One of the most read — and debated — stories from the Arts team this week was an interview with Oskar Eustis a day after he announced that he would step down as the artistic director of the Public Theater in 2028. The New York Times broke the news July 22 in an interview with Eustis in which he also said that the American nonprofit theater movement was over.
I followed up in a phone interview the next day and asked him to explain what he meant, which he did, noting that the broad consensus that nonprofit theater mattered to the country — a belief held by national endowments, state arts agencies, public policy institutes and corporate philanthropic departments — had disappeared. So, too, have many of those very same agencies and their budgets that provided funding to the arts. The case for sustaining any particular theater now comes down to that theater and how relevant and necessary it can make itself to its surrounding community, Eustis said.
There is never enough room in an article when you’ve had a good conversation with someone, so I thought I’d use the newsletter to publish a bit more of what Eustis shared with me. I was particularly interested in something he said about the Public’s famed Shakespeare in the Park program, which is free and takes place every summer at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Since its inception, more than 160 productions have been staged, reaching more than 6 million people.
The free tickets the Public gives away for these shows are “the prime driver of our income at the Public, and this has been true since our founding,” Eustis told me.
That may sound counterintuitive, but it goes directly to the case Eustis is making for modern nonprofit theaters to be as relevant as possible to their communities. Ticket sales will never bring in the kind of money theaters need to sustain a robust slate of diverse programming — that will always have to come from donors. These very same donors, Eustis said, are the ones who feel most excited to be sitting among the citizenry in Central Park, watching the beauty of public art unfold in a joyous communal atmosphere.
“It’s not just when they make a donation that they get to see the show,” said Eustis of uber-wealthy donors. “They absolutely viscerally feel that — sitting in that theater when 75% of the audience hasn’t paid a penny to be there — they are getting to be part of their dream city. They’re feeling, ‘Oh, this is what New York is supposed to feel like.’”
By giving away free Shakespeare in the Park tickets, Eustis said, the Public is “making an unbelievably powerful case for why we need subsidy … and that’s why the money comes, because we are [showing] that democratic access is more fun for a better city.”
I like the idea of free theater being more fun, and rich people paying for the privilege of being a part of that fun when it is so removed from their cordoned-off daily lives. But I do worry that so much of what we now rely on culturally comes down to the whims and fancies of a handful of ultra-rich patrons. Newspapers are run by them, public school art and music programs rely on them, as do museums, symphonies, ballets and operas.
As Eustis pointed out, these donors no longer represent a broad consensus that is channeled into a civic vision via government support, but that is precisely why the situation feels so precarious. We might be one serious AI-driven stock market crash from artistic oblivion.
I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt staring gloomily into the distance. This is your arts and culture news for the week.
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY
“Ulises Carrión, a bookwork in many places” exhibition at Joan Los Angeles.
(Evan Walsh)
Ulises Carrión, a bookwork in many places The exhibition, in its final two weeks, examines the Mexican-born conceptual artist’s influence on reimagined systems of exchange through printed matter by artists, librarians, publishers and alternative spaces. The show focuses on Southern California in particular, spanning the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, featuring artist books, correspondence, video and ephemera. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. Through Aug. 9. Joan, 1206 Maple Ave., Suite 715, Fashion District, downtown L.A. joanlosangeles.org
Puppet Up! Brian Henson’s adventurous stage show featuring improv and sketch comedy with the iconic Henson puppets and puppeteers is back for a limited eight-performance run. Also on tap is “A Conversation With Brian Henson,” a live presentation by the Emmy-winning producer, director and puppeteer about the rich history of the Jim Henson Company, 2 p.m. Sunday at the Montalbán. 8 p.m. Friday; 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday; 8 p.m. Aug. 7; 3 and 7 p.m. Aug. 8; and 5 p.m. Aug. 9. Ricardo Montalbán Theatre, 1615 Vine St. puppetup.com
Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks L.A.-based circus company Troupe Vertigo and the USC Trojan Marching Band join the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by France’s Chloe Dufresne, for the 1812 overture — with pyrotechnics. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
SATURDAY
A scene from “Acquaprofonda” at the Aquarium of the Pacific.”
