Alice's Playhouse
In Alice's Playhouse you will discover an exceptional collection of feature films adapted from some of the most celebrated plays ever written. Often featuring towering performances, outstanding direction and exceptional writing, this collection is a superb archive of contemporary drama masterfully transferred to the silver screen.
Filmizations of The Bard's work may be scrolled via the 'Shakespeare' sub-feature in green on the left, along with other notable playwrights who have been adapted for celluloid.
For adaptations of novels and short stories, check the 'Special Interest' link and click on 'Based on...'
Right: Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh relax during the filming of Tennessee Williams' masterpiece, 'A Streetcar Named Desire'.
Stage Beauty (2004)
7.2/10
Director: Richard Eyre
Starring: Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Tom Wilkinson, Rupert Everett, Ben Chaplin, Richard...
Adapted from Jeffrey Hatcher's play and based loosely on the life of Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup), a 17th century theatre star noted particularly for h... Read more
A Good Woman (2004)
6.5/10
Director: Mike Barker
Starring: Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Mark Umbe...
One of Oscar Wilde's most popular plays, 'Lady Windermere's Fan', is moved to '30s New York. Helen Hunt is Mrs Erlynne, the widow living comfortably o... Read more
The Woodsman (2004)
7.2/10
Director: Nicole Kassell
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Eve , Mos Def, David Alan Grier, Benjamin Bratt
After twelve years in prison, Walter (Kevin Bacon) moves into a small apartment, gets a job and keeps to himself. But as a convicted sex offender his... Read more
Closer (2004)
7.3/10
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Clive Owen, Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman
Emotional and sexual gamesmanship, as seen through the couplings and uncouplings of four people - photographer Julia Roberts, stripper Natalie Portman... Read more
She Stoops to Conquer (2003)
7.8/10
Director: Max Stafford-Clark, Robin Lough
Starring: Nigel Cooke, Fritha Goodey, Bella Merlin, Stephen Beresford, Matthew Sim, Jane W...
Recorded live at The Theatre Royal in Bath, Oliver Goldsmith's classic comedy of manners tells of the clever schemes and comic ruses that unfold one n... Read more
Angels in America (2003)
8.3/10
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Al Pacino, Mary-Louise Parker, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, Jame...
Mike Nichols' landmark filming of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning two-part drama ("Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes") follow... Read more
Peter Pan (2003)
6.9/10
Director: P J Hogan
Starring: Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lynn Redgrave, Richard Briers, O...
Director P.J. Hogan's ('Muriel's Wedding') visually stunning adaptation of J.M. Barrie's classic story follows 'the boy who wouldn't grow up' as he le... Read more
The Laramie Project (2002)
7.3/10
Director: Moises Kaufman
Starring: Dylan Baker, Tom Bower, Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson, Peter Fonda, Steve Busc...
Playwright/director Moises Kaufman adapts his acclaimed off-Broadway production for the small screen in this powerful docudrama. Set in the Wyoming to... Read more
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
6.9/10
Director: Oliver Parker
Starring: Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Judi Dench, Reese Witherspoon, Tom Wilkinson, Franc...
Sublime reworking of Oscar Wilde's timeless comedy from director Oliver Parker ('An Ideal Husband') features flashbacks and fantasy sequences to enhan... Read more
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
7.8/10
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: John Cameron Mitchell, Andrea Martin, Michael Pitt, Miriam Shor, Alberta Watson
Stepping back into the high-heeled shoes of his acclaimed off-Broadway play's title character, director/co-writer John Cameron Mitchell stars as the b... Read more