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A first-look image of Nicola Coughlan as Silky from ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ has been unleashed.

Based on The Faraway Tree series of children’s novels, the movie follows Polly and Tim Thompson and their children, Beth, Joe, and Fran, who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. There, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric occupants.

Playing the family are Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy as Tim and Polly, respectively. The Thompson children will be played by newcomers Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Billie Gadsdon and Phoenix Laroche.

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The inhabitants of the tree, capable of transporting visitors to fantastical far-off lands, will be played by Nicola Coughlan cast as beloved woodland fairy Silky, Nonso Anozie as self-appointed group leader Moonface, Jessica Gunning as Dame Washalot and Dustin Demri-Burns as Saucepan Man.

Rounding out the cast...

The Magic Faraway Tree movie receives a first look-image. Directed by Ben Gregor, with a script written by Simon Farnaby based on Enid Blyton's beloved children's book series of the same name, the upcoming film follows a family of five forced to relocate to the remote English countryside, where the children discover a magical tree inhabited by unusual and whimsical characters. The Magic Faraway Tree cast includes Rebecca Ferguson, Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Nicola Coughlan, Nonso Anozie, Jessica Gunning, Simon Russell Beale, and many more.

Now, via The Hollywood Reporter, a first-look image from The Magic Faraway Tree movie was revealed. The image appears to show Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan, who's playing the character Silky, peeking through tree branches, her face partially obscured by leaves. Check out the image below:

What The Magic Faraway Tree Image Means For The Movie Director Ben Gregor Gave An Interview

Custom Image by Ana Nieves...

Before production had begun on the anticipated film adaptation of Enid Blyton‘s The Magic Faraway Tree, director Ben Gregor worried that he’d put one of his stars, Andrew Garfield, off a little bit.

“We wrote a song for the film and we sent it to Andrew early on,” Gregor explains to The Hollywood Reporter. “And I hadn’t worked with him yet and you don’t know… With actors sometimes, you can put them off.”

But Garfield loved it. The gesture ended up being instrumental in the atmosphere that Gregor later cultivated on set — one of true-heartedness, trust, and that crucial Blyton ingredient: magic. “Everybody was putting themselves out there,” Gregor says.

The project has grabbed headlines in recent months for releasing back-to-back smash hit casting announcements: first came Garfield and Claire Foy (The Crown), then came Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton, Derry Girls) and Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer), and...

Rebecca Ferguson has signed on to star in the upcoming film adaptation of Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree.

Ferguson has joined the cast in the role of Dame Snap, the story’s terrifying headmistress.

The film is currently shooting in England at Shinfield Studios. Adapted by BAFTA Award-winner Simon Farnaby, the movie is directed by Ben Gregor.

The film is produced by Academy Award-nominee Pippa Harris and Nicolas Brown of Neal Street Productions, along with Danny Perkins (Greatest Days) of Elysian Film Group, and Jane Hooks. Executive Producers include Ashland Hill Media Finance’s Simon Williams, Joe Simpson, Jonathan Bross, and Palisades Park Pictures’ Tamara Birkemoe.

Ashland Hill Media Finance is fully financing The Magic Faraway Tree. Palisades Park Pictures is handling worldwide sales, with CAA Media Finance co-repping US rights.

The impressive cast list for the upcoming film adaptation of Enid Blyton's classic children's book series, The Magic Faraway Tree, continues to grow. It has not been announced via Deadline that Hiran Abeysekera (The Life of Pi), Pippa Bennett-Warner (Gangs of London), and British comedy legend Jennifer Saunders, known best for her work alongside Joanna Lumley in Absolutely Fabulous, are all joining the ensemble.

Jennifer Saunders has been added to the cast of ‘The Magic Faraway Tree.’

Saunders takes on the role of the kids’ ruthless Grandma. Additional supporting roles include Laurence Olivier Award-winner, Hiran Abeysekera as the Angry Pixie, one of the magical denizens of the woodland, and Pippa Bennett-Warner as Grandma’s assistant, Hannah.

Newcomers Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Billie Gadsdon and Phoenix Laroche will play the Thompson children.

Based on The Faraway Tree series of novels for children, the story follows Polly and Tim Thompson and their children, Beth, Joe and Fran, who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. There, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric occupants.