(Andres Leon for Long Beach Opera)
Acquaprofonda: A Deep-Sea Opera for Families Long Beach Opera Education collaborates with the Aquarium of the Pacific for this free, family-friendly, 30-minute adventure about a young girl who finds an ailing whale and stands up for what’s right. Music by Giovanni Sollima, libretto by Giancarlo De Cataldo and English libretto by Elle Moody. Noon and 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Aug. 9. Aquarium of the Pacific, Honda Pacific Visions Theater, 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach. longbeachopera.org
Boleros De Noche The 10th annual celebration of romance, nostalgia and cultural pride features Puerto Rican singer iLe and a special performance by the L.A.-based trio Voz Bohemia. 8 p.m. Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East. theford.com
Free 4 All Claremont Lewis Museum of Art opens its doors for this annual one-day takeover by local artists who will display their work with no fees to exhibit and no gatekeepers to choose whose work gets seen. With live music by the Kamran Curlin Trio, Home Again Home Again and Coupe Deville. 1-8 p.m. Claremont Lewis Museum of Art, 200 W. First St., Claremont. clmoa.org
People of Pompeii A new comedy by Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award-winning playwright Bernardo Cubría, co-directed by Ellen Geer and Xochitl Romero, is set in Topanga Canyon itself and focuses on community in a time of climate catastrophe. Through Oct. 4. Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga. theatricum.com
Two Gentlebots of Verona The annual Actors’ Gang Free Shakespeare in the Park for Families features a cyber-inspired Shakespeare adaptation by Rynn Vogel, directed by Adam J. Jefferis. 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Aug. 23. Media Park, 9091 Culver Blvd., Culver City; noon, Aug. 29-30. Buena Vista Branch Library, 300 N. Buena Vista St., Burbank. theactorsgang.com
SUNDAY
Sidney Jacobs & the Monsters The jazz vocalist and his sextet perform original music with reimagined standards. 8 p.m. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org
St. Vincent with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra The six-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter guitarist goes orchestral with the HBO led by conductor Jules Buckley. 7 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
TUESDAY
Louis Langrée The French conductor leads the L.A. Phil in works from Felix Mendelssohn and Joseph Haydn on Tuesday at the Hollywood Bowl; two nights later, Langrée returns with pieces by Johannes Brahms, Georges Bizet and Louise Farrenc. Mendelssohn & Haydn, 8 p.m. Tuesday; Brahms & Bizet, 8 p.m. Thursday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
“Saint Luke” from Irmengard Codex shortly after 1053. German. Tempera colors, gold, and ink on parchment 22.2 × 18.7 cm (8 3/4 × 7 3/8 in.)
(Getty Museum)
The Making of a Medieval Manuscript If you ever wondered how the beautiful manuscripts in the Getty’s extensive collection were created, this is the exhibition for you. Tools and materials used illustrate each phase of the process from parchment making, writing and illuminating through the final binding. Christian manuscripts from Europe, Armenia and Ethiopia, plus objects of Jewish and Muslim origin, will also be on display, along with a video component. Through May 2, 2027. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu
WEDNESDAY
Kalean Ung as the Chanteuse in “The Comedy of Errors.”
