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The
Sea. Comedy. Edward
Bond The Sea is a comedy set in an East Coast village in 1907. The action centres around the drowning of a young man and the repercussions, emotional and political, it has on the tight, inward-looking village community. The
Seagull. Comedy.
Anton Chekhov, translated by David Iliffe Arkadina and her lover Trigorin have the
strength of selfishness; Treplev and Nina have the
vulnerability of those who love too wholeheartedly. The
seagull that Treplev carelessly kills is identified with
Nina, who is destroyed by Trigorin, a man 'with nothing
better to do'. Trigorin seduces her and later tires of her.
Treplev hopes she will return to him but she comes back only
to say goodbye. When she is gone, he shoots himself. Period
1894 The
Seagull. Comedy.
Anton Chekhov, translated by Michael Frayn Chekhov's classic comedy, translated by Michael Frayn, permits the modern reader to appreciate more than ever before the qualities of he original. Frayn really brings the familiar Chekhovian characters to life through the use of beautiful, idiomatic English and in this edition provides a comprehensive introduction and chronology to the life and works of the playwright. The
Seagull. Play. Anton
Chekhov. A new version by Tom Stoppard Tom Stoppard made this English version for the Peter Hall Company at the Old Vic. Here, amid 'the weariness of life in the country', the famous actress Arkadina presides over a household riven with desperate love, with dreams of success and dread of failure. Her son, Konstantin, shoots a seagull; the novelist, Trigorin, will one day write the seagull's story; but it is Nina, 'the seagull' herself, whose life to come will rewrite the story. Period early 1900s The
Seagull - Anton
Chekhov. Adapted by Pam Gems Arkadina, a famous actress, and her
lover, a famous novelist, are spending the summer on her
country estate; their glamorous presence proves disruptive
to the lives of all those present, especially her son,
Konstantin, and Nina, the girl he loves. First seen in this
version at the National Theatre in 1994 with Dame Judi Dench
as the indomitable Arkadina. The
Seagull - Anton
Chekhov. Trans S. Mulrine See above. The original was first
performed in 1896; this translation was first staged in 1997
by the English Touring Theatre with Cheryl Campbell in the
lead. Seagulls
Over Sorrento. Play.
Hugh Hastings Four naval ratings doing experimental
work on an island in Scapa Flow find a hard life made harder
by a bullying Petty Officer and the death in an explosion of
one of their number. Matters do not improve when they are
joined by a technician who turns out to be the man who stole
the cockney Badger's wife, but they battle on to the end of
their mission and are rewarded with leave. Season's
Greetings. Play. Alan
Ayckbourn Half a dozen relatives and friends are celebrating Christmas with Neville and Belinda. Petty, and not so petty, squabbles break out. Christmas presents are rifled, mechanical toys are set off. Hilarious highlights include a chaotically incompetent puppet show and a midnight love scene that goes wrong. A final climax leads to, what momentarily appears to be, a tragedy as Clive, mistaken for a looter, is shot by the trigger-happy Harvey. Second
from Last in the Sack
Race. Play. Michael
Birch, from the novel by David Nobbs This play traces the ups and downs in he
life of Henry Pratt. Born in 1935 Henry's childhood is
disrupted first by war, then by the death of his mother and
father. Henry is packed off to prep school and then public
school and then lives with grown-up cousin Hilda. The play
ends in 1953, as he begins his National Service. David Nobbs
is well known as a TV writer of quality and this play was
screened under the title Life and Times of Henry
Pratt. The
Second Mrs Tanqueray.
Drama. Arthur W. Pinero Aubrey Tanqueray willingly withdraws from
London society to marry his second wife, for Paula Ray has
had a notorious past. She has all the warmth that Aubrey's
first wife lacked. But in the country, ostracised by the
respectable, their relationship becomes intolerably
strained. Paula realises that her past will always harm
those she loves. Even before Aubrey is told of Paula's
suicide he curses men of his class who wreak such
incalculable harm merely by leading a 'man's life'. Period
1893 The
Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13
3/4. Play with music.
Sue Townsend. Songs by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley Adapted by Sue Townsend from her best-seller, this satirical comedy of adolescent manners follows the efforts of a spotty teenager to make sense of the erratic behaviour of the adults around him. The disintegration of his parents' marriage, threats from the local bully, first love pains and spots are a series of minor tragedies he must cope with in the transition from puberty to manhood. The
Secret Rapture. Play.
David Hare In David Hare's 'greatest play' (City
Limits) two sisters, Isobel, a serene and good person,
and Marion, an ambitious Tory Junior Minister, gather at the
home of their late father for his funeral. Katherine, the
sisters' young, alcoholic, stepmother announces her
intention of joining Isobel's design company. Reluctantly
Isobel agrees and this act paves the way for tragedy and
disaster involving Isobel's lover Irwin, and Marion's
evangelical, earnest husband Tom. The
Secretary Bird.
Comedy. William Douglas Home After over twelve years of seemingly
happy marriage to her somewhat older husband, Liz suddenly
announces she has fallen for John and wants a divorce.
