All posts by Julie

other news

current news…

4 Comments

What Rupert is up to…

Rupert is:

    • playing Orsino in a musical adaptation of Twelfth Night at the Young Vic from 2 October to 17 November 2018. What’s On Stage story here and tickets available here. Click here for the production page, and here for the images.
    • appearing as Marcus in the film The Secret Garden, with Colin Firth as Lord Archibald Craven and Julie Walters as Mrs Medlock. Discovered via Rupert’s page at his agency! IMDB page for the film. No news on release dates yet.
    • a guest at the convention Myth & Magic in Blackpool, England on 13-15 September 2019, along with fellow Merlin alumni Emilia Fox (Morgause), Fintan McKeown (King Odin), Michelle Ryan (Nimueh) and Alex Vlahos (Mordred). For more info see the event’s website and Twitter feed: phoenixconventions.co.uk; twitter.com/PhoenixConsUK
    • a guest at the convention Magic Con to be held in Bonn, Germany on 26-28 April 2019, along with Alex Vlahos (Mordred in Merlin).
    • appearing as James in new 6-part comedy-drama The Bisexual for Channel 4. The lead roles are played by Desiree Akhavan (also writing and directing), Maxine Peake and Brian Gleeson – and given the title, I sure hope Rupert gets to date at least one if not all of them! Notification via his agent’s site. No mention on the official website or press releases (yet).
    • singing (and dancing???!!!) as Mr Knightley in a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s masterpiece, titled EMMA, A New Musical. He will be in the London production, while another production is running on Broadway. I am just blown and overblown with bliss at the very idea! We don’t have any details of dates yet, but here’s the announcement in broadwayworld.com. And I would just like to add OMFG!!!

Please follow our Twitter account for this site: @withlove70ways!

The following entries have been updated:

Continue reading current news… →

interviews

Kapow! (2018)

Leave a comment

Rupert was interviewed by Chris Daniel for Kapow! to mark the tenth anniversary of BBC Merlin.

“I was always interested in the stories of King Arthur and Merlin growing up, but I definitely became more immersed in it after becoming involved with the show,” Young said. …

“Merlin definitely opened doors for me,” Young said. “Being in a worldwide hit show definitely has got me into audition rooms I wouldn’t have got in before and so pretty much all of the jobs I’ve had since the show finished, I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to audition for had it not been for the show”. …

“What surprised me most was how well the series was received,” Young concluded. “I always knew I was joining a great show with brilliant people and a fantastic story that people would enjoy, but the sheer volume of people who watched it and connected with it from all over the world was staggering.”

You can read the full interview here.

Chris also interviewed Rupert’s Merlin colleague Alex Vlahos the previous week; you can read that interview here.

theatre

Twelfth Night (2018)

2 Comments

Rupert stars as the Duke Orsino in this musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night. The adaptation was conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub, with Taub writing the music and lyrics, and is co-directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Oskar Eustis. It is Kwei-Armah’s first offering as Artistic Director at the Young Vic Theatre.

The show runs from 2 October to 17 November 2018 at the Young Vic in London. More details and tickets available at the official website.

I will add my own response and more info once I’ve seen the show, later in October!

Interesting interview with Gabrielle Brooks (Viola) by Kate Berrington, about the accessibility of Shakespeare, in the British Vogue, 14 October 2018.

The banner is from a production photo by Johan Persson, sourced on the Young Vic page on Facebook.

Reviews

Review Round-Up by Fergus Morgan, The Stage, 10 October 2018.

The first show by a new Artistic Director is an important indicator of what’s to come, a chance to establish the tone for the ensuing years with a memorable statement about the kind of theatre they want to make. In assuming responsibility for the Young Vic, a musical version of Twelfth Night may not be the obvious choice for an inaugural show but it’s community-based inclusive staging and strong equality message has Kwame Kwei-Armah setting-out his stall from the start. … This version of Twelfth Night is designed to engage the audience as much as possible beginning with barbecue food and interaction with some of the performers. Robert Jones’ cartoonish set juts-out into the audience guaranteeing everyone a good view, while maximum use is made of the auditorium’s exit points and staircases. They really want you to have a good time and with plenty of comic focus and a rousing love-in finale the feel-good factor is dialled-up to the max. … Gerard Carey may be the best Malvolio you’ve ever seen, utterly embodying Olivia’s taunt that “you are sick of self-love” and given the most astonishing tap routine with a hilarious interpretation of the yellow stockings segment. … Olivia (Natalie Drew) becomes amusingly beguiled by Cesario, an interaction played for comic effect which Drew sells superbly, but Orsino’s devotion is almost entirely serious and Rupert Young is charming as the heartbroken Duke aching with unrequited love. Brooks is equally enchanting as the suffering Viola in disguise, but the emphasis on the humour takes away from some of the pain of Shakespeare’s original, that fine balance between light and dark captured in the songs isn’t reflected in the storytelling as well as it could be. 3.5 stars from Maryam Philpott, The Reviews Hub, 12 October 2018

Continue reading Twelfth Night (2018) →

random

Merlin’s 10 Year Anniversary

Leave a comment

It was the tenth anniversary since Merlin first aired on BBC One, on 20 September 2018. We were all feeling sentimental – including Bradley James, who Tweeted the above shot of cast and crew at the Chateau de Pierrefonds. Rupert is there in his Sir Leon costume. Bradley said:

10 Years since #Merlin aired for the first time. One of the first things my memory jumps to is great times with our crew. Not all pictured but much missed. Many a laugh shared with a team who became family (and they put up with me for 5 years 🏅)

Bradley also shared the following photo of Arthur and some of the Knights, including Leon, on Instagram.