(Mike Ditz)
The Comedy of Errors Melissa Chalsma directs Indie Shakes’ production of the Bard’s wordplay and slapstick set in a Mediterranean port town, with an original score. 7 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday; through Sept. 6. Old Zoo Picnic Area, Griffith Park. indieshakes.org/free-shakespeare-2026
THURSDAY
Annie and the Caldwells/The Campbell Brothers The Skirball concludes its 29th season of Sunset Concerts with this family-fueled pairing of disco soul and sacred steel gospel groups, respectively, plus DJ sets by Sonrisita. 7 p.m. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. skirball.org
JazzPOP 2026 The summer series marks its 19th season with three concerts showcasing West Coast creative jazz: Kasey Knudsen Sextet (Thursday); Malachi Whitson Quartet (Aug. 13); and Machado Mijiga Trio (Aug. 20). 8 p.m. Thursdays, through Aug. 20. UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. hammer.ucla.edu
— Kevin Crust
Retrospective
L.A. Times arts coverage from the the past …
Playwright/director Moises Kaufman of “The Laramie Project” was on the cover of Sunday Calendar, July 29, 2001.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
At the Heart of a Modern Tragedy
Sunday Calendar, July 29, 2001
NEW YORK — Moises Kaufman could not turn off the television. He could not put down the newspaper. Like much of America, he was mesmerized by the news of the horrific beating, robbery and eventual death in 1998 of Matthew Shepard, a gay university student attacked and left for dead by two young men near Laramie, Wyo.
“For the five days until he died, you couldn’t turn on a television or a radio and not hear about it,” says the 37-year-old playwright and director. “Matthew Shepard put a face on hate crimes. He was young, beautiful, starting his life. The nation as a whole said, ‘Oh, my God. What’s going on?’ ”
It was exactly the sort of question that Kaufman and his colleagues at the Tectonic Theater Project here try to ask, if not answer, onstage. So unlike much of America, Kaufman did not simply move on to the next news tragedy. The man who created the widely produced “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde” had found his next theater project. READ MORE
— Barbara Isenberg
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Artist Betye Saar visits her pet tortoise named Ms. Rojo on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Los Angeles.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Pioneering Los Angeles assemblage artist Betye Saar died Sunday, just a few days shy of her 100th birthday. The Times had the privilege of profiling her a few weeks earlier in a story that also included some wonderful photos of Saar still hard at work in her Laurel Canyon home studio. After Saar’s death, we published an obituary written by former Times columnist Carolina Miranda, and I put together a list of five of Saar’s most compelling works.
Watts Towers is poised to break ground in October on a $22-million campus renovation — the first such work done to the arts campus since it opened in 1970. The work is set to begin as funding for a 15-year project to preserve the towers themselves has dried up, with work about 90% complete. Community leaders say the situation represents the frustrating piecemeal approach taken over the years to preserve one of the city’s most important cultural landmarks. Times contributor Jane Horowitz has the scoop.
Evan Lugo (George Page), Sonya Cooke (Margaret Page), Zane Caputo (Abraham Slender), Zach Trent (Skateboard Fenton) and Heriberto Cruz Jr. (Doctor Cayo) in “The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove.”
(Elijah Waller)
“The Merry Wives of Windsor’” got a ’50s-themed SoCal beach blanket bingo musical makeover at UC Irvine’s New Swan Shakespeare Festival, and Times theater critic Charles McNulty was there to weigh in on the result. “The pastiche score, indebted to the pop charts of the 1950s, isn’t allowed to dominate,” McNulty writes. “As modern musicals go, this is a low-key affair. The comedy is still the thing in this frolicsome outdoor production, which takes place in the charming ambiance of the festival’s portable, mini-Elizabethan venue.”
McNulty also took time to praise the work of stellar older actors in a rare revival of Nöel Coward’s “Waiting in the Wings,” which is running in repertory at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum through Oct. 10. The play, “which is set in ‘The Wings,’ a charity home for retired actresses, provides a feast for veteran thespians for whom it would be impolite to ask their age,” writes McNulty. “Led by Susan Angelo, Jan Wikstrom and Ellen Geer, this ensemble, under the direction of Willow Geer, diverts and distracts from the mustier aspects of Coward’s style.”
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art announced its inaugural film programming, which is set to screen nonstop during museum hours in two dedicated 299-seat theaters. One theater will play mostly documentary films, and the other will be devoted to the more experimental aspects of the art form.