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The inhabitants of the tree, capable of transporting visitors to fantastical far-off lands, will be played by Nicole Coughlan...

Jennifer Saunders, Hiran Abeysekera and Pippa Bennett-Warner have signed on to star in the upcoming film adaptation of Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree.

The film is currently shooting in England at Shinfield Studios. Adapted by BAFTA Award-winner Simon Farnaby, the movie is directed by Ben Gregor.

The film is produced by Academy Award-nominee Pippa Harris and Nicolas Brown of Neal Street Productions, along with Danny Perkins (Greatest Days) of Elysian Film Group, and Jane Hooks. Executive Producers include Ashland Hill Media Finance’s Simon Williams, Joe Simpson, Jonathan Bross, and Palisades Park Pictures’ Tamara Birkemoe.

Ashland Hill Media Finance is fully financing The Magic Faraway Tree.

British icon Jennifer Saunders has joined the star-studded cast for the film adaptation of Enid Blyton‘s beloved children’s book, The Magic Faraway Tree.

Hiran Abeysekera (The Life of Pi, The Father and the Assassin) and Pippa Bennett-Warner (Gangs of London, See How They Run, Chloe) will also feature alongside the previously announced cast of Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Nicola Coughlan and Jessica Gunning.

From Neal Street Productions, Elysian Film Group and Ashland Hill Media Finance, The Magic Faraway Tree is currently shooting.

Based on the Faraway Tree series of novels for children, the film follows Polly (Foy) and Tim Thompson (Garfield) and their children, Beth, Joe and Fran, who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. “There, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric occupants,” a plot synopsis reads.

Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous, Shrek 2) has been cast in the role of the children’s ruthless Grandma.

Jennifer Saunders (“Absolutely Fabulous”), Laurence Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera (“The Life of Pi”) and Pippa Bennett-Warner (“Gangs of London”) have joined the cast of the film adaptation of Enid Blyton’s “The Magic Faraway Tree,” which is currently in production.

The film, based on Blyton’s beloved “The Faraway Tree” series, follows the Thompson family as they move to the English countryside and discover a magical tree. The fantastical tree’s residents transport visitors to distant lands, setting the stage for a series of whimsical adventures.

Saunders has been cast as the children’s grandmother, Abeysekera as the Angry Pixie, and Bennett-Warner as the grandmother’s assistant, Hannah. Newcomers Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Billie Gadsdon and Phoenix Laroche will play the Thompson children.

These actors join previously announced cast members Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Nicola Coughlan, Jess Gunning, Nonso Anozie, Dustin Demri Jones, Mark Heap, Oliver Chris, Lenny Henry, Simon Russell Beale and Michael Palin.

Life of Pi, the Tony-winning play based on Yann Martel’s best-selling novel, will close this July.

The show will play its last performance on July 23 at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, with Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera portraying lead character Pi Patel through July 9. Cast member Uma Paranjpe will then take over the role, beginning July 11 until the show closes, in a gender-reversed version of Lolita Chakrabarti’s original script. The show’s closing comes less than fourth months after its official opening.

Life of Pi, which was also adapted into an Academy Award-winning movie, is set to launch a North American tour beginning in fall 2024, with locations and dates to be announced at a later date.

Written by Chakrabarti and directed by Max Webster, the play opened on March 30, 2023 following previews, which began on March 9. The story follows a 16-year-old Indian boy, Pi Patel, who survives more than 200 days...

Life of Pi, Lolita Chakrabarti’s stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel, will play its final Broadway performance on Sunday, July 23.

The closing date was announced by producers today. Hiran Abeysekera, who won an Olivier Award for his role as the title character Pi Patel, will play his final Broadway performance on Sunday, July 9, with cast member Uma Paranjpe taking over the role on Tuesday, July 11.

Paranjpe’s Pi will be portrayed as female in a gender-flipped version of Chakrabarti’s original script.

A North American tour of Life of Pi is scheduled to launch in fall of 2024, with locations and dates to be announced.

The play opened at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on March 30. It recently won three Tony Awards for its scenic design, lighting and costumes, a more modest showing than the nine Olivier Awards – including Best New Play and Best Featured Actor (Abeysekera) – for its West End staging.

Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel Life Of Pi on Jun 11th! Life Of Pi, which won Best Lighting Design of a Play, Best Scenic Design of a Play, and Best Sound Design of a Play, is the first Broadway play with a majority South Asian cast/creative team to win 3 Tony Awards.

Life Of Pi is an epic tale of adventure that is “giving new life to Broadway” (The Today Show). After a shipwreck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi survives on a lifeboat with four companions— a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Royal Bengal tiger. This remarkable story of hope, faith, and perseverance speaks to every generation. Told through incomparable puppetry and exquisite stagecraft, Life Of Pi creates a visually breathtaking journey that will leave you filled with awe and joy.

By Matthew Murphy...

Winners of the 2023 Drama League Awards were announced on Friday, May 19, 2023, at an in-person ceremony, hosted by Emmy-winning reporter Frank Dilella at The Ziegfeld Ballroom. The Drama League Awards honor both Broadway and Off-Broadway productions from the 2022-2023 theater season.

“Leopoldstadt” asserted itself as the dominant play of the season, picking up the Best Play prize. Tom Stoppard’s drama has been perched atop Gold Derby’s Tony Awards odds since we launched the prediction center. With Tony favorite “Kimberly Akimbo” out of the running for Best Musical (the Drama League already considered that tuner for its Off-Broadway run), “Some Like it Hot” cruised to a win in that category. It prevailed over four of its fellow Tony nominees: “& Juliet,” “New York, New York,” and “Shucked.”

The Drama League bolstered the Tony prospects of “A Doll’s House” by bestowing it with the Best Revival of a Play prize. But the...

Some of the biggest names of Broadway (and Hollywood) won’t be receiving those phone calls of congratulations today as this morning’s Tony Awards nominations included more than a few surprising — or, in some cases, not surprising — omissions.

Aaron Sorkin, whose rewritten book for the classic musical Camelot was not beloved by critics, didn’t get any Tony approval today. His revisions were extensive enough to make him eligible in the Best Book of a Musical category, but he is not among the nominees.

As for lead actors and actresses, Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan, the bold-name stars of The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, were overlooked, as was The Piano Lesson‘s John David Washington and Pictures From Home‘s Nathan Lane. Marcel Spears, the star of the acclaimed Fat Ham, was not nominated, nor was Olivier Award winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi). Jefferson Mays, so...

With 38 productions eligible for this year’s Tony Awards, there were plenty of names missing when nominations were announced on Tuesday morning. Among the most surprising 2023 Tony nominations snubs was “Life of Pi” for Best Play. The production earned nine Olivier Award nominations across the pond, winning Best New Play, Actor (Hiran Abeysekera), Featured Actor, Lighting Design and Set Design. But at the Tonys, it missed out on a Best Play bid and didn’t score a nomination for Abeysekera. The production did perform well in the design categories, though, earning five nominations including for director Max Webster.

See the complete list of 2023 Tony Awards nominees

A duo of play revivals also underperformed. The latest production of Arthur Miller‘s “Death of a Salesman” did earn a significant nomination for Best Actor for Wendell Pierce, but it missed out on major bids for Best Revival of a Play, Featured Actress...

The Tony Awards Administration Committee met on April 28, for the third and final time during the 2022-2023 Broadway season, to discuss the eligibility of 11 productions for the 76th Annual Tony Awards. This year’s ceremony will be held at the United Palace in Washington Heights, and will broadcast live on Sunday, June 11, 2023, on the CBS Television Network, and stream live and on demand on Paramount+. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

The productions under discussion were: “Life of Pi,” “Shucked,” “Fat Ham,” “Camelot,” “Peter Pan Goes Wrong,’ “The Thanksgiving Play,” “Prima Facie,” “Good Night, Oscar,” “Summer, 1976,” “New York, New York,” and “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window.”

See 2023 Tony Awards eligibility rulings (round 2): Stephen McKinley Henderson, Linedy Genao confirmed as lead actors

The following determinations were made:

Hiran Abeysekera will be considered eligible in the Lead Actor in a Play...

The Outer Critics Circle (Occ), the official organization of writers on New York theatre for out-of-town newspapers and national publications, today announced the nominees for the 72nd Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards, honoring the 2022-2023 Broadway and Off-Broadway season.

