Play. Jonathan Bolt. 5 men, 4 women. Divided Set. Returning to the grubby North Carolina mill town in which he had
grown up, a would-be Hollywood actor, Clyde Owens, rejoins his younger
brother, his estranged father and his frail, sensitive mother, who
is dying of cancer. Lionised by his old friends, most of whom now
work at the mill, he is treated like a celebrity - although the truth
is that his acting career has long since reached a dead end. When
Clyde announces that he plans to stay on and take a job at the mill
old tensions re-emerge - the disappointment of the mother who had
dreamed of a better life for her son; and the bitterness which Clyde
feels toward his mill-hand father, whose coarseness contrasts painfully
with the artistic pretensions of his mother. Her death brings the
play to its moving climax, in which father and son, if not reconciled,
come to a compassionate understanding of their differences and an
acceptance of the need to follow their separate paths in life. Play. Derek Parkes Seriously ill, Simon intends to spend the time left to him in luxury
and blackmails Morris, an embezzler. Morris, trying to obtain money
from his unsuspecting new bride - a millionaire's widow - has a nasty
shock when he discovers that it is her son, not she, who has inherited
the fortune and plans to kidnap and murder the child. But Simon is
appalled at the turn of events and, in a thrilling climax, Morris
is revealed for the ruthless fortune hunter he is. Three Birds Alighting on a Field Play. Timberlake Wertenbaker Timberlake Wertenbaker's award-winning play takes a witty, perceptive look at the art world in the boom period of the late Eighties in London. ' ... this rare, rich play for today, which unites the serious and the comical in one dramatic swoop ... a contemporary satire upon the art market, the stinging dealers and wheelers. But in the course of 22 scenes you become aware there is more here than meets the lazy eye.' Evening Standard Drama. Richard Greenberg. A year after he disappeared on the day of his father's funeral,
Walker Janeway returns to New York. He takes up temporary residence
in the unused space where 35 years earlier, his father Ned, and Ned's
late partner Theo, both architects, lived and designed the great
house that would make them fa-mous. Sleepless and emotionally jangled,
Walker scours the old empty space for clues, evidences or keys to
the tortured family history. Discovering his father's journal hidden
under the bed, he finds it as unforthcoming as his nearly-silent
father had been. Walker is joined by his sister, Nan, and their friend
from childhood, Pip, Theo's son, to hear the reading of Ned's will.
It' is there that Walker forces the confrontation that the others
need. After an evening of harrowing and sometimes comically inadvertent
revelations, Walker disappears once more. This time he returns later
that evening with a surpris-ing, but to him, definitive solution
to the family puzzle. We travel back to 1960, when Ned's journal
begins. We meet the parents at the same age their children are in
Act One: Ned, who seems very different from the cold monster the
children conjured; the charismatic and putative genius, Theo; and
Lena, Walker and Nan's mother, the delightful, troubled
"Southern woman who admits to thirty." In the guise of a love story,
we are offered all the information needed to devise an alternative
reading of the sad, unexpectedly romantic family story. (in Cinzano) - Ludmila Petrushevskaya. Trans S. Mulrine In this realistic portrayal of what life is like for women in modern
Russia, three Muscovite women 'do battle with daily problems - lack
of money, overbearing mothers, errant husbands, dubious lovers and
grizzling children ... but the play is a comedy, full of affection
and absurd moments' Independent Comedy: John Cecil Holm and George Abbott Erwin Trowbridge sometimes chafes at suburban life, and at his rather
uninspiring job of writing greeting card slogans for a boss who pays
small wages. One day Erwin, fed up with his wife and brother-in-law,
instead of going to the office, makes his way to a saloon, determined
to declare his independence of home and business. There he falls
in with two men and a girl whose "profession' is betting on the horses.
