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Oscar winner Kate Winslet looks set for stage debut opposite Bill Nighy
Kate Winslet has been exploring the possibility of making her stage debut.
The Oscar—winning actress has spoken several times with David Hare, with a view to him directing her in his play “Skylight”.
The plan, at least on paper, is for Bill Nighy to star as Tom Sargeant (a role he played back in 1997), a famous restaurateur who meets a former mistress with whom he’d had an affair while his wife was still alive.
Kyra Hollis, the ex-lover who lives in self-exile in a garret studio, to atone for the illicit liaison, is the role Kate would take if the play goes ahead.
It’s a terrific drama. The original production, featuring Michael Gambon and Lia Williams, ran at the National and in the West End. It won an Olivier for best play, and later a stack of Tony awards on Broadway.
Kate has been contemplating doing the play for the past three or four months and has been attempting to clear her schedule at the end of this year and into next, in order to do it.
“She’s in love with the play and would very much like to do it,” a source connected to the production told me.
But I understand there are some obstacles of a private nature that would need to be sorted out before she can sign on the dotted line and officially commit. Also to be determined is whether the play would be produced here in London’s West End or on Broadway.
If Kate can sort her schedule out, then the play will happen. If she can’t, she won’t be treading the boards any time soon — which would be a great shame.
“It may change, and the way is clear for her to do ‘Skylight’, but there’s no 100 per cent guarantee,” a theater executive told me.
Kate has never made a secret of her desire to appear on the stage. Many years ago, she was going to work with Sam Mendes, back when he was artistic director of the Donmar.
After they married, there was more, tentative talk of him directing her on stage, but for various reasons it never happened.
At the moment, in between looking after her two children, Mia and Joe, Kate is preparing for the launch of the 3D version of her epic film Titanic on April 6.
Then she will shoot Jason Reitman’s film Labor Day, alongside Josh Brolin. The movie Guernsey (based on the bestseller “The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society”) — in which she had been due to star — has been put back for further development.
