A place to update visitors with the latest news and information about Christopher Eccleston and his work and also to inform visitors about any updates/additions to my Chris related website.
Christopher Eccleston, says his Northern accent held him back when trying to secure Shakespearean roles on stage.
The actor star says there is a perception in the industry that "people like me can't be classical".
Eccleston was born into a working class family on a council estate in Salford in Lancashire in 1964.
He will appear as Macbeth in a new production at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon, but he had to ask for the role.
"I'm never offered Shakespeare," he says. "I went after this. Nobody offered it me. I went after it."
He wrote "an old-fashioned letter" to the artistic director of the RSC, Gregory Doran.
"I said, since I was 17 I've always wanted to play Macbeth at the Royal Shakespeare Company. So can I do it?"
But the 54-year-old resents having to ask for roles.
"I should have been offered more but I didn't go the right university or the public schools. It needs to change," he adds.
He has played one other Shakespeare role on stage - Hamlet at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2002.
But nothing since. And he is convinced his background is to blame.
"I think the people who run some of the big established theatres, particularly in London, they associate Shakespeare with white, middle-class men.
"It's discrimination and I loathe it."
And for fans of his work on television, including Cracker and Our Friends in the North, and on film in Shallow Grave and 28 Days Later, Christopher Eccleston has a surprising confession.
"I became a television actor and a film actor by default. But if I'd been offered the big classic roles which I wanted to do, I'd have done them.
"I've had a passionate love of Shakespeare since I was 17, but in a way, it's like the love that dare not mention its name."
Nonetheless, despite the fact it makes him "very angry", Christopher Eccleston says he is "fortunate" because he is white and male.
"It's a lot more difficult for women," he adds.
And for that reason he thinks gender blind casting is "the greatest thing to happen to British theatre since William Shakespeare wrote his plays".
"The fact that there are women who will one day play Macbeth and play Hamlet, with no second thought, is the most wonderful thing," he says.
"But women still struggle. The roles are not there. There is still a long, long way to go."
Christopher Eccleston played the ninth incarnation of the Doctor when the show returned to BBC One after 16 years.
He welcomes the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the first female star of Doctor Who.
"She will be the best Doctor. I mean why did they have to wait so long?"
He says the role has been played by "too many skinny white men like me," before adding: " I absolutely loved playing the character and I'm so glad it's being reinvented."
Emma Thompson and Jim Broadbent also feature in the cast.
Christopher Eccleston and Andrew Scott are among the big stars who will be joining Anthony Hopkins in BBC Two's all-star King Lear adaptation.
Emma Thompson and Jim Broadbent will also feature in the drama, which begins shooting later this month.
Based on William Shakespeare's well-known tragedy and directed by Richard Eyre, King Lear follows the eponymous ruler (Hopkins) who presides over a totalitarian military dictatorship in a fictional present-day England.
Thompson, Emily Watson and Florence Pugh play Lear's three daughters Goneril, Regan and Cordelia.
In addition, the cast includes Tobias Menzies (Outlander), Anthony Calf (New Tricks), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey), John Macmillan (Hanna) and Karl Johnson (Rome).
The project is a co-production between the BBC and Amazon Studios. Amazon Prime Video has US and German rights, and will also air the drama in the UK after its first showing on BBC Two.
"It is a tribute to the great Richard Eyre that we have brought together such a remarkable cast," said executive producers Colin Callender and Sonia Friedman. "The film is a testament to the BBC's on-going commitment to the single drama, and we are very appreciative of their continued support.
"We are particularly excited to be working with Amazon and their support for the film reflects their emergence as a leading global brand of top-quality drama."
CHRISTOPHER Eccleston will make his RSC debut in Stratford next year as Macbeth.
The former Dr Who will be joined by Niamh Cusack as Lady Macbeth in the Polly Findlay directed production announced among the summer 2018 season.
There will also be productions of Romeo and Juliet and The Merry Wives of Windsor; alongside John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi, a revival of a 17th century play by little-known Mary Pix, The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich, and Miss Littlewood, a new musical by Sam Kenyon based on the life of theatre revolutionary, Joan Littlewood.
RSC artistic director Gregory Doran's 2016 production of King Lear will also join the Royal Shakespeare Theatre repertoire for a limited season after an international tour.
Mr Doran said "There is something for everyone here, for the young and the young at heart."
Macbeth (March 13 to September 22) – Shakespeare's dark tragedy of power and revenge is directed by Polly Findlay whose last RSC production was The Alchemist in 2016. Christopher Eccleston makes his RSC debut in the title role of the bloody king in this contemporary psychological thriller. His recent work includes the television series Safe House and The A Word, and Antigone at the National Theatre in 2012. He is joined by Niamh Cusack as Lady Macbeth. Niamh was last at the RSC in 1996 as Rosalind in As You Like It directed by Steven Pimlott. Niamh's recent theatre work includes The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time at the National Theatre/West End, and The Winter's Tale at Shakespeare's Globe.
