By Charlotte Griffiths

How did Prince Charles celebrate his 11th wedding anniversary with the Duchess of Cornwall?

By taking her to see a play about another Royal Charles with a passion for his mistress.

My spies spotted the couple at London’s Apollo Theatre to watch Gemma Arterton, starring as Charles II’s lover Nell Gwynn.

The Prince was riveted by the play while, according to cast member Michele Dotrice, ‘Camilla seemed to be having a great time larking about with her lady-in-waiting’.

Source

by David Hutchison – Apr 4, 2016

Comedy plays are often unfairly snubbed by theatre awards shows, Gemma Arterton has claimed.

Arterton, who was in the running for best actress at the Olivier Awards for her role in Nell Gwynn, told The Stage the problem also stretched further than theatre, with TV and film comedies also not getting due recognition.

The Shakespeare’s Globe production of Nell Gwynn was nominated for four awards, and won playwright Jessica Swale the award for best new comedy.

Speaking on the red carpet before the awards, Arterton said no one on the show’s team expected to be nominated “because our show’s a comedy”.

She added: “Comedies don’t usually get nominations and things. I think in general – TV, film and theatre – they get a bit overlooked. So we’re just really thrilled.”

Arterton was pipped by Denise Gough for the best actress prize. Gough took home the award for her role in the National Theatre’s drama People, Places and Things.

Speaking to The Stage, Arterton also claimed transferring new plays to the West End was vital in order to “get new talent out there”.

She said: “Luckily, our marginal theatre and fringe theatre and Off-West End theatre do develop plays from scratch. And we’re really lucky that theatres like the Royal Court, the Globe, the National get new talent out there – it’s so important.”

The actor suggested that new writing was the only way to create new theatre classics.

“I like the idea of Nell Gwynn being done for years and years and years to come, because it’s a timeless play. And the same with all these new plays that are coming up,” she said.

Source

Back on Friday, February 12, the Nell Gwynn Opening Night took place at the Apollo Theatre in London, followed by the after party at the Crypt St Martins. Gemma looked amazing, and the play is also having GREAT reviews! Wish I was in London for seeing it!! For now, enjoy these pictures of the curtains call and the after party :)

It’s Nell Gwynn opening night! We wish Gemma and all the cast and crew the best of luck for tonight! In the meantime, be sure to check some addition to the gallery: new rehearsals and production shots pics! For more, be sure to visit the Nell Gwynn Official Facebook and Twitter!

By Naomi Gordon

Gemma Arterton is really looking forward to her upcoming movie She Who Brings Gifts, but insists she’s not playing against type – she’s just not wearing any make-up.

The dystopian horror is based on Mike Carey’s critically-acclaimed novel The Girl with All the Gifts, and Arterton plays maternal psychologist Helen Justineau.

“I’m really excited about this film,” the 30-year-old told Digital Spy. “The script is written by the author Mike Carey and it’s his first screenplay.

“The lead girl [Sennia Nanua] in it is just wonderful. She gives a heartbreaking and beautiful performance. And it’s very realistic within its futuristic setting.

“Everyone thinks I’m playing against my type – I’m not, I’m just not wearing any make-up! I’m playing a very maternal strong character. And it’s got Glenn Close in it, who’s just brilliant, and Paddy Considine. So really great actors.” Read More

WILTS AND GLOUCESTERSHIRE STANDARD – Gemma Arterton said working on films can be “frustrating” and described her Bond girl days as “a distant memory” as she prepares to play one of Britain’s most celebrated actresses on the big stage.

The star is appearing in West End play Nell Gwynn, which charts the rise of an unlikely heroine from orange seller to celebrity.

Gemma will play the cheeky, charming and clever Nell – one of the first and most acclaimed women to appear on the London stage and who also won the heart of King Charles II in the 1600s.

Although she is an established film star with a number of movies due out in future, Gemma, 30, has a soft spot for theatre, admitting that she often finds film “quite frustrating”.

She told the Press Association: “I guess with theatre, you are the captain of your performance. You’re going out there every night and doing it, and it’s always different. And the audience are different.”

On the subject of film, she said: “And for an actor, I think, often I find it quite frustrating with film that you do your performance and then you give it to somebody else, and then they kind of cut it and decide what’s good and what’s not, and how they want to see it.”

Asked about how the exhilarating feeling of live theatre compares with the lifelong excitement of having been a Bond girl – she played Strawberry Fields in Quantum Of Solace in 2008 – Gemma said: “If I’m really honest with you, it feels kind of abstract all of that film stuff to me, because it’s done. Often by the time that a film comes out it was like two years ago that you shot it, so it’s like a distant memory, whereas when you’re doing a play, you’re living it and it’s happening, and then it’s gone and that’s it, then it’s done, it can never come back. If people saw it, they saw it, and if they didn’t then they will never see it again. Whereas with a film it’s sort of just sort of always there and following you around for the whole of your life. It’s a weird thing. Sometimes if I see myself in a magazine or something, I just think ‘well, that’s not me’.”

She likes to think her current role as Nell Gwynn is fate as she shares a birthday with her and grew up on a street named after her.

“When I started researching her, that was the first thing I saw – that her birthday was the 2nd of February. She’s 366 and I’m 30. Our birthdays were last week. It’s believed that her birthday’s on that day because someone did her birth chart,” Gemma said.

Asked if she thought it was fate that she would one day play this character, she said: “I don’t know. I mean, I like to see it that way because it gives me strength when I go out in front of 1,000 people every night playing her. But you know, I guess it’s coincidence.”

Gemma hopes to make good use of her time before going to the theatre every evening, and specifically wants to do more work with her production company.

She wants to get Brooklyn star Saoirse Ronan on board for a project in the near future, and joked: “Well, we hope we can still have her now that she’s this huge Oscar-nominated actress, but she’s a good friend, and she’s perfect for the role and she loves it. So hopefully we can get that going.” (source)

By Sheryl Garratt

It’s easy to like Gemma Arterton. She’s smart, funny and rarely afraid to speak her mind, so when she says she’s excited about her latest role, you know she means it. ‘I couldn’t resist it. It’s what we need in the West End right now: a bit of pep, a bit of witty comedy.’

It’s a freezing Monday morning at a rehearsal space in south-east London, and Gemma’s caught an early Eurostar from Paris – where she now lives much of the time – to start her second week of preparation for the West End run of Jessica Swale’s play Nell Gwynn.

Dressed in a grey mohair jumper, dark knee-length skirt, thick tights and suede boots – and with skin that glows despite little sign of make-up – she looks better than ever, with an added touch of Parisian polish. She approves of French style: ‘They know what suits them and they stick to it. It’s about knowing yourself, rather than following trends.’ Read More