Alaska Thunderf— will play Mary Todd Lincoln in “Oh, Mary!” at the Ahmanson.
(Daniel Rampulla)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Alaska Thunderf— will play Mary Todd Lincoln in Cole Escola’s Tony-winning comedy “Oh, Mary!” when it arrives at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre in the fall. Broadway star J. Harrison Ghee has been cast opposite Alaska in the role of her famous husband.
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Joey McIntyre of New Kids on the Block performs during Audacy’s 11th annual We Can Survive at Prudential Center on Sept. 28, 2024, in Newark, N.J.
(Manny Carabel / Getty Images for Audacy)
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts announced some additions to its 2026-2027 season, including the world premiere of a new play, “Radio Galaxy,” written by Michèle Aldin Kushner, directed by Kimberly Senior and starring Joey McIntyre (yes, that Joey McIntyre) and Olivier Award winner Lesli Margherita. The show is about a 17-year-old from a working-class New Jersey town who wants to become an astronomer but must deal with the harsh realities of daily life, including his half-sister’s need for a bone marrow transplant. The show is scheduled for 18 performances in the Lovelace Studio Theater Nov. 6-22. Tickets are available here.
A few reduced-rate spots remain for Camp Build at the Gamble House in Pasadena, which runs from Aug. 1 to 5 for three hours each day. Two hours are devoted to learning the art and craft of woodworking, and a third hour is spent on activities inspired by nature and architecture in the historic home. The cost of the camp is assessed on a sliding scale according to income and need with four payment tiers ranging from free to $650. The remaining slots are in the second tier, which costs $350.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Want a glimpse into the hedonistic L.A. of yore? Check out this story about Eve Babitz’s personal letters. It will not disappoint.
“The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove,” a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” at UC Irvine’s New Swan Shakespeare Festival, relocates the comedy to a Southern California beach town in the 1950s. The surf’s up, a chocolate-covered-banana stand is hopping and a washed-up Elvis-like rock star named Johnny Falstaff is trailing chaos.
Those merry wives aren’t actually all that merry about the state of their marriages. Margaret Page (Sonya Cooke) has lost all patience with her grinning, gadabout husband, George (Evan Lugo), who floats through life as though it were as lighthearted an affair as “Beach Blanket Bingo.” Margaret’s best friend, Alice Ford (Sarah Hentges), has more serious problems with her jealous husband, Frank (Abel Garcia), who suspects infidelity whenever she leaves the house.
When Falstaff (Wyn Moreno), motivated by avarice and a mania for cuckolding, comes a-wooing, sending identical letters to Margaret and Alice, the wives grow merrier as they set a trap for their shameless suitor, whose uncontrolled appetites make him an easy mark.
Margaret and Alice are the forerunners of Lucy and Ethel, and Shakespeare’s comedy, written expressly to entertain, gives us a sense of what an Elizabethan-era situation comedy might look like. The Falstaff of Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” is not the complex figure of the “Henry IV” plays. (The late scholar Harold Bloom, a Falstaff fanboy, called this version of the character “pseudo-Falstaff, “ and considered “Merry Wives” to be, along with “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” Shakespeare’s “slightest” comedies.)
Sonya Cooke (Margaret Page) and Sarah Hentges (Alice Ford) in “The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove.”
(Jesus Lopez Vargas)
Revivals of “Merry Wives” are not all that frequent. I’ve seen Verdi’s “Falstaff,” which heavily relies on Shakespeare’s plot for the opera, more times than I’ve seen the play. But Margaret and Alice’s quick-witted machinations provide the basis for a merry outing at the theater.
When the possessive and paranoid Frank Ford runs into Margaret as she’s scurrying to meet his wife, Alice, he pointedly remarks, “I think, if your husbands were dead, you two would marry.” To which she replies in savvy screwball fashion worthy of Carole Lombard: “Be sure of that — two other husbands.”