Apparently acquiescing, Hugh says he will provide the
grounds. Everything seems set for a calm passage until it
turns out that the plan includes Hugh's pretty secretary as
co-respondent and that the action is to take place in their
own home! A long-running West End hit. The
Seducer's Diary (in
Hungarian Plays) - Andres Nagy. English version by
Julian Garner This is a simple but dark love story -
loosely based on the writings and diary of the Danish
philosopher Kierkegaard. It follows a young man who sets out
to prove or disprove the existence of God by embarking upon
a course of seduction. Unfortunately, he cannot live up to
his desires and gradually diminishes from a romantic hero to
the tragi-comic victim of his own intrigue. First staged
1992. See
How They Run! Farce.
Philip King The Rev. Lionel Toop's wife, Penelope, is
an ex-actress. While Lionel is away Clive, an actor, calls.
He invites Penelope to dine in town which is out of bounds
to servicemen. He dresses in Lionel's blacks. Miss Skillon,
a parishioner, sees the couple repeating one of their
theatrical scenes and draws the wrong conclusion. Matters
become highly complicated when Lionel arrives, followed by
the Bishop of Lax and a German POW disguised as a vicar!
Period 1947 Semi-Detached.
Play. David Turner The characters are not naturalistic
portraits but rather caricatures of contemporary types. As
in the older comedies their names suggest their identities
(Midway, Makepiece, Freeman, etc.). The model Midland
householder, Fred Midway, sedulously climbing the business
and social ladders, self-educated by correspondence courses,
with his material yardstick, his oratory, self-knowledge and
pathetic faith in himself, provides a brilliant centre to a
highly entertaining and satirical play. Separate
Tables. Two plays.
Terence Rattigan The typical South Coast Hotel Beauregarde
is peopled by the old, the lonely and the indigent. The
manageress, Miss Cooper, is unable to remain aloof from
their troubles. In Table No. 1 she attempts to help
John Malcolm and his ex-wife Ann, who have ruined each
other, find salvation together. In Table No. 2 Major
Pollock and Miss Railton-Bell are misfits and their despair
draws them together. Miss Cooper gives them the courage to
face life. Separation.
Play. Tom Kempinski Joe Green is a fat, unsociable,
unproductive, phobia-ridden writer whose one hit play is the
subject of a transatlantic phone call from a New York
actress, suffering from a paralysing disease, who wants to
perform it. They become friends over the phone but when she
arrives in London Joe's neurotic terrors almost, but not
quite, kill the love affair completely. Funny, tender and
completely captivating, the play was seen at Hampstead and
the Comedy Theatres with David Suchet and Saskia Reeves. September
in the Rain Play. John
Godber This play, together with its companion, Happy Jack, is described by the author as 'autobiographical, but not in the strict sense. Both plays are about my grandparents and chronicle their lives. All the incidents are based on fact - they were the myths of my childhood.' Their marriage is explored with great pathos and humour and ' ... transmitted with a directness that touches the heart ...' Guardian September Tide. Play. Daphne du Maurier. Revised version by Mark Rayment M3 (20s, middle-age) F3 (20s, middle-age). A living-room. In a Cornish house lives the widowed
Stella, a woman of considerable gifts and beauty who
regularly rejects proposals of marriage from her neighbour
Robert Hanson. Cherry, Stella's daughter, brings home her
artist husband Evan for the first time and Stella is shocked
by the bohemian incompleteness of their marriage. She finds
herself attracted to Evan and soon they are passionately in
love: although much is left unspoken, Evan eventually
compels Stella to admit her feelings. Period 1950s Serious
Money. City comedy.
Caryl Churchill. Songs by Ian Dury, Micky Gallacher and Chas
Jankel Set post-Big Bang 1980s in the Square
Mile, the action centres on a take-over bid led by the
ruthless Billy Corman. When cartel member Jake Todd dies
amidst the amassing of a fortune, his sister, Scilla,
investigates his murder, initially from curiosity but later
from greed. Churchill's witty dialogue is complemented by
two songs with bawdily, satirical lyrics by Ian Dury. NB.
This play contains explicit language. The
Servant of Two Masters.
Comedy. Adapted by David Turner and Paul Lapworth from
the original by Carlo Goldoni Goldoni skilfully adapted the commedia
dell'arte pattern to his own very funny plots, and the
most famous is this play wherein the story concerns the
terrible complications wrought by Truffaldino when he gets
himself engaged as a servant by two different people at the
same time. The plot sparkles with invention and this
adaptation in the modern idiom brilliantly matches the
spirit of the play. Sextet
(also known as Six of One). Play. Michael Pertwee Roger has invited Philip and his wife for
a cruise on his luxury yacht-together with Denys, his
employee, and his wife - in order to see whether Denys
proves suitable for an important job abroad. Complications
start, however, with the arrival of Roger's estranged wife
Lisa. Then the philandering Philip turns up with his latest
mistress instead of his wife. Soon every conceivable
combination of twice three has been achieved before the
final hilarious climax erupts.
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