Kathleen Turner's Official Website

(via Daily Mail UK)

Kathleen Turner vowed she'd be back. The Oscar-nominated actress who bared her soul (and much more) in The Graduate five years ago will return to the West End as Martha in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? in the new year.

Edward Albee's classic black comedy, which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the movie version, will come to London in January.

Ms Turner was giving the performance of her career when I caught the drama on Broadway earlier this year.

Director Anthony Page's production also featured Bill Irwin as George, slamming back his wife Martha's verbal grenades with an explosive force of his own.

Equity, the British actors' union, gave permission on Wednesday for all four members of the American cast - Ms Turner, Mr Irwin, Mireille Enos and David Harbour - to come to London under an exchange agreement.

Albee's play, a savage anatomy of a marriage, will begin performances at the Apollo, Shaftesbury Avenue, on January 20 for a limited run till May.

Currently enjoying a good run at the Apollo is Mary Stuart.

London producers had been vying for several months for the chance to bring Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? to our capital.

"It's been a long fight," sighed Nica Burns, a theatre owner who will co-produce with the main man Lee Dean.

"I've been on my knees for it for months," Ms Burns exclaimed, clearly still giddy from sealing the deal.

"When something's this good, it's worth pulling out all the stops to try to get it!"

Director Page will re-rehearse his company for a week in Manhattan in early January then fly them over.

And the timing couldn't be better for him - he already has another play next door. Night Of The Iguana, with Woody Harrelson and Clare Higgins, started performances at the Lyric theatre.

Kathleen Turner isn't about to let her recent foot surgery keep her away from the London run of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Walking with the assistance of a cane at Friday's Citymeals-on-Wheels luncheon in New York, the actress said the Broadway cast of the Edward Albee work will stage the show at the Apollo Theater beginning Jan. 16.

"Answering The Call: Ground Zero's Volunteers," the first of several new 9/11 films commemorating the 5th anniversary of the World Trade Center disaster, is being introduced to World buyers and programmers at the annual American Film Market in Santa Monica, California.

The documentary is a straightforward, informative and moving account of the courageous and giving volunteers who responded to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Shot by former firefighter and filmmaker Lou Angeli, the film offers viewers a new perpective on the days following the 9/11 attacks, and into the thoughts and actions of rescue and recovery volunteers. Using Angeli's up-close footage, much of which has not been seen before, the film allows for new insight into the quick thinking and tireless efforts of thousands of everyday people who pitched in and worked hard for days, weeks and months.

The film is narrated by actress Kathleen Turner, who served as one of Ground Zero's volunteers. Her work included making sandwiches for rescue workers, stocking supplies at a local high school and making pleas for much needed supplies on several television networks.