Cate Blanchett to return to the stage for first time in six years

Cate Blanchett is set to return to the stage for the first time in six years.

The 55-year-old Carol star last starred in When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other at the National Theatre in 2019, shortly before the pandemic.

In her latest role, the Oscar-winner will play Arkadina in an adaptation of Russian writer Anton Chekhov’s play The Seagull. She will star alongside Mad Max actor Tom Burke in the role of Trigorin.

The Seagull will show at The Barbican in London for six weeks, starting in February 2025.

Chekhov’s 1985 play follows Arkadina, a dominating personality who must navigate a series of personal conflicts as she visits her family’s country estate. Her husband is pursued romantically by a younger actor, while her son attempts to break free of Arkadina’s influence.

“I have known and admired Cate for many years, and to see her on stage is always a privilege,” Director Thomas Ostermeier told BBC News.

“I am thrilled that we will make our first artistic collaboration with this production of The Seagull at the Barbican, and that London will experience this once-in-a-generation actress in one of the greatest theatrical roles of Arkadina.

“I’m also very pleased to be forging a new artistic relationship with Tom Burke, who will play the role of Trigorin.”

This is not the first time that Burke and Blanchett will star opposite one another. The pair recently completed filming for their forthcoming spy thriller Black Bag, directed by Steven Soderbergh, creator of the Ocean’s franchise.

Balnchett, who portrayed the elf queen Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings movies, recently divulged that she hadn’t been paid for her role in the much-loved trilogy, during an episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

Asked which film had yielded the biggest paycheck in her career so far , Blanchett took a moment to think when host Andy Cohen interjected to suggest Lord of the Rings.

“Are you kidding me?” Blanchett replied. “No, no one got paid anything to do that movie.”

The two-time Academy Award-winner explained her motivation to sign on to Peter Jacksion’s trilogy was to “work with the guy who made Braindead”.

Released in 1992, Braindead was Jackson’s critically acclaimed zombie comedy film. It was released as Dead Alive in North America.

“I mean, I basically got free sandwiches,” Blanchett said of the Lord of the Rings production, adding: “Women don’t get paid as much as you think they do.”