TEA FOR THREE, a gallery of deeply touching, often funny portraits of three dynamic women, is the third CTC production to transfer Off Broadway in five years, (following The Bully Pulpit and The Dishwashers) and fifth transfer in six years (Last Train to Nibroc to Peterborough Players and Pride@Prejudice to Capital Repertory Company).

CTC Artistic Director Byam Stevens directed the original CTC production and will remount it in New York. According to Stevens, “The audience comes upon each of these remarkable ladies at a threshold moment in their lives, when years of sacrifice have come to an end and they have to face new challenges. At this pivotal life moment, they share with us not only their triumphs and tragedies, but also surprising, sometimes very funny, revelations about their personal lives.”

TEA FOR THREE was born when comedian/impressionist Rich Little chose Ms. Bromka to play eight First Ladies opposite him for the PBS production of The Presidents. She became fascinated with three of them, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon and Betty Ford, and approached Drama Desk Award nominated playwright Eric H. Weinberger to collaborate on a one-woman show about the great adventure that Pat Nixon called “the hardest unpaid job in the world.”

TEA FOR THREE is grounded in a longstanding White House tradition – each First Lady prepares a tea for her successor. Weinberger used this tradition as a springboard to uncover a unique perspective – the one held by the wife and partner of the Most Powerful Man in the World.

Jeffrey Borak of The Berkshire Eagle reviewing the CTC production wrote “Elaine Bromka’s portrait of Pat Nixon is expertly crafted, wrenching, sad, and haunting.” The Republican greeted the CTC transfer to City Stage in Springfield with: “This play is polished, effective, precise, amusing and touching.”

Ms. Bromka has appeared on Broadway in The Rose Tattoo, I’m Not Rappaport and Macbeth,and off-Broadway in Cloud 9, Inadmissible Evidence with Nicol Williamson, the world premiere of Michael Weller’s Split and Candide with the National Theatre of the Deaf.  Her regional credits include: Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, Actors Theatre of Louisville, ACT/Seattle, and Shakespeare and Company. On television she has appeared in E.R., The Sopranos, Providence, L.A. Law, Law and Order, and Law and Order: Special Victims’ Unit.

Eric H Weinberger’s one-woman play Class Mothers ’68 was produced Off Broadway, garnering a Drama Desk nomination for its star, Priscilla Lopez. Wanda’s World, produced by Amas Musical Theatre Off Broadway, garnered a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Book of a Musical and a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Musical.

Byam Stevens’ Off Broadway credits include: The Dishwashers by Morris Panych; The Bully Pulpit, starring Michael O. Smith; the World Premiere of Carbondale Dreams by Steven Sater; and the American Premiere of Beef by David Pownall. For CTC, the World Premieres of: The Darlings, Home Fires Burning, The Plains of Ilion and John and Teddy. Other CTC productions include: Wittenberg, Last Train to Nibroc, Love Song, Two Rooms, An Almost Holy Picture, Valley Song, The Interrogation of Nathan Hale, Shirley Valentine (starring Elaine Bromka).

ARMS ON FIRE – A World Premiere from the writers of Spring Awakening (June 26 – July 7)

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The season opens on June 26th with the World Premiere of ARMS ON FIRE, by Steven Sater, with music by Duncan Sheik. The play tells the story of Smith, a young singer in search of a career break, who meets Ulysses, a factory worker living in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. As Smith spins out dreams of his future, he also draws out Ulysses’ past — memories of his lost love Josephina, a passionate nightclub singer. When Josephina appears, both men are forced to face truths about the present. This deeply moving and often funny play about an unlikely friendship will be directed by CTC Artistic Director Byam Stevens. The New York Times hailed Sater and Sheik’s Tony Award winning Spring Awakening as “the freshest and most exciting new musical Broadway has seen in some time.” ARMS ON FIRE will run June 26th to July 7th.

