Everything you need to know about All About Eve
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Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels
(Updated on Oct 4, 2018)
Fans of black-and-white movies were more than likely delighted with the announcement today that the highly anticipated adaptation of the multi-award-winning 1950 film, All About Eve, would be making its world premiere at the Noel Coward Theatre next year. X-Files star Gillian Anderson and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!’s Lily James have been confirmed to star in the lead roles of All About Eve as Margo Channing and Eve Harrington respectively. The film was adapted for the stage by Tony Award-winning Belgian director Ivo van Hove. For all you need to know about All About Eve, read our handy guide below.
Pictured: Eve Harrington (Lily James) stands under the spotlight of aging Broadway actress Margo Channing (Gillian Anderson), waiting to put Margo’s acting career to rest in this cutthroat drama
What is All About Eve all about? Is the All About Eve play the same as the 1950 film?
The story follows Margo Channing (Gillian Anderson), currently one of Broadway’s biggest A-List stars, who has just turned forty years old. One night, after her performance in Aged in Wood, she meets one of her biggest fans, Eve Harrington (Lily James), who tells Margo a sob story of growing up in a poor Wisconsin family and losing her husband in the Second World War. Moved by Eve’s touching story, Margo decides to hire her as her assistant. However, things begin to spiral out of control when Margo, worried about how her advancing age will affect the future of her acting, begins growing suspicious that Eve is secretly trying to sabotage her career.
As far as we know, the play is not a loose adaption and will mostly stay true to the plot of its 1950 predecessor.
Who is starring in All About Eve?
The All About Eve cast features Gillian Anderson as Margo Channing, Lily James as Eve Harrington, Monica Dolan as Karen Richards, Rhashan Stone as Lloyd Richards, Sheila Reid as Birdie and Julian Ovenden. Further casting will be announced in due course.
Gillian Anderson is widely known for starring alongside David Duchovny as Special Agent Dana Scully on The X-Files, for which she won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and two Screen Actors’ Guild awards for the role. In addition to her many television roles such, Anderson is also a highly prolific stage actress and has appeared in What The Night Is For at the Harold Pinter Theatre, The Sweetest Swing at the Royal Court Theatre and A Doll’s House at the Donmar Warehouse, which earned her an Olivier Award nomination. Her critically acclaimed portrayal as Blanche DuBoise in A Streetcar Named Desire earned her a Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress.
Lily James is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama who received her breakout film role in the 2015 live-action remake of Disney’s Cinderella. She most recently appeared in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! as Young Donna, starring alongside Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried and Cher. Her stage credits include Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the Garrick Theatre, Desdemona in Othello, and Vernon God Little at the Young Vic Theatre.
Monica Dolan is a BAFTA Award-winning actress who is known for appearing in the 2015 BBC/HBO miniseries, The Casual Vacancy, adapted from J.K. Rowling’s hit novel. Her stage credits include King Lear, Macbeth, and The Walls.
Sheila Reid is an Olivier Award-nominated actress who has appeared in When I Was A Girl I Used To Scream And Shout, The Importance of Being Earnest, and, most recently, Rasheeda Speaking at Trafalgar Studios. She is perhaps best-known for starring as Madge on Benidorm.
Rhashan Stone is best-known for appearing in Love and Information and Clubland at the Royal Court Theatre and in Sweeney Todd. He has regularly performed for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, the West Yorkshire Playhouse and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Julian Ovenden is an opera singer and actor who trained in music at New College, Oxford. He is perhaps best-known for starring in Netflix's The Crown and in Downtown Abbey. His most notable stage credits include My Night With Reg and Finding Neverland. His singing career is highly successful and he has performed at the prestigious BBC Proms Festival at the Royal Albert Hall and made his singing debut at Carnegie Hall in 2014.
Who are the creatives for All About Eve?
All About Eve is adapted and directed by Ivo van Hove and will feature music by two-time Mercury Prize-winner PJ Harvey, lighting design by Jan Versweyyeld, costume design by An D’Huys, sound design by Tom Gibbons and casting by Julia Horan.
When and where is All About Eve going to run?
All About Eve opens for previews at the Noel Coward Theatre on 2 February 2019 and will play for 14 weeks before finishing its run on 11 May 2019.
When will All About Eve tickets go on sale?
All About Eve tickets will go on sale on Friday, 28 September 2018.
What else is there to know about All About Eve?
The 1950 Twentieth Century Fox film, All About Eve, is ranked among one of the greatest American films of all time and appeared at #16 on AFI’s 1998 list of the Top 100 Best American Films. It made Oscar history when it became the first and only film to receive four female Oscar nominations. It was released in the same year as Sunset Boulevard, which starred 1920's silent film actress Gloria Swanson and is famous for its "I'm ready for my close-up" scene. Due to the film also being about the entertainment industry, many comparisons were drawn between All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard.
The 1950 All About Eve film starred Bette Davis as Margo Channing and Anne Baxter as Eve Harrington. It is also known for featuring Marilyn Monroe before she rose to international stardom.
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