'Sex and City' star hits West End
LONDON, England (CNN) -- "Sex and the City" star Kim Cattrall is to make her British stage debut -- swapping her role as manhunter Samantha to play the paraplegic victim of a road accident.
Celebrated UK theatrical knight Sir Peter Hall is to direct a new production of "Whose Life is it Anyway?" at the Duke of York's theater in London next January.
Cattrall had been previously scheduled to play in London's West End opposite Judi Dench in another Hall production in 2001, but there was a conflict in filming with "Sex and the City."
Now the series is ended Cattrall has a clear run to star in "Whose Life is it Anyway?" for 16 weeks until April.
In the original play by Brian Clark --originally performed in 1978 -- the lead was a man, in this case Tom Conti. It was voted best play in London and transferred to Broadway.
Then Clark rewrote the play for a female lead and Mary Tyler Moore won a Tony for her depiction of "Claire Harrison" in a Broadway production in 1979.
In 1981 the film adaptation was directed by John Badham with Richard Dreyfuss as Ken Harrison.
In the new London version Cattrall plays Claire Harrison, an intelligent, sexy and talented sculptor used to being in control of her life.
A serious road accident forces her to contemplate a future in which she will remain constantly dependent on those around her.
Left with only the use of her sharp mind, wit and indomitable spirit, Claire refuses to submit quietly to her fate.
Says a spokeswoman for the production: "'Whose Life Is It Anyway?" places the individual at the center of one of the most complex medical and moral issues of our times -- do we have the right to choose how we want to live and when we want to die?"
The producers say Clark has updated the script to account for advances in medical technology.
"Major technological advances over the past thirty years now allow doctors to keep patients alive irrespective of their quality of life, making the question of freedom of choice even more acute," the spokeswoman added.
 "Sex and the City" was a smash hit in Britain as well as the U.S. |  |
Cattrall was born in Liverpool England but went with her parents to Canada when she was three months old. She was then raised in Vancouver.
Best known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones in HBO's internationally award-winning "Sex and the City," Cattrall began her theatrical training at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before joining the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
She made her Broadway debut in 1986 as Sofya opposite Ian McKellen in the National Theatre's production of Chekhov's "Wild Honey," directed by Christopher Morahan, in an adaptation by Michael Frayn.
Her other theatre work includes Arthur Miller's "A View From The Bridge," Chekhov's "Three Sisters" (for which she won a Dramalogue Award), Strindberg's "Miss Julie," Moliere's "The Misanthrope" and repertory work in Vancouver, Toronto and Chicago.
On television in the U.S. she starred in Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize winning "The Heidi Chronicles" and in Oliver's Stone's mini-series "Wild Palms."
Her films include "Police Academy 1," "Masquerade," John Carpenter's "Big Trouble in Little China" and Brian De Palma's "Bonfire of the Vanities."
Her latest film project, "Ice Princess," directed by Tim Fywell, is to be released in the U.S. in December.
Her recently founded Fertile Ground Productions is currently developing two projects for HBO including Sexual Intelligence -- a feature length documentary with accompanying book, hosted and Executive Produced by Cattrall to be shown on ITV, HBO and The Discovery Channel.
