Helen Mirren actors to achieve the “Triple Crown of Acting”, joining the ranks of legends including Ingrid Bergman‚ Dame Maggie Smith, and Al Pacino. In 1998, Mirren played Cleopatra to Alan Rickman's Antony in "Antony and Cleopatra" at the National Theatre. The production received poor reviews; "The Guardian" called it "plodding spectacle rarely informed by powerful passion", while "The Daily Telegraph" said "the crucial sexual chemistry on which any great production ultimately depends is fatally absent". In 2000 Nicholas Hytner, who had worked with Mirren on the film version of "The Madness of King George", cast her as Lady Torrance in his
Sean Mathias joined by Kathleen Turner, Eileen Atkins, Roger Rees and Cynthia Nixon. It earned nine Tony Award nominations including Best Director of a Play. Mathias directed his first Stephen Sondheim musical, "A Little Night Music", at the West End National Theatre in October 1995, with Judi Dench and Siân Phillips. Other London directorial credits include "Antony and Cleopatra", starring Alan Rickman and Helen Mirren, in 1998, and Tennessee Williams' "Suddenly Last Summer" with Sheila Gish in April to July 1999 at the Comedy Theatre. Mathias' career then moved to New York, where, in October 2001, he directed McKellen and Helen Mirren