Michelle Gayle: ‘They said don’t leave EastEnders – I never regretted it’

From Grange Hill to the West End, via Eurovision and the Brit awards, the star has built multiple careers. She talks about stage-school pressure, TV diversity and playing Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed ChildMichelle Gayle was 10 months into her role as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child last March – and in such full swing that she was in “total denial” of the pandemic – when the West End closed its doors. Sitting in a chintzy backroom of the Palace theatre now, she talks in athletic terms about 12-hour rehearsal days and re-building her stamina. The whole cast is ecstatic to be back, she says, but they are also whispering about how tired they feel.Exhaustion aside, she speaks of her debt to Noma Dumezweni, whose casting in 2016 sparked online outrage from some at the prospect of a Black Hermione. JK Rowling piled in to the furore to defend the casting and call out the complaints as racist. Dumezweni won an Olivier award for the part. “I owe her a lot of gratitude – I’m standing on her shoulders,” says Gayle. “She got through that [time] with incredible grace and proved she was there on merit because she’s a bloody good actress but she had to take a big hit online to do that. When someone of the quality of Noma steps up, no one’s got anything more to say and then the conversation’s dead. It’s a shame that you have to be brilliant to end that conversation, but there are enough brilliant black actors out there.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-10-13 08:41:05 UTC ]
News tagged with: #hermione granger #cursed child #full swing #palace theatre #harry potter

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Blackwell's system outage leaves website down for a week

A systems outage which caused severe IT problems for Blackwell's is still affecting the bookseller's website a week after the problem first appeared, although recovery work is now underway. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-05 10:24:39 UTC ]
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Systems outage leaves Blackwell's offline for three days

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-30 14:23:27 UTC ]
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After 22 Years, Gayl Jones Returns

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[ The New York Times | 2021-09-14 09:00:08 UTC ]
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Cugnoni leaves Vintage after publisher role made redundant

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-13 21:28:52 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-13 17:02:23 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-07 04:16:32 UTC ]
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Art as a “Catalyst for Conversations”: A Conversation with Philbrook Curator Susan Green, by Michelle Johnson

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[ World Literature Today | 2021-07-15 19:45:53 UTC ]
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Grisham made SPCK group publishing director as two leave in restructure

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-09 06:44:57 UTC ]
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Michelle Zauner will score the film adaptation of her own memoir, Crying in H Mart.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-06-08 14:46:24 UTC ]
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Andrew Weber Will Leave Macmillan

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Segura Leaves Archie to Join Oni-Lion Forge

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First Gayl Jones Novel in 20 Years Is Coming This Fall

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Michelle Williams Faces Up to Depression

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Chrissy Teigen leaves Twitter, citing abuse and hate on the platform

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[ The Guardian | 2021-03-25 12:40:11 UTC ]
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Cohen Leaves Quirk Books, Kupihea Moves Up

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Loh Leaving Bloomsbury Amid Restructuring

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-02-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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RNA unveils award shortlists and honours Gayle

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