpireOnline. Thanks for the link Sally.

3. Richard has narrated a D-Day documentary called D-Day's Sunken Secrets, which will air on Channel 5 in the UK on Monday 19th May at 9.00-10.35pm and on PBS in the US on Wednesday 28th May at 9pm ET/PT. The production company True North are based in Leeds.

3rd May

1. A.J. Hartley, co-author of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel, has posted pictures of Richard recording the narration to the book on his website. Click each picture to enlarge.
Mr Hartley has kindly given me permission to post the photos on this website, so here is the gallery.

2. This was the last week of filming for Urban and the Shed Crew. The production team posted two pictures on their Instagram page: Richard, Fraser Kelly (Urban) and water safety crew and another picture of Richard and Fraser in character. These pictures have been added to the gallery of official pictures from the production.

3. Empire Magazine have posted a fun collection of "photo booth" images including a photograph of Richard with Margot Robbie, winner of Best Female Newcomer award, which Richard presented during the evening. I've added this photo to the end of the Empire gallery.

News Archive 2014

News Archive 2013

News Archive 2012

News Archive 2011

News Archive 2010

News Archive 2009

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