Now Erwin's hobby is "doping" out the races and he becomes fabulously
rich - on paper. He picks the right horses, but never once places
a bet. He tells his new friends what horses to bet on, and to their
astonishment, they win. Erwin will prove a gold mine if properly
managed, and the three professionals decide to hold onto him for
dear life. Though Erwin has misgivings, he is persuaded to remain
with his new-found friends at a hotel and regularly dope out the
races. But he becomes increasingly concerned about his job (which
does really suit him) and his wife (who does really love him). Matters
with Erwin and his companions come to a climax when one of them suspects
him of double-crossing, and he insists on Erwin's betting on a horse
to prove that he is straight. Erwin declares he will lose his power
if he bets, and this is indeed what happens. Erwin's boss, wife and
brother-in-law become worried, until they learn he is really interested
in what he considers his lifework, the writing of verses. Erwin turns
down an offer by an outside gambler who wants to buy a "slice" of
him; he knows he will never again be able to pick winning horses;
the poet in him predominates and he is happy to return home to his
loving wife. Play. Willis Hall, from the novel by Alexandre Dumas Willis Hall brings Dumas' swashbuckling tale to the stage in a lively,
tongue-in-cheek version. D'Artagnan, a young Gascon, goes to Paris
to join King Louis XIII's Musketeers, is befriended by three valiant
members of that force, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, and shares their
adventures, foiling the evil plans of Cardinal Richelieu and Milady
de Winter to discredit Louis' wife, Anne. Play. Romulus Linney Three women who were astonishing poets are the subjects of this
trio of linked short plays. Ono no Komachi (Japan, 9th century),
Hrosvitha (Gandersheim, Saxony, 10th century), and Anna Akhmatova
(USSR, 20th century) fight for their lives and their work in three
brilliant plays first presented by the Theater for the New City in
New York These three swift dramas are lyrical, literate, and exciting,
together making an evening as enchanting as it is unusual.
"...dramatizes the timeless tension between the physical and the
political power of men and the spiritual and intellectual power of
women." - 7 Days. "...ripples with poetic intensity ... in a time
of repression, each artist survived as a secret genius ..." - NY
Times. The Stories: Komachi duels with the Prince Shoso, making
her verses out of their conflict, until she meets a brutal end. Hrosvitha has
her play acted before Mother Superior and a censoring monk, who have
a furious battle over her work and leave her to decide how dedicated
a poet she is. Akhmatova is summoned to the Kremlin upon the
death of Stalin and must resist the ruthless Commissar's search for
the words of her masterpiece, which has been committed to her memory
and to the memories of her trusted friends. Play. Patricia Joudry. Maud's husband left her long ago and died in some far-off place. She shares a barren, loveless home with her, son, Joe. Maud and Joe can't reach each other except to inflict pain. She nags Joe for his uselessness and for the emptiness which has opened up between them. Joe retreats behind his books, and into dreams. Lucinda is married to Maud's brother, and has son, Eddie, who is a successful and unprincipled lawyer. She calls on Maud and Joe each week. Between these two there is also a sense of alienàtion made greater by Eddies refusal to talk to his father, who is in prison. Into their midst comes Michelle. She is a gentle, other-worldly orphan, who calls Maud's long-lost husband "father," and believes that she has finally found her true home and family. Michelle has two rings - one from her mother and one from her father'. She seeks a third ring-from a friend. How she finds this, and how she brings hope to people who had known only despair is the real story, and meaning of the play. The lesson it teaches is warm with truth and understanding, and the way in which it is put forth constitutes an affecting and unique experience. Play. Anton Chekhov, in a revised English version by Jean-Claude
van Itallie. Trapped in a provincial Russian town after the death of their father,
three sisters lament the passing of better times and long for the
excitement of Moscow. One of them has married a local high school
teacher; another has become a teacher herself the third has settled
for a dull job in the local telegraph office. Their principal interest
is focused on the officers of the local regiment, of which their
father had been commandant, men who bring a sense of sophistication
and the world outside to their stultified existence. Much of the
action is concerned with the events of daily life: their brother's
dull marriage; bitter-sweet flirtations with the regimental officers;
and the gossip and restrictions of small town life. In the end the
fateful pattern of their existence is made clear - their dreams will
be denied but, despite all, there must always be hope, however futile,
and the ways of the world are to be accepted, if not understood. Play. Anton Chekhov, translated by Michael Frayn This new translation of one of Chekhov's greatest dramas was premiered by the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in 1985 and was again produced at the Greenwich Theatre in 1987, before transferring successfully to the Albery Theatre in London's West End. Michael Frayn's translation 'is full of those little liberties and intimacies of ordinary speech which override grammar and syntax and betray moods of ordinary people and the impulses of the heart.' Daily Telegraph Play. Anton Chekhov, translated by Brian Friel Brian Friel's translation was undertaken primarily as an act of love and, since the only Chekhov translations available to the Irish theatre at the time (1981) were American and English, in the hope that it might make the unique experience of Chekhov more accessible to Irish audiences. Here he presents brilliantly the social atmosphere, its characters' resolution to return to Moscow, their great passions and epiphanies, and their gradual self-realization. Anton Chekhov. Trans S. Mulrine Living in a provincial army barrack town, Olga, Masha and Irina
are finding life dull, and long for the vitality of Moscow. Meanwhile,
their brother's wife begins to take over their house and their lives
... Original first performed in 1901. Play Anton Chekhovt, translated by Lanford Wilson. Play. Anton Chekhov, translated by Robert Corrigan. Edward Àlbee : Drama In Act One, a young lawyer, "C," has been sent to the home of a
client, a 92-year-old woman, "A," to sort out her finances. "A," frail,
perhaps a bit senile, resists and is of no help to "C." Along with "B," the
old woman's matronly paid companion/caretaker, "C" tries to convince "A
that she must concentrate on the matters at hand. In "As"
beautifully appointed bedroom, she prods, discusses and bickers with "B" and "C," her
captives. ".'\s" long life is laid out for display, no holds barred.