I have a soft spot for “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” The refreshing sight of the women teaming up against Falstaff never fails to amuse. And I appreciate the frank and forgiving light the play sheds on long-term marriage.
But swaths of the comedy are antiquated. And the language has a dashed off quality in places, suggesting there’s some truth to the legend that Shakespeare wrote the play at the request of Queen Elizabeth, who was said to be so charmed by Falstaff that she wanted a sequel depicting Sir John in love.
Falstaff isn’t exactly in love in Shakespeare’s comedy. And he definitely isn’t motivated by pure romance in this adaptation, written by New Swan founding artistic and producing director Eli Simon and Anna Fitzgerald, with music by Zachary Dietz. As in all things, Falstaff is led by his belly, a gargantuan metaphor for his gluttonous nature.
Megan January (Nym), Wyn Moreno (Johnny Falstaff) and Sam Schneider (Pistol) in “The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove.”
(Jesus Lopez Vargas)
The pastiche score, indebted to the pop charts of the 1950s, isn’t allowed to dominate. As modern musicals go, this is a low-key affair. The comedy is still the thing in this frolicsome outdoor production, which takes place in the charming ambiance of the festival’s portable, mini-Elizabethan venue.
The cast is principally composed of UC Irvine students, past and present, with a few guest artists in the mix. Under Simon’s direction, the presentation is smooth and professional, though the ensemble reflects different levels of experience.
My general note is particular to the genre: Comedy works best when exaggeration arises the way it does in nature, as a fact of personality rather than as a calculated theatrical effect.
Certain members of the cast push the humor a little too vociferously. How much funnier Shakespeare’s motley crew can be when we’re allowed to discover the variety of eccentricity and ludicrousness on display for ourselves.
Falstaff’s girth is worked into the comic mayhem, but the character should be more than a sight gag. Moreno tries to preserve a measure of dignity while wearing a jumpsuit from Elvis’ Las Vegas era. But the sight gag nature of the characterization is overworked.
Garcia’s Ford seems not just jealous but borderline apoplectic. (Garcia is more nuanced when Ford is operating in disguise to suss out Falstaff’s true intentions.) As Doctor Cayo, one of the risible suitors for Anne Page (Marilyn Alonzo), Heriberto Cruz Jr. delivers a flailing, full-body performance that practically holds the audience hostage for laughs.
Evan Lugo (George Page), top left, Sonya Cooke (Margaret Page), top right, Zane Caputo (Abraham Slender), from bottom left, Zach Trent (Skateboard Fenton) and Heriberto Cruz Jr. (Doctor Cayo) in “The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove.”
(Elijah Waller)
Robert Shallow (Greg Ungar) does what he can to promote Abraham Slender (Zane Caputo, appropriately zoned out), his socially inept nephew, as a prospective husband for Anne. But neither gentleman is what anyone would call efficacious. In truth, both performers seem more at home as members of the Banana Splits Band, the quirky onstage combo that ushers in the show’s retro beat.
In a nicely balanced performance, Alejandra Villanueva’s Mistress Quickly, the play’s go-between and overseer of mischief, embodies the free and easy spirit of Simon’s production. Lugo’s George has a simple affability that’s infectious. And Alonzo’s Anne and Zach Trent’s Skateboard Fenton, the young lovers swerving around parental obstacles, are a delightful throwback to those gaga California kids from the age of “Gidget.”
Cooke’s Margaret and Hentges’ Alice remain, as they should, defiantly in charge. The adaptation delves more into their marital melancholy, but I felt I understood them better in Shakespeare’s original, which recognizes the power of suggestion and interpretive restraint.
Yet “The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove” succeeds in extending a warm communal embrace to its audience, which is the ultimate aim of this mischievous and kind-hearted comedy.
‘The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove’
Where: New Swan Theater, UC Irivine, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine.