“The first play I directed as Artistic Director of CTC was Steven Sater’s Plains of Ilion.” said Byam Stevens, “It’s truly great to have him back again to open our season with the world premiere of a new play with music by renowned performer and recording artist Duncan Sheik. This will be our 25th world premiere in 24 years, a production record very much in keeping with our commitment to presenting the best in contemporary theatre. The 2013 season is a gallery of superb contemporary writing from the psychological thriller TRYST to the comedy of manners BODY AWARENESS to the poetic re-imaginating of a world classic AN ILIAD.”

TRYST – Downton Abbey meets Hitchcock (July 11 – 21)

Running July 11-21, TRYST, a psychological thriller set in Edwardian London, offers a complete change of pace. It’s as if Downton Abbey meets Hitchcock in Karoline Leach’s riveting drama of romance and suspense, attraction and betrayal. The Berkshire Eagle enthused “a compelling, haunting play… that plays by its own rules.” TRYST opens with a direct address from a handsome con-man going by the name George Love, who courts vulnerable spinsters, marries them, takes their life’s savings and disappears. He is soon joined on stage by his latest target, lonely Adelaide Pinchin. But, Adelaide has a peculiar effect on George, and almost nothing seems to go as he plans. This tantalizing drama will feature two CTC favorites: Allison McLemore, who played the Governess in The Turn of the Screw and May in The Nibroc Trilogy, and James Barry, whose portrayal of Dr. Faustus in Wittenberg was named the Best Performance of 2011 by the Berkshire Eagle. Daniel Elihu Kramer, director of that thrilling 2011 production of The Turn of the Screw, will direct.

BODY AWARENESS – A Smart Comedy from an Obie Award Winner (July 31 – August 11)

The Regional Premiere of Annie Baker’s BODY AWARENESS, will open July 31 and run through August 11. Ms. Baker, with her unique ear for dialogue and ability to capture the dramatic potential of everyday life, is fast becoming one of America’s eminent playwrights. BODY AWARENESS focuses on a modern nuclear family: Phyllis, a college professor, her partner Joyce, a high school teacher and Joyce’s adult son, Jared. Phyllis has organized “Body Awareness Week” at the college where she teaches. She and Joyce are hosting Frank, a Body Awareness Week guest artist whose nude photos are being shown in the campus gallery. When Jared — who swears he doesn’t have Asperger’s Syndrome — turns to Frank for advice, and Joyce considers posing for him, tensions rise in this smart and generous comedy from the Obie Award winning playwright (and Amherst native). The New York Times praised BODY AWARENESS as “an engaging new comedy by a young playwright with a probing, understated voice.” Knud Adams, a newcomer to CTC who has assisted director Sam Gold on two productions of Annie Baker plays, will direct.

AN ILIAD – An Ancient Tale Retold with Wit and Wisdom (August 15 – 25)

The 2013 season will come to a close with the Regional Premiere of Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare’s AN ILIAD, their acclaimed re-imagining of Homer’s classic. Their much traveled Poet, accompanied by live music, tells his story of gods and goddesses, kings and heroes, epic battles, and endless war. With excerpts from Robert Fagles’ soaring translation, the ancient tale comes roaring back to life in a striking new telling filled with fresh wit and eternal wisdom. Director Sheila Siragusa will be re-united with CTC favorite Steve Hendrickson for the 4th time (Crime and Punishment, Blackbird, Mercy of a Storm) to bring CTC audiences a play that the New York Times calls: “Spellbinding…an age-old story that resonates with tragic meaning today.” The production runs August 15-25.

CTC performances take place at Chester’s Historic Town Hall, 15 Middlefield Road, Chester MA. Performances Wednesdays-Saturday at 8pm, matinees Thursday and Sunday at 2pm.

Tickets are available for purchase at the door of Chester Town Hall, by phone at 1-800-595-4TIX or 413-354-7771, or by clicking here.

