Movie stars, legendary talent, declining fame, and explosive egos all collide in the Off-Broadway hit Orson’s Shadow, written by New Rep regular Austin Pendleton and selected by Time Magazine as one of the top plays of 2005. In 1960, film director Orson Welles travels to London, persuaded by Kenneth Tynan – himself a powerful theatre critic – to direct a production of Ionesco’sRhinoceros. The Royal Court Theatre production stars the brilliant Laurence Olivier and his latest flame, Joan Plowright, though their romance is complicated by a visit from Olivier’s eccentric wife, Vivien Leigh. Filled with risqué, behind-the-scenes intrigue,Orson’s Shadow depicts the fragility and humanity of these titan personalities.

Photo: Debra Wise and Steven Barkhimer. Photo by Andrew Brilliant/Brilliant Pictures