Category: Theater

Damian Lewis’ Song of the Week: Pentonville Prison

“I was riding home one night on my motorbike. I was in North London. I was on Caledonian Road. I was outside Pentonville Prison. Next thing I knew was I was flying through the air and going straight to the windscreen of a car. This is called Pentonville Prison.” – Damian Lewis

We can’t wait for Damian Lewis’ second album sometime this spring, and one of the songs we’re really rooting to see on the album is Pentonville Prison. We’ll be diving into that track this week in Damian Lewis’ Song of the Week series.

And before we get into it, if you missed any of the previous Song of the Week posts, you can find them all here.

Now, Pentonville is an actual prison on Caledonian Road in Barnsbury, North London. But don’t worry—the track isn’t about Damian doing time. Instead, it’s inspired by a motorbike accident he had right outside the prison many years ago. Continue reading “Damian Lewis’ Song of the Week: Pentonville Prison”

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Pillars of the Community

This post was originally written in 2016. With Damian set to star in Jack of Spades alongside Lesley Manville, it feels like the perfect moment to share it again. Enjoy!

It all began when a dear colleague—someone who shares my deep love for theatre—asked me to name my favorite male and female stage performances of 2015. Easy.

Lesley Manville in Ibsen’s Ghosts.
Damian Lewis in Mamet’s American Buffalo (with Mark Strong in Miller’s A View from the Bridge a very close second).

So what was it about these performances that made me fall in love with them?

One word: precision.

Then I thought about the heart-breaking performance Lesley Manville gives in Ghosts which, in fact, brought her an Olivier Award in 2014 (I saw the play later when it visited Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2015). I know Manville mostly from her work on big screen such as Secrets and Lies (1996), Vera Drake (2004), Another Year (2010) and Mr Turner (2014) all of which were some of my favorites in the year they were released. But I really did not know about her stage work. So I googled her.

And here is the first image I hit! Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Pillars of the Community”

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Sondheim’s Into The Woods

I was fortunate enough to interview Damian in March 2o24 after his gig in Norwich during the second leg of his Mission Creep UK Tour. We spoke mainly about music, but the conversation eventually drifted to theatre. I mentioned meeting his father, Mr. Watcyn Lewis, who had told me how much he hoped to see Damian return to theatre. With Damian now focused on music, the idea of musical theatre naturally came up. When I asked him about it, he admitted he would love to do it, though family responsibilities and the demanding nature of theatre make it a difficult prospect. Still, as we keep our fingers crossed that he might step into musical theatre one day, it feels like the perfect moment to revisit the only musical he has performed on stage so far: Sondheim’s Into the Woods.

“Hello, little girl!”

Many viewers were surprised, as they watched the BBC Broadcast of the fabulous Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends Gala, to see Damian appear as the Wolf to Bernadette Peters’ Red Riding Hood from the musical Into the Woods – one of Sondheim’s greatest musicals. 

But the thing is that Damian is not a stranger to the role at all. In fact, he was the Wolf in Into the Woods  at the London revival of the musical back in 1998! So why don’t we travel back to that time and visit a 27 year old Damian on stage?

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Sondheim’s Into The Woods”

TOP Damian Lewis Moments 2025: Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year – Live!

One of my favorite traditions on Fan Fun is writing the Top Damian Lewis Moments of the Year. And every single year, Damian somehow makes this job both very easy and completely impossible at the same time — because how do you even choose?

He acts. He sings. He plays sports. He lends his voice to art work. He supports charities. And in May 2025, he gave us a moment that felt very special: Shakespeare, live, under the stars, in Regent’s Park. I envy everyone that was there that night in the most positive way!

Yes. Let’s talk about that night. Continue reading “TOP Damian Lewis Moments 2025: Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year – Live!”

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis at the Royal Shakespeare Company

I was lucky enough to see the Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 documentary during its opening days at the IFC in New York at a special screening, which was followed by a Q&A with director Raoul Peck. One of the highlights of the evening was getting to ask a question myself — I asked Mr. Peck about how he brought together the film’s striking imagery with Damian Lewis’ narration, and his answer gave a fascinating glimpse into the creative process behind this award-winning documentary. I’m pasting his answer below for those interested in the behind-the-scenes magic.

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis at the Royal Shakespeare Company”