About Chester Theatre Company

Chester Theatre Company, a professional theatre company located in the foothills of the Berkshires, produces 4 plays each summer, performed by top-flight actors, directors and designers from across the country. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Byam Stevens, CTC has earned a reputation for producing the best in contemporary theatre — 17 CTC productions have gone on to Off Broadway, regional, national, and international engagements in the last 15 years.  For further information go to CTC’s website, click here.

CTC performances are supported, in part, by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Local Cultural Councils of Blandford, Chester, Middlefield, Russell, Otis, Washington, and Worthington.

Download Press Release Here

In response to requests over the years from our dedicated CTC community, we recently launched a New York City Theatre Tour program! With no need to pack a bag or find your passport, this day-long tour is a great entry point for those curious about the experience of our popular international theatre tours, or for those simply desiring to experience our signature, thoughtful approach to theatre-viewing outside our summer season.

Click here to read an account by Valley Advocate Reporter Chris Rohmann of our first New York City Theatre Tour to see THE WILD BRIDE at St. Ann’s Warehouse on February 24, 2013.

With the New York City Theatre Tour, you will experience the intellectual rigor and fun of a theatre trip led by CTC Artistic Director Byam Stevens, connect with fellow CTC community members, and get yourself warmed up for our summer season!

For our second New York City Theatre Tour, we will be traveling to Manhattan’s Irish Arts Center to see Deirdre Kinahan’s THESE HALCYON DAYS. This lovely, poignant two-hander, was the hit of the 2012 Dublin Theatre Festival, and an absolute favorite with the patrons of CTC’s Dublin Theatre Tour. This is a unique chance to see the play in its American premiere production, featuring the original Irish cast. As an added bonus, Ms. Kinahan, who will be over from Ireland for the premiere, will join us for a post-play TalkBack!

ABOUT THESE HALCYON DAYS

Seán sits alone in a nursing-home conservatory, abandoned to his memories, when in storms Patricia, a feisty woman with a zest for life and handsome men in wheelchairs. A wary intimacy soon develops between the two—an unforeseen relationship by turns charming and combative, tender and funny. THESE HALCYON DAYS is a funny, touching, life-affirming play about facing our fears, told with Kinahan’s hallmark wry humor and humanity.

Click here to watch an interview with Deirdre Kinahan talking about her inspiration behind THESE HALYCON DAYS.

“Kinahan could ask for no better actors than Stephen Brennan and Anita Reeves to bring her characters to life”

     - The Irish Times

“Kinahan’s message is an important one”

     - Evening Herald

“A wonderful balance between humour and poignancy…a rich blend of both unintentional hilarity and insightful wit”

    – entertainment.ie 

DETAILS ON THE NEW YORK CITY THEATRE TOUR

The day-long tour to see THESE HALYCON DAYS will take place on Saturday, May 11, 2013.

As is true with all CTC tour experiences, you will be taken care of from departure to return. We will meet in Springfield, MA, at the South Parking Lot of the Basketball Hall of Fame, easily accessible from Exit 6 off of 1-91. Our bus will depart at 9:30am, arriving in Manhattan with plenty of time for lunch prior to the 2:00pm matinee.

After the performance, Byam Stevens and THESE HALCYON DAYS playwright, Deirdre Kinahan, will lead a private TalkBack for the CTC tour group in the Irish Arts Center’s theatre. On our return bus to Springfield, a snack will also be provided. Our bus will return to Springfield by 8:00pm. Uno’s Pizzeria, located in the South Parking Lot, is open late for those who’d like a Chicago-style deep dish pie, a glass of wine, and perhaps some continued conversation before heading home.

 TOUR COST: $149 per person.  Tour includes:

• Round Trip Bus Fare
• Admission to THESE HALYCON DAYS at the Irish Arts Center
• List of restaurant recommendations near the Irish Arts Center
• Post-performance Talkback led by Byam Stevens and playwright Deirdre Kinahan
• On board snacks

With only 45 seats available, be sure to book in advance.

