New theater troupe boasts lots of name talent

By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY

Posted June 15, 2012

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ORG XMIT: NYEF101 Daniel Radcliffe arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala benefit, celebrating Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, Monday, May 7, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes) (Credit: By Charles Sykes, AP)

Big news out of London for theater fans: Noted British stage director Michael Grandage, who last year stepped down as artistic director of the U.K.'s celebrated Donmar Warehouse, announced on Thursday that he's starting a new company -- and that Judi Dench, Jude Law and Daniel Radcliffe are among the actors who will take part in its first season.

Grandage, whose Broadway credits include Hamlet with Law, Frost/Nixon, Red (which earned him a Tony Award) and the current Evita, and business partner James Bierman have formed the Michael Grandage Company, which will launch a 15-month, five-play season in December at the West End's Noel Coward Theatre. Dench and Ben Whishaw will play the title characters in John Logan's new play, Peter and Alice. Later, Radcliffe will star in Martin McDonagh's dark comedy The Cripple of Inishmaan, and Law in Henry V.

In addition to boldfaced names, Grandage's company will offer economic incentives for new theatergoers: More than 200 tickets for each performance will be sold for 10 pounds, or about $16, a pop.