She cascades from regal and charming to vicious and wretched as she
wonders about and remembers her life: Her husband and their cold,
passionless marriage; her son and, their estrangement. How did she
become this? Who is she? Finally, when recounting her most painful
memory, she suffers a stroke. In Act Two,
Äs" comatose body lies in bed as "B" and "C" observe no changes
in her condition. In a startling coup-de-theatre,
"A" enters, very much alive and quite lucid. The three women are
now the stages of Äs" life: the imperious old woman, the regal
matron and the young woman of 26. Her life, memories and reminiscences-pondered
in the first act-are now unceremoniously examined, questioned, accepted
or not, but, at last, understood. In the end, her son arrives and
kneels at her bedside, but it is too late. Play. Jeffrey Hatcher. Three comic/dramatic monologues set in a midwestern funeral parlor over a three-day Christmas weekend. Tell-Tale is the story of Emil, the mildmannered undertaker
whose unspoken passion for . a local real estate woman who comes
to all his funerals leads him to commit crimes and plot a way to
confess his true feelings before time - and bodies - run out. The
Thief of Tears is Mac, a beautiful Los Angeles drifter, who makes
her living stealing jewelry from corpses. When her wealthy grandmother
dies, leaving her nothing, Mac returns to her hometown and attempts
to pry loose her inheritance, a diamond ring her grandmother promised
Mac when she was a child. Her attempt leads Mac to find there are
more obstacles to getting the ring off grandma's finger than she
had imagined, and more revelations about her own past than she had
bargained for. Thirteen Things About Ed Carpolotti is the
story of Virginia; the widow of a wheeler-dealer contractor, who
discovers that her husband has left her in debt to the banks, her
family, and the mob. As Virginia struggles to escape her creditors
and understand how her husband could have left her in such pain and
doubt, a mysterious list of
"thirteen things" embarrassing to Ed is offered to her if she can
come up with one million dollars in three days. Virginia doesrit
have the money, but she does have hidden resources, and is saved
by an unseen benefactor. As the play ends, Virginia's benefactor
is revealed, along with what the mysterious "thirteen things" are
- revelations that resurrect the love and trust thought lost forever. Play. Glyn Jones Gillian Howard is a successful writer whose latest book has been
voted 'thriller of the year'. Returning from a celebration, accompanied
by her publisher, Irene, she goes to the kitchen to make coffee.
Suddenly the gas cooker explodes and Gillian enters, badly shaken.
Her doctor is called but this is only the start of a series of events
which leads to murder, as Gillian finds herself caught up in situations
resembling those in her own books. Play. Robert Ardrey. 8 men, 3 women. Interior The action passes in a lighthouse on Lake Michigan. Charleston,
the keeper, has taken a job there to flee from a detestable world.
Opposing Charleston's pessimism, Streeter, his friend, says he is
giving up his job to become an active member of society again. Streeter
believes our world can be brought out of its chaos if people do something
about it. Filled with this determination, he leaves to become an
aviator. Charleston retreats further into a fantastic world of his
own building. The people of this world are half a dozen of the 60
who were shipwrecked 90 years ago. Believing that "Mankind's got
one future - in the past," Charleston breathes life into these creatures
of his imagination. They live again on the stage. As he talks to
them we see passengers as they really were, each seeking sanctuary
from a disturbed Europe, running away from life, yet needing the
same hope and strength as Charleston himself. Charleston's sincerity
convinces these creatures that he really has the courage to lead
his fellow men into a better world, and in this faith they are content
to die again. Inspired by their confidence, the lighthouse-keeper
returns to useful work, determined to create a new order out of the
chaos of the old. Play. Loleh Bellon, translated by Barbara Bray Every Thursday, Sonia, Hélène and Marie meet in Sonia's
run-down Parisian apartment for tea in a long-standing ritual where
they chat, upbraid and reminisce. The action centres on three Thursdays
in the winter of 1975 where the loves, jealousies and fears of these
early childhood friends are revealed in a series of touching sequences
alternating between the present and past fifty-five years. The London
production starred Eileen Atkins, Sian Phillips and Dorothy Tutin. Play. Seneca, translated by Caryl Churchill Taken directly from the Latin, Caryl Churchill's translation is
accurate, uncut and faithful to the original. |