Michael Sheen as David Frost in the film 'Frost/Nixon'
Top actor Michael Sheen has sent a message of support for a production of ‘Frost/Nixon’ which has its national premiere by a non-professional company when it is presented by Newport Playgoers at the Dolman Theatre this month.
In a letter to the play’s director, Alex Wilson, the actor, wrote, “‘Frost/Nixon’ is a great play, and we all had tremendous pleasure in developing the work on both stage and screen. I am sure that you, too, will thrill to the challenge of performing a marvellous piece of theatre in the lovely Dolman auditorium.’
Alex commented, “It was marvellous to have this message of support from such a highly respected actor as Michael, who has very close associations with ‘Frost/Nixon’, having played David Frost both onstage and in the best-selling film.
Thomas Hockey as David Frost and Stephen Saunders as Richard Nixon
“Everyone at Newport Playgoers is very to proud to be presenting the national premiere of this engrossing, thought-provoking and humorous ticking time bomb of a thriller which centres on the events leading up to the interviews that Frost conducted with Richard Nixon in 1977, almost three years after he had resigned as President to avoid impeachment following the Watergate affair,” he added.
Peter Morgan’s play focuses on the story of how those historic interviews came about, and how they played out, asking the question: how did David Frost, a famous British talk show host with a playboy reputation, elicit the apology that the rest of the world was waiting to hear from former President Richard Nixon?
Stephen Saunders as Richard Nixon and Thomas Hockey as David Frost
With Frost’s career on a downward spiral and risking everything, Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place back in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost’s team harboured doubts about their boss’s ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted and over the course of their encounter, each man would reveal his own insecurities, ego and reserves of dignity – ultimately setting aside posturing in a stunning display of unvarnished truth.
‘Frost/Nixon’ by Peter Morgan, the highly acclaimed screenwriter of ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ and ‘The Queen’, is at the Dolman Theatre from 15 – 19 November. Tickets can be booked by phoning the box office on 01633 263670 or visiting www.dolmantheatre.co.uk.
Newport Playgoers 