Bradley said:

Just sat round the fire 🔥reminiscing ⚔️🛡🐉🤴🏼. Night all  #10YearsofMerlin

Happy Merlin-versary, all!

update: Rupert was interviewed by Chris Daniel for Kapow! to mark the tenth anniversary.

other news

other news

Leave a comment

19 September 2018: Rupert was to have attended the convention MCM Comic Con Scotland in Glasgow on 22-23 September 2018, along with Merlin’s Alex Vlahos (Mordred). Unfortunately, Rupert had to cancel with short notice, due to a change in rehearsal schedule for Twelfth Night. He sent his sincere apologies.

22 June 2018: Rupert was the first guest announced as attending Celtic Reminders, a Merlin convention to be held in Paris on 13-14 October 2018. Unfortunately, however, this event has now been cancelled.

4 June 2015: Justin’s play In My Father’s Words is featuring in Brits Off Broadway! It runs from 4-28 June 2015 at 59E59 Theaters in New York. For more details, check the 59E59 website.

30 November 2014: Unfortunately Rupert couldn’t attend Wales Comic Con 2014 Part 2 in Wrexham on Sunday 30 November. It seems this was because he went to the Supanova conventions in Australia in lieu of Eoin Macken and Alex Vlahos.

19 June 2014: Rupert’s brother Justin Young wrote a play titled In My Father’s Words which was performed at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow on 19-28 June 2014, before touring Scotland throughout July. See the Dundee Rep Ensemble page for full details.

pro photos

Twelfth Night, London (2018)

Gallery Leave a comment
appearances

David Holmes Cricket Cup, London (2018)

Leave a comment

To quote from various sources: “The David Holmes Cricket Cup began in the summer of 2009 to raise money for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH). Since then, each summer, the event has been hosted for David’s family and friends, where the two teams, Gryffindor and Slytherin, have battled it out for the trophy and continued to raise money for the RNOH. It’s a fun, family day out with our famous Cricket Match and our Auction, Raffle, Bar, BBQ, Face Painting and Bouncy Castle providing further entertainment.”

Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter) says: “David Holmes [a stuntman] was seriously injured in January 2009 while filming a harnessed aerial sequence for the final installment of the film franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

Davey Holmes was so grateful to the RNOH for their care of him following this injury that he’s been raising funds for them ever since through this annual cricket event.

Bradley James (Arthur in Merlin) has regularly taken the field for  Gryffindor, and has often been joined by our Rupert. I have found team photographs featuring Rupert for the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2018, with thanks to “A Shot of Brad” Live Journal account, Bradley’s Instagram account, and Google! Which is not to say Rupert didn’t participate in other years. However, few photos from the event are shared online, so there’s no one official source that covers the whole period.

Here are the goodies…

Team Gryffindor in 2011. Rupert is on the far left, looking very knightly.

Continue reading David Holmes Cricket Cup, London (2018) →

audio plays

Cicero (2018)

Leave a comment

Rupert features as Atticus, in this series of audio plays focussed on “ambitious young lawyer” Cicero, and set amidst the politics, crimes and scandals of ancient Rome.

  • Episode VI (May 2018)
  • Director: Scott Handcock

Unfortunately Atticus only appears in the last of the six episodes – which is particularly frustrating when most of the episodes are framed by Cicero’s letters to his BFF Atticus, who lives in Athens. The episodes are all well worth a listen, though, with some interesting stories told. Samuel Barnett is utterly charming as the main character, Marcus Tullius Cicero, finding a nice balance between naivety and wisdom. George Naylor as his brother Quintus Tullius Cicero, and Laura Riseborough as his wife Terentia, round out a superb main team. Which is not to say I wasn’t delighted to hear Atticus finally cry out a hearty greeting when the Cicero brothers go visit him in Athens!

And Rupert does a fine job with the character, of course. It doesn’t take us long to suspect there’s a lot more to Atticus than the expansive cheer and expensive estate.

The first episode of this series was recorded on 3 October 2016, at The Moat Studios. The remaining episodes were recorded on 18-22 September 2017, at The Soundhouse.

You can purchase the CD or audio files from the Big Finish website.

appearances

EM-Con Worcester (2018)

2 Comments

Rupert attended EM-Con Worcester on 8 April 2018. While the con was a bit busier than the previous one in Kent, Rupert took the time to have a good chat with all the fans who came his way. He’s such a great guy to meet!

He didn’t take part in any panels this time, but there were autographs available and a photo shoot. I took the opportunity to ask for a ‘portrait’ shot of just him, as well as one of me with him. Here’s a scanned and cropped version for your delectation…

Isn’t he lovely? ♥ Once I have the full version, I’m wondering how best to use it for the site. Are splash screens terribly passé these days…?