When: 8 p.m. (In rotating repertory with ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ check theater website for dates.) Ends Aug. 30
Just 16 miles north of the California border, enchanting Ashland, Ore., has drawn theater fans for more than 90 years. The city owes its modern tourism economy in large part to William Shakespeare.
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival runs from spring to fall annually, attracting many of the 350,000 annual visitors to the city of 21,000 residents. Locals and travelers gather to watch live productions in venues like the Allen Elizabethan Theatre — modeled after a 1599 London playhouse, with a three-story Tudor facade — where for one magical evening, they’re transported to Shakespeare’s heyday.
While it’s hard to escape the Bard’s reach in the downtown core, Ashland and environs offer much more than theater. Its outdoor wonderland especially is well worth exploring. Or as Shakespeare once put it: “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
Within a short drive await wineries, hiking, cycling and white-water rafting on the magnificent Rogue River. Crater Lake National Park is about a two-hour drive, and the destruction of dams on the Klamath River reopened scenic rafting there last year for the first time in more than a century. As a designated Tree City USA community, Ashland is steeped in greenery. Parks abound. Lovely Ashland Creek meanders through the town.
Founded as a farm town in the 1850s, Ashland incorporated as a city in 1885 after rapid growth fueled by the railroad’s arrival. Many buildings in the downtown historic district date to the turn of the 20th century. Today, Ashland is home to a variety of shops — a couple of favorites include Bloomsbury Books with its ecology rack right out front and Mountain Provisions for high-quality outdoor gear. And with more than 100 restaurants, Ashland’s food and beverage scene runs the gamut from casual (try the porkstrami at Sammich) to inventive (check out the unique Alsatian menu at Nous).
These days, a cautious optimism prevails throughout Ashland, which had been hit hard by the pandemic and simultaneous wildfires. At downtown’s Village Baker, the scent of baking bread hints at the 1,400 loaves produced daily. They start at 4 a.m. and deliver for miles around. That broad reach, co-owner Gerardo Gutierrez says, has helped them weather challenging times.
Anna Maxwell Martin takes on an intimidating new role that’s miles away from Motherland in this gripping Apple TV drama
Motherland’s Anna Maxwell Martin as KGB surveillance head Lyudmilla Raskova (Image: APPLE TV)
The new Cold War thriller features some very recognisable names.
Apple TV’s highly anticipated For All Mankind spin-off Star City is finally here and has received rave reviews across the board.
Taking viewers back to the 1970s in this alternate version of history in which the Soviet Union won the space-race, the series picks up with the Russian politicians, engineers, cosmonauts, and KGB agents overseeing more missions to the Moon.
While the USSR is still basking in the victory of becoming the first nation to put a man on the Moon in 1969, tensions are running high as the threat of the US still looms large during the Cold War.
The series begins today (Friday, 29th May) with six more episodes coming each Friday until a riveting finale on 10th July.
But who is in the cast of Star City? From a major sitcom star to actors from some of the most acclaimed dramas of the past few years, let’s take a closer look at where you’ve seen them before.
Star City’s main cast
Rhys Ifans – Chief Designer
Welsh film and TV icon Rhys Ifans portrays the secretive figure at the head of the Star City program, known only as the chief designer.
You’ll have seen him recently as Otto Hightower in House of the Dragon, HBO’s popular Game of Thrones spin-off, as well as portraying Xenophilius Lovegood in the Harry Potter franchise and as Curt Connors/The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man, a role he reprised in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
His performance as comedy legend Peter Cook in Channel 4’s Not Only But Always won him a BAFTA TV award, and he is also well-known for his role as Spike in Notting Hill opposite Hugh Grant.
Anna Maxwell Martin – Lyudmilla Raskova
Anna Maxwell Martin plays the head of Star City’s KGB surveillance department, Lyudmilla Raskova, in a performance the Guardian has described as “terrifying”.
Martin has appeared in a huge range of popular British dramas, including Line of Duty, Ludwig, and ITV’s Until I Kill You, which won her an International Emmy Award.
