és a második:
The actor Kevin Spacey yesterday promised to bring back the glory days to the
Cinderella of London theatres by sinking more than £100,000 of his own money
and the full weight of his celebrity into reviving the Old Vic.
He has pledged to perform at the venue in Waterloo, south London, and said
that fellow actors John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe would follow him across
the Atlantic.
"I want to use myself as a magnet to attract great writers, actors and
directors back to this theatre that has kind of been lost," he said yesterday
at the launch of Old Vic Productions.
Spacey, the Oscar-winning star of American Beauty, who won an Olivier for his
performance in The Iceman Cometh at the Old Vic, said his dream would be to
play alongside another Old Vic legend Peter O'Toole.
"I've got four films to do first but as soon as I finish them I want to get
my butt back on that stage where it belongs. My parents brought me there
first when I was five. It made a big impact on me, I still have the
programme. I don't know what it was, the grand scale with the intimacy, but
it continues to be the favourite theatre I've probably ever played in. Within
30 seconds of stepping on that stage I knew it was it. There's a lot of
people I'd love to act alongside. I'd love to do a comedy too with Sam Mendes
directing it."
Today Spacey, who gave up his 41st birthday to fly to London, will try to
sell to the City his vision of a theatre company in which investors can take
advantage of generous tax breaks.
"There is no better present for me than to have money come to the Old Vic.. We
need at least £1m but I do not see why we won't get £3m. We are not going cap
in hand for subsidies. Even if we lose all your money, which I assure you,
you won't, you'll get half of it back in tax relief."
Its chief executive, the impresario Sally Greene, who also heads the Old Vic
Trust which saved the building by buying it for £3.5m, has assembled a board
of directors including Dame Judi Dench, Jeremy Irons, Lord Attenborough and
David Suchet. Spacey will act as a consultant.
They have also forged an alliance with the dance company Adventures In Motion
Pictures, which is about to take up residence at the Old Vic with a new show,
The Car Man. The Almeida is also staging its production of Lulu starring Anna
Friel at the Old Vic.
Spacey said they hoped to succeed where Sir Peter Hall failed by assembling a
dedicated company of actors by 2002 which was likely to be headed by Stephen
Daldry, the former artistic director of the Royal Court, who is also on the
Old Vic board.
Greene - the producer be hind such hits as The Weir, the American run of The
Blue Room starring Nicole Kidman, and Speed The Plow - said the new company
wanted to revolutionise the way theatre was funded.
"We invest in a range of productions - we'll be co-producing The Car Man for
instance - so that our risk is spread.
"At the moment angels put their money in one production and if it goes they
lose their money. The company is separate from the trust so the building will
always be safe."
Minimum stakes in the company are £2,000. Greene said investors who put in
£5,000 or more would be invited to first nights, readings, parties and
dinners with the stars.
