ALISON BOSHOFF: Quentin Tarantino to bring ‘classic British trouser dropping’ farce to the West End

Ever since film director Quentin Tarantino revealed last summer that his next project was going to be to bring a play to the West End, everyone has been wondering what on earth it will be.

Could it be an adaptation of one of his films – like Reservoir Dogs or Kill Bill? Might it be – gulp – a musical version of Pulp Fiction?

All he said, in a podcast last August, was: ‘The play is written. It is absolutely the next thing I’m going to do. We’ll start the ball rolling on it in January… It’s probably going to take up a year and a half to two years of my life.’

I can finally reveal what ‘it’ is.

The stranger-than-fiction truth is that Tarantino has written an original, old-fashioned British farce, in the door-slamming, trouser-dropping, mistaken identity vein of Brian Rix or Ray Cooney.

It will most likely come to the stage in 2027, although late 2026 is still a remote possibility. My perfectly placed source says: ‘He has written this himself. It is not based on any of his films. It is a farce, in the British, Noises Off tradition.

‘At the moment, he is looking at all different sizes and sorts of theatres while he considers the staging.’

That is apparently very important to the project and there are whispers that one scene will involve an actor coming in on a wire.

Meanwhile, Tarantino is negotiating with big Hollywood stars to appear in the show.

None of his usual troupe – like Leonardo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt – have a remotely theatrical background, so it will be fascinating to see who he turns to.

He could pick someone like Bradley Cooper, who took the lead in a West End production of The Elephant Man a decade ago.

Tarantino, who now lives in Israel with his wife Daniella Pick, has been spending time in London and was spotted in the audience of High Noon in the West End in February. 

He recently opted not to direct the film The Adventures Of Cliff Booth for Netflix, which is a continuation of the world he created in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and once again stars Brad Pitt. He wrote the script, but David Fincher has directed it.

This is because he has committed to a plan of directing just ten feature-length films in his life.

He scrapped a film called The Movie Critic, which was going to be his final fling; but hasn’t yet chosen a new project for his last hurrah. 

Briers is back in business

There’s a sweet Easter egg for fans of the 1995 Pride And Prejudice mini-series in the forthcoming BBC drama The Other Bennet Sister.

Actress Lucy Briers played Mary Bennet in that show – and she has been brought back to play frazzled housemaid Mrs Hill.

The Other Bennet Sister tells the story of Mary, a minor character in Jane Austen’s novel. She is played by Call The Midwife and Bridgerton actress Ella Bruccoleri.

Paltrow’s forgotten something! 

Gwyneth Paltrow had a fabulous night at the Actor Awards on Sunday night (the event formerly known as the SAG awards), but did something slip her mind?

Paltrow didn’t wish her husband Brad Falchuk a happy birthday; and he didn’t come with her, either.

Odd, because last year she wrote: ‘Happy birthday to the best boyfriend/husband/friend I could ever hope for. Thank you for being my keel and the backbone of our family. I love you incredibly deeply forever.’

This time around, there was no mention of Brad, or his big day, or keels.

TV producer Falchuck is riding high with the success of Famous Last Words, a frank last interview with a celebrity, broadcast only after their death. The recently released episode with actor Eric Dane is a hit on Netflix, and he has a dozen more planned.

Dakota’s time to shine

I’ve heard heated debates about whether Dakota Johnson is a ‘limited’ actress — or whether she’s simply made bad choices, such as Madame Webb and the Fifty Shades trilogy.

Well, the argument is about to be settled once and for all, as Johnson is going to share a screen with probably the two most acclaimed actresses of her generation – Academy Award frontrunner Jessie Buckley and four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan – in a prestigious arthouse project.

The trio are going to star in an adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s novel The Three Incestuous Sisters, about siblings who live in physical and emotional isolation.

And just to make the project even more intimidating, director Alice Rohrwacher is apparently going to make it as a silent movie.

Rohrwacher said: ‘I think that… silent cinema, and especially European silent cinema – the work of the great European masters – isn’t merely something that came before talking cinema. It’s a completely different medium of expression.’

Filming will start next month, after Ronan finishes playing Linda McCartney in Sam Mendes’s Beatles movies.

Epstein documentary on the horizon

Interviewer Emily Maitlis landed a body blow on Prince Andrew in that history-making Newsnight interview in 2019, which dealt with his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

She got him again, in the entertaining drama made about that interview, A Very Royal Scandal, in which she was played by Ruth Wilson, and he was portrayed by Michael Sheen. (Maitlis also acted as executive producer on the show.)

And – ding, ding – here she comes for Round 3, as it can be revealed Maitlis is hoping to get a drama about Epstein off the ground.

This time, the disgraced financier with friends in high places will be the main focus, rather than the disgraced former prince.

In addition to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, actors will be vying for the chance to play Bill Gates, Woody Allen, and Bill Clinton – who described Epstein as an ‘interesting man’ this week.

You might think it potentially unwise to produce a drama when the news story at its heart is still unfolding, but apparently this won’t be about the consequences and aftermath of Epstein’s crimes; rather about how he managed to move through society and gain influence and wealth. The recent release of a new tranche of files by the US Department of Justice has given the project renewed impetus, but I understand it was in development before then. ‘Emily is very keen to make this happen,’ I’m told.

The project is with the TV production company Bluesky, which is part of Sony.

A Very Royal Scandal was a three-part series on Prime Video in September 2024. It was preceded by a rival film, Scoop, based on Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s book. That starred Gillian Anderson as Maitlis and Rufus Sewell as Andrew.

Chalamet’s got Oscars competition 

Watch out Timothee – Michael B. Jordan is enjoying a last-minute Oscars surge.

Jordan, who plays identical twins Smoke and Stack in Sinners, has seen his odds fall dramatically after he scooped Best Actor at the Actor Awards on Sunday, and gave a perfectly pitched, inspiring speech.

There is also a lot of sympathy after he and his Sinners’ co-star Delroy Lindo endured (unintentional) upset at the Baftas.

Voting for the Academy Awards closed yesterday. The entertainment site Gold Derby, which aggregates predictions from industry experts, says he is up 34 percentage points and now has a 39 per cent chance of winning.

Marty Supreme star Timothee Chalamet is still leading the pack, on 46 per cent – but that was down 27 points overnight.

A consensus developed some time ago that Jessie Buckley is a sure thing for Hamnet; and after wins at Bafta and the Actor Awards, Sean Penn is tipped to take the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for One Battle After Another.

The supporting actress race is wide open, though; with One Battle’s Teyana Taylor being given a run for her money by Amy Madigan, nominated for her role as a very wicked witch in the horror film Weapons.

No more reality TV for Lauren

Whither Lauren Cowell? Simon Cowell’s fiancée has been taken on as a client by his agents at YMU, which she described as ‘an exciting new chapter’ in her career.

Lauren featured prominently in Cowell’s recent documentary Simon Cowell: The Next Chapter, about forming a boyband.

But friends say she doesn’t want to do more reality TV. Instead, she is developing business ideas around young people and social media.