“New York, New York” received a major backing from this announcement, which coincides with the production’s opening night. The new musical with songs from John Kander, the late Fred Ebb and Lin-Manuel Miranda earned a whopping 12 nominations, the most of any production. “Some Like it Hot” trails just behind it with 10 nominations. The most nominated plays of the season are the Off-Broadway sensation “Downstate” and Broadway epic “Leopoldstadt,” both with six nominations apiece.

This is the first season with newly reconstructed acting categories, which have removed gender specifications, and have been expanded to separately include off-Broadway performers. In the previous configuration, actors in Broadway and off-Broadway productions competed in the same category.

Seventeen-year-old Pi Patel (Hiran Abeysekera) sets sail on a Japanese cargo from Pondacherry, India bound for Canada with his family and a menagerie of animals from his family zoo.

The Life of Pi, a play based on Yann Martel‘s award-winning novel now playing on Broadway, is light of plot but heavy on the exploration of the human spirit.

After the cargo ship goes down in rough seas, Pi and a Bengal Tiger, named Richard Parker, are adrift on a raft lost at sea locked in a battle over life itself. What happened next is a bit of the mystery that the play attempts to untangle as Pi is questioned by an emissary for the Canadian embassy and the representative of the Japanese Transportation Department.

Using beautiful abstract stage puppeteers, the animals come to life with a bit of magical realism as Pi offers a fantastical version of events. After his inquisitors doubt the story,...

Exclusive: There’s some seriously scary stuff going on at London’s National Theatre as the venue prepares for a musical version of Roald Dahl’s The Witches that will feature book and lyrics by playwright Lucy Kirkwood, who’s also an executive consultant on Succession.

Music and lyrics are by Dave Malloy, who won acclaim for the book and score he wrote for Broadway show Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.

The show is a co-production between the National and the Roald Dahl Story Company.

Katherine Kingsley (The Larkins) will play the Grand High Witch, whose only objective is to eliminate all children from the planet and turn them into mice. “She’s a tyrannical narcissist, truly she’s really evil. There’s no escaping the fact that she’s a bad person,” Kingsley told us.

“It’s a great role,” she laughed. “There’s a lot of fun to be had with her,...

When a character promises a life story so inspirational it’ll make a believer of an atheist, the tale better come through on some big-time convincing. Life of Pi, Lolita Chakrabarti’s stage adaption of Yann Martel’s heart-tugging 2001 novel opening tonight at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, won’t likely be churning out any religious converts, but renewed faith in the art of puppetry is all but guaranteed.

Starring the winning young actor Hiran Abeysekera, reprising his Olivier Award-winning London turn as the title character, Life of Pi, directed by Max Webster, sticks closer to the novel than to Ang Lee’s 2012 film adaptation, building the plot around a maritime investigation rather than the writing of a book – and, of course, replacing CGI beasties with enough fully articulated life-size puppets to populate a zoo, or at least a lifeboat. All aboard, at one time or another, are a hyena,...

When surveying the outstanding crop of plays this Broadway season and attempting to make early guesses as to which ones will snag Tony nominations, I can only sum it up as “absolutely insane.” Luckily, trusted Gold Derby contributor David Buchanan joins me in a new video slugfest to hash out all the possibilities.

Though he concurs that this intensely crowded field is difficult to pare down. A whopping 17 new plays and 5 revivals will compete for top honors at the 2023 Tony Awards. Watch the full video above to find out which plays David and I believe will make the cut before logging your own predictions.

David and I begin the conversation as a united front, both picking Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” as the current frontrunner for Best Play. It’s a positively massive success with both critics and audiences and offers a hauntingly poignant look at a Jewish family as they...

Friends, Romans, theater lovers, lend me your ears! The 2023 Tony Awards nominations prediction center is now open, with 23 plays competing for Broadway’s top honors. Be sure to log your early predictions now to see if you can pick which dramas will win over the Tony voters.

Best Play is always a crowded field thanks to a slew of limited engagements that pepper the Broadway calendar, and this season is no different. 18 new works will attempt to be singled out as one of the five nominees.

“Leopoldstat” opened in October to a rapturous response from critics and audiences. It’s the latest drama from Tom Stoppard, who has won this category more than any other playwright. Featuring a vast ensemble cast which includes David Krumholtz, Brandon Uranowitz, and Faye Castelow, the gut wrenching story follows a Jewish family over multiple generations. It’s one of the rare straight plays that...

Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling stage adaption of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel Life Of Pi will premiere at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street) in March! The five-time Olivier Award-winning, Life Of Pi, begins performances Thursday, March 9, 2023, and opens Thursday, March 30, 2023.

Based on one of the best-loved works of fiction – winner of the Man Booker Prize, selling over fifteen million copies worldwide – Life Of Pi is a breath-taking new theatrical adaptation of an epic journey of endurance and hope.

After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with four other survivors – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. Time is against them; nature is harsh. Who will survive?

The cast for the Broadway production has been announced and it includes some of the cast from the original London West End production.

Hiran Abeysekera, who won the 2022 Best Actor Olivier Award for his performance of the title character in the London stage production of Lolita Chakrabarti’s Life of Pi, will lead the Broadway cast when the play arrives at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre next month.

Joining him will be Fred Davis and Scarlet Wilderink, who shared the Olivier for Best Supporting Actor as the puppeteers behind “Richard Parker” the tiger.

Life of Pi begins performances Thursday, March 9, at the Schoenfeld, with an opening night of Thursday, March 30.

Based on Yann Martel’s best-selling novel, Chakrabarti’s stage adaptation won a total of five Oliviers including Best New Play. In addition to Abeysekera, Davis and Wilderink, the Broadway cast will feature Brian Thomas Abraham as Cook/Voice of “Richard Parker,” Rajesh Bose as Father and Avery Glymph, Mahira Kakkar, Kirstin Louie, Salma Qarnain, Sathya Sridharan, Daisuke Tsuji, and Sonya Venugopal.

Also in the cast: Nikki Calonge,...

A revival of Kander and Ebb musical Cabaret was the big winner at Sunday’s Olivier Awards in London. Cabaret At The Kit Kat Club scooped seven of the prestigious trophies, including Best Musical Revival and Best Actor and Actress in a Musical for Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley, respectively. Redmayne plays the Emcee while Buckley is Sally Bowles. (Scroll down for the full list of winners).

Held at the Royal Albert Hall, the Oliviers ceremony was the first time the event took place in person since the start of Covid. It was also an opportunity for host Jason Manford to get in some references to the recent Oscars ceremony scandal. According to the BBC, Manford appeared on stage before the proceedings began and quipped, “There will be moments where I’ve got to fill a bit of time when they’re changing the set, so I’ll come out...

The West End production of Cabaret featuring Eddie Redmayne leads the roster of 2022 Olivier Awards nominations released Tuesday, with the musical revival scoring 11 nominations.

Winners will be announced April 10 at London’s Royal Albert Hall, marking the first in-person ceremony for the Oliviers since Covid hit two years ago.

See the complete list of nominations below.

In addition to Redmayne, who was nominated in the Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as the Emcee, Cabaret was nominated for Best Musical Revival, as well as nods for actors Jessie Buckley, Liza Sadovy and Elliot Levey. Also nominated were the revival’s costume and scenic designs, sound design, choreography and lighting.

Sutton Foster, currently co-starring with Hugh Jackman in Broadway’s The Music Man, earned a Best Actress in a Musical nomination for her portrayal of Reno Sweeney in the West End revival of Anything Goes.

The complete list of...

Bernard Cribbins! Matt Lucas! Maxine Peake! The BBC has announced an impressive cast for Russell T Davies’ Midsummer Night’s Dream…

Russell T Davies is returning to the BBC’s Doctor Who base in Cardiff. But he’ll be dabbling in Shakespeare, not spaceships. The cast for his new version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been announced.

For Who fans, the most exciting news is a reunion between Russell T Davies and Bernard Cribbins, who will play Tom Snout, an amateur performer who memorably portrays a wall in a play within the play. Let's hope Cribbins isn't bricking it, eh?

Elsewhere in the cast, you’ve got Maxine Peake as Titania, Matt Lucas as Bottom, and John Hannah as Theseus. Eleanor Matsuura of Spooks will play Hippolyta and Hiran Abeysekera (seen in Lion In The Tent) will portray Puck.

Cucumber alum Fisayo Akinade has been cast as Flute,...