She has also won BAFTA TV Awards for her roles in Bleak House and Poppy Shakespeare and is well-known among comedy fans for playing Julia Johnstone in the hit BBC sitcom Motherland.
Agnes O’Casey – Irina Morozova
Irina Morozova, a recent KGB recruit at Star City, is portrayed by English and Irish actress Agnes O’Casey.
O’Casey has landed supporting roles in major dramas in the 2020s, including Dangerous Liaisons, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, and Netflix’s Black Doves.
On the big screen she has appeared in Small Things Like These with Cillian Murphy and in The Miracle Club, Dame Maggie Smith’s final film.
Alice Englert – Anastasia Belikova
Anastasia Belikova is an untested female cosmonaut in the Soviet space program and portrayed by Australian actress Alice Englert.
Previously best known for her film roles, she has appeared in Ginger & Rosa with Elle Fanning, Beautiful Creatures with Alden Ehrenreich, and Netflix’s The Power of the Dog with Benedict Cumberbatch, which was directed by her mother Jane Campion.
Englert also appeared with O’Casey in Dangerous Liaisons, as well as BBC’s The Serpent and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and made her directorial debut with the 2023 film Bad Behaviour starring Jennifer Connelly.
Solly McLeod – Sasha Polivanov
Sasha Polivanov is described as “a reckless cosmonaut who has yet to live up to his potential” and is portrayed by Solly McLeod.
McLeod is a British actor known for playing the title role in ITV’s adaptation of Tom Jones, and has also played Ser Joffrey Lonmouth in two episode of House of the Dragon with Star City co-star Ifans.
He is also set to appear in the major upcoming films Practical Magic 2 and Anxious People, adapted from the bestselling novel by Fredrik Backman.
Adam Nagaitis – Valya Mironov
In contrast to Sasha, Valya is a respected cosmonaut in the Star City program brought to life by British actor Adam Nagaitis. Nagaitis previously portrayed a Russian firefighter in HBO’s acclaimed miniseries Chernobyl.
He has also appeared in the film The Last Duel with Matt Damon and Adam Driver, as well as TV series The Responder, The Agency and A Thousand Blows.
Ruby Ashbourne Serkis – Tanya Mironova
Ruby Ashbourne Serkis is the actress daughter of The Lord of the Rings star Andy Serkis and will be portraying Tanya, the wife of one of Star City’s cosmonauts.
She has previously appeared in TV series Shardlake and I, Jack Wright, as well as two recent Cillian Murphy films; Netflix’s Steve and the Peaky Blinders movie, The Immortal Man.
Josef Davies – Sergei Nikulov
Josef Davies portrays Sergei Nikulov, a young engineering prodigy working at Soviet Ground Control. Davies is best known as Sören in Young Wallander and he has also appeared in Andor, Grace, and Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, as well as the hit WWI film 1917.
Supporting cast and guest stars
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STAR Wars legend Michael Pennington has died aged 82.
The veteran stage and screen actor, who is best known for his role as Moff Jerjerrod in Return of the Jedi, is thought to have passed away, according to The Telegraph.
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Michael Pennington as Moff Jerjerrod in Star Wars: Return of the JediCredit: Lucas FilmPennington at the Hampstead Theatre Spring Gala in 2008Credit: AlamyPennington and Dame Judi Dench during the unveiling of a new plaque commemorating actor Sir John Gielgud in Westminster in 2017Credit: GettyPennington performs at the Gielgud Theatre in the 1990sCredit: Getty
The cause of death is currently unknown.
Pennington’s other film credits include as Laertes in Hamlet (1969), alongside Anthony Hopkins, and as former Labour Party leader Michael Foot in The Iron Lady (2011), alongside Meryl Streep.
He also appeared in TV shows The Bill, The Tudors and Father Brown, as well as TV movie The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
His agent Lesley Duff told The Sun he had been living at Denville Hall, a care home for retired actors, in his later years.
