She Wore Givenchy...

It seems London has all the good gallery shows lately! I received notice recently that some new, never before seen photographs from a lost photo shoot in 1964 will be on display in London starting today and running through April 7th. The exhibit is called She Wore Givenchy...An Hour at the Ritz, Paris, 1964, and was photographed by Angela Williams.

The exhibit will be showing at the Heartbreak Gallery, and is part of a larger Icons gallery exhibit featuring other celebrities (mainly English) that Ms. Williams had photographed during her career as a freelance photographer. You can read more about the Audrey set in particular here, and if you're in the London area and would like to drop by for a look, you can find the address, hours, and other particulars here. There will also be limited edition signed prints for sale.

I wanted to fly out and see the exhibit myself but sadly, it's just not an option (especially since I'll be traveling to cover Breakfast at Tiffany's in New York). If you're like me and can't make it out to see the exhibit in person, the gallery is offering a nice e-catalogue to look through.

She seemed so tiny and fragile. The room was filled with roses and was ornately decorated. Roses, gilt and gold. She was in that exotic room like a precious bloom amongst all the flowers. - Angela Williams

Thank you to Laura for bringing this exhibit to my attention.

The Audrey Hepburn Collection by Bob Willoughby exhibit in London

If you love looking at pictures of Audrey Hepburn - and really, who doesn't? - then you most certainly have seen photographs of her that were taken by Bob Willoughby. You may not know his name, but rest assured, you know his work and love it.

He caught Audrey just as her star was starting to rise, and stayed with her throughout her career. More than a photographer, Willoughby was lucky enough to be a friend to Audrey as well. They visited each other frequently, and their children grew up together. This intimacy shows in their work together, and now Proud Galleries in London is exhibiting Bob's photographs of Audrey for all to enjoy. Best of all, it's free!

Starting May 12, the exhibit runs until June 26 at Proud's Chelsea gallery, address 161 King’s Road, London. Public hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday from 10-7, and Thursdays and Saturdays from 10-8. You can find additional information at the Proud Galleries website here. If you can make it, this exhibit is a must-see!

Special thanks to Sophie for sharing all this information, and for her kindness and generosity.

Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Play (again)

I blame this on being out of the country and away from computers when the story was confirmed, but have you all heard about the stage production of Breakfast at Tiffany's now on in London? It previewed at the end of September and is now running at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until the end of January 2010. Interesting...

Does anyone have any inclination to see it? It stars Anna Friel of the terminally cute television show Pushing Daisies as Holly Golightly, and while Anna is on record as saying she wouldn't attempt to mimic Audrey's iconic portrayal of the callgirl with a heart of gold, the adverts certainly give another impression. Don't blame the girl, though, as the few onstage shots I've managed to find show Anna as a curly blonde more reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe (Capote's original choice for Holly) than Audrey Hepburn. I'm afraid that I can't really show you any of the pictures I've found because I try to keep this as family friendly as possible, and, well . . . Anna appears completely nude onstage. Yes, starkers.

The play is based off of Truman Capote's original novella and not the sweetened screenplay that George Axelrod adapted to film, and is set in 1943 as opposed to the then-current time of 1961 for the film. There is also a language warning on both the theatre's website and the production's official website, more in keeping with Capote's sometimes blue writing. If you are interested in catching the show tickets are still available and can be found on the theatre's website (link above), and seem to range from around £17 to £50. If you do go see, please share your thoughts with those of us who can't make it! We'd love to hear from you.

While doing some research on this I found that this actually wasn't the first time Breakfast had been put onstage. There had been rumors in the late 90s and early 2000s that someone somewhere was going to do an adaptation and Natalie Portman had been asked to take on Holly, but thanks to Google and an unauthorized biography you can now read more about one of the most notorious Broadway flops in history, Breakfast at Tiffany's the Musical. Can you imagine Mary Tyler Moore as a singing and dancing Holly? Or Richard Chamberlain as the sensitive, bookish Paul Varjak? A cast recording was made shortly before the play closed and is still available on CD, surprisingly enough. Don't waste your time on Amazon where third party sellers will try to gouge you at $50 or more. Barnes & Noble's website has the album selling at $26.39 with listening samples! I won't influence your minds, so if you're curious, go listen to the samples for yourself . . . and leave comments, of course. I love hearing your thoughts on anything, especially the more bizarre findings. :)

The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957

There's a new fashion exhibit coming to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in September that's all about the golden age of modern fashion: 1947-1957, the ten year span when fashion went from war utilitarian to post-war lushness. While it seems that the exhibit will feature mostly Dior pieces, Givenchy's pieces will be on display. Specifically, a replica of the bright blue cape Audrey Hepburn wore in Funny Face will be shown, along with fashion portraits by Cecil Beaton and Richard Avedon (and perhaps some Audrey portraits?). You can read more about the exhibit and the designers that will be featured here, and The Independent has another article that goes more into fashion in general during that period.

Lucky London, they're having all the Audrey luck lately!

Seeing Audrey Hepburn's first screen test

While the British Film Institute's new free digital archive isn't open to the public yet (that's March 14), a reporter for This Is London got to try out the new kiosk and briefly mentions Audrey's screentest. It's apparently a silent clip, though in colour, and it doesn't sound like she was very good. The phrase "wildly overacting" was used. Still, it's neat to read about, and for you Audrey fans in the UK, especially the London area, this article will give you a good idea of what to expect -- and where to go -- when the kiosk is open and you want to see the clip for yourself.