The return of Gary Oldman to the York Theater Royal is “ special ”, say the staff

The return of Gary Oldman to the theater where he made his professional debut is a “very generous decision” of the star, say the staff of the place.

The Oscar -winning actor played in Samuel Beckett’s play, Krapp’s latest band at York Theater Royal until May 17, his first role on stage since the late 1980s.

He previously declared that the staging of the play in an actor, which he also directs, would be all the more poignant because she was “about a man back in his past 30 years earlier”.

Vicky Biles, from the theater, said that it was “very exciting” to welcome new audiences from around the world alongside regulars during the closed shopping race.

“We hope that people who will come to see him examine other things that we get here and come back,” said Ms. Biles, director of communications and theater development.

Oldman started on the site in 1979 in pieces like soldiers on the parade and she lights up to conquer – as well as the cat in the pantomime Dick Whittington this Christmas.

Plans for her long -awaited return began about 18 months ago, said Biles, when Oldman visited the theater and met the general manager Paul Crewes.

“Gary spent about an hour on the main scene with his family, speaking of his work memories here in 1979,” she said.

“It started the conversation with Paul about Gary’s desire to go back to the theater.”

The production of the play, which is not ready to visit elsewhere in the United Kingdom, had been “exciting” for the theater, said Ms. Biles.

“He has not made a theater for over 30 years and choosing to come back to the place where he started his career is very special,” she said.

“It is a very generous decision on his part to continue to support this theater and give us this wonderful production.”

Production has received several positive criticisms, including the guardian Describing it as a “surprising play”.

Time, However, Oldman said “could dig more deeply”, performances creating “mixed results”.

“It is very rare that York is at the center of the orientation of the world of theater,” said the critic of York Charles Hutchinson.

“It is rare that the New York Times, for example, sends a critic to York to see anything, and they are there for Gary Oldman.”

Sting and Trudie Styler had visited to watch the production, he added, as well as Slow horses writer Mick Heron.

Mr. Hutchinson said that opening to production included 67 -year -old Oldman by silently eating fruit.

“It’s interesting when you look at something and it is silent apart from someone who eats a banana and how it feels an audience,” said the critic.

“Will they find it funny, have permission to make the first laugh?”

He added: “He has an absolute charisma on the screen, but what is interesting here is that he plays a character who is incompetent and dates back to 30 years earlier.”

After his debut in York, Oldman’s sparkling career included the Sirius Black game in Harry Potter’s films and the victory of an Oscar for best actor in 2018 for his representation of Winston Churchill.

Mr. Hutchinson, 64, added: “People say to me, why didn’t you work in London? The answer is because so much are still going in the North.

“I feel more special to see something like that in York than to go to London.”