Romeo and Juliet (April 21 to September 22) – Directed by RSC deputy artistic director, Erica Whyman, and set in a world very like our own, this Romeo and Juliet is about a generation of young people born into violence and ripped apart by the bitter divisions of their parents. The most famous story of love at first sight explodes with intense passion and an irresistible desire for change, but leads all too quickly to heart-breaking consequences. Young people from RSC Associate Schools around the country will share the role of the Chorus with the professional cast. The production is designed by Tom Piper and will tour in 2019.
The Merry Wives of Windsor (August 4 to September 20) – Down on his luck in the suburbs, John Falstaff plans to hustle his way to a comfortable retirement by seducing the wives of two wealthy men. Unknown to him, it's the women of Windsor who really pull the strings, orchestrating Falstaff's comeuppance amidst a theatrical smorgasbord of petty rivalries, jealousies and over-inflated egos. For a fat Englishman, a Welshman and a Frenchman, the only way is Windsor. Fiona Laird makes her directing debut for the RSC and David Troughton takes on the role of Falstaff after his acclaimed Titus Andronicus as part of the Rome season.
King Lear (May 23 to June 9) Antony Sher reprises his acclaimed title role of the acclaimed production which was first seen in the RST and at the Barbican in 2016. It returns to the RST after an international tour.
The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster (March 1 to August 4) – Written in 1612, this macabre tragedy by Webster is loosely based on events that occurred between about 1508 and 1513. In an attempt to prevent the fiercely independent Duchess from marrying the man she loves, her brutally corrupt brothers go on a disturbing quest to destroy her. Remarkable for its inventive and grotesque violence, yet full of dark humour, this violent revenge tragedy asks how anyone can survive in a world where masculinity has become toxic. Directed by Maria Aberg.
The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich (or The Beau Defeated) by Mary Pix (March 22 to June 16) – Mrs Rich, a wealthy widow, aspires to rub shoulders with the great and good and perhaps even gain a title. Unfortunately, she's not the only one after Sir John Roverhead. Pix's comedy of manners combines mischief-making and mind-bending plot twists with a sharp satirical and distinctly female wit. Her colourful cast of characters dupe and dissemble as the intrigue builds. Will Mrs Rich ever squeeze her way into high society? Directed by Jo Davies.
Miss Littlewood, book, music and lyrics by Sam Kenyon (June 22 to August 4) – Joan Littlewood was the anarchic revolutionary of 20th century theatre. Born into poverty, she raged her way to have lasting influence on British culture. Anti-establishment, communist, visionary, rude and glorious, Joan fired the imagination of a generation. Her unique Theatre Workshop was responsible for a raft of successes including Oh, What A Lovely War!, A Taste of Honey and The Hostage, and breathed new life into the then-derelict Theatre Royal Stratford East . This new musical of Joan's life story, told with her own uncompromising candour, reveals a mighty love story at its heart. Directed by Erica Whyman.
I’ve jut uploaded Chris’ excerpts from the ‘Oh For A Muse of Fire Shakespeare documentary which was shown last night on BBC4, it can be found in the Videos section of my Chris website.
Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch and Christopher Eccleston have joined the starry cast for The National Theatre of Great Britain's 50th anniversary celebration "LIVE FROM The National Theatre: 50 YEARS ON STAGE," directed by Nicholas Hytner. This special event will be broadcast by National Theatre Live to cinemas internationally on Saturday, November 2, 2013 (with many encore dates in U.S. cities). From Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to The History Boys, from Antony and Cleopatra to Angels in America, from Guys and Dolls to London Road, this will be a thrilling evening of live performance and rare glimpses from the archive, featuring many of the most celebrated actors who have performed on their stages over the past five decades.
The next National Theatre Live broadcast will be the premiere of the Manchester International Festival's production of MACBETH, directed by Rob Ashford & Kenneth Branagh. This "Captured Live" Broadcast will launch on October 17, 2013(with many encore dates in U.S. cities following the October 17 re-broadcast). Kenneth Branagh returns to the stage for his first Shakespearean role in over a decade, taking the title role in Manchester International Festival's production of Macbeth, with Alex Kingston ("Dr. Who," "ER") as Lady Macbeth. This tragic tale of ambition and treachery unfolds within the walls of an intimate deconsecrated Manchester church. Macbeth from Manchester International Festival marks National Theatre Live's first festival partnership and fourth broadcast from outside The National Theatre. This production of Macbeth was commissioned and produced by Manchester International Festival, where it played in July 2013.