*NEW* “Theatre-only” Tour option: for our friends who would like to join the tour but live outside the Pioneer Valley, we have created a theatre-only option, removing the cost of round trip bus fare and on-board snacks.

“THEATRE-ONLY” TOUR COST: $59 per person. The theatre-only option includes:

• Admission to THESE HALYCON DAYS at the Irish Arts Center
• List of restaurant recommendations near the Irish Arts Center
• Post-performance Talkback led by Byam Stevens and playwright Deirdre Kinahan

Experience New York Theatre with CTC. To reserve your seats, send a check to Chester Theatre Company, PO Box 722, Chester, MA 01011. Be sure to specify the number of people in your party and if you are choosing the theatre-only option. Or, to pay by credit card, call the box office at 413-354-7771.

Tickets to the CTC NYC Theatre Tour are non-refundable, unless the Irish Arts Center cancels the performance.

Dire warnings of blizzard-like conditions were forecast as we prepared for our first New York City Theatre Tour. But, as is often the case, the theatre lovers who braved the supposed weather threat were well rewarded. A few flakes accompanied our departure from the Basketball Hall of Fame, but by the time we were passing Enfield, CT, there was nary a flake in sight. In fact, having departed right on schedule at 10:00am, we pulled up in front of St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn at 12:40pm, well ahead of schedule, having enjoyed a morning snack.

With a 3:00 curtain, we had plenty of time to sample some of DUMBO’s (Down Under the Brooklyn Bridge Overpass) charming eateries. Many of us had a New Orleans style brunch served to the accompaniment of live zydeco. Others opted for the quieter confines and Mediterranean fare of AlMar.

THE WILD BRIDE is the creation of Kneehigh, a theatre collective based in Cornwall, UK. Their acclaimed shows, including the Tony nominated BRIEF ENCOUNTER and THE RED SHOES, are built around the specific talents of the company. And, this company’s talents result in physically vigorous productions in which music plays an integral part. CTC Artistic Director Byam Stevens had seen the production in Dublin in 2011 (on CTC’s annual Dublin Theatre Tour) and wanted to share this innovative company’s work with other members of the CTC community.

THE WILD BRIDE hews very much to the model described above, with intricate movement and dance set to a score that featured a wide range of musical styles. The piece is based on a Grimm’s fairy tale and it embraces all the Grimm earmarks – interweaving magic and violence in a pre-Tarantino mix that can also be quite funny. It is the tale of a simple farmer who is tricked by the Devil into selling his daughter and that daughter’s long journey to love and happiness.

One intriguing aspect of the production is that Kneehigh combined a European folk story about the Devil with an American roots music tradition about selling one’s soul to the Devil for musical mastery (think Robert Johnson). All the music, which was virtually through-played comes out of a blues-inflected tradition – including blues, jazz, gospel and vaudeville. Setting a 19th century European fairytale in the mid-20th century American South gave the experience a fresh and unexpected twist.

THE WILD BRIDE is a tribute to the human capacity for enduring, and the heroine, whose journey spans many harrowing years, is played by three different actresses as she transitions from frightened girl to courageous mother. All three actresses brought passion and commitment and very different talents – singing, dancing, violin playing — to the role.

In the end, true love triumphs — but not before we’ve experienced humor, horror and heartache blended in a way that is innovative, whimsical and completely theatrical.

These aspects of the show were discussed in our first on-board TalkBack, moderated by Byam Stevens. It took us a while to get the hang of passing the microphone on a moving bus, but it was well worth it.

Having enjoyed wine, cheese and a hummus surprise, we arrived back in Springfield, again ahead of schedule. At that point, some of us retired to Uno’s for a little deep dish pizza and further conversation. All in all, our first New York Theatre Tour couldn’t have gone any better. Here’s a sampling of the raves from our patrons:

“A great time! Good company, great show, good TalkBack, great snacks!  We would go again and bring others.”
-Kathy T.

“Thank you for a fantastic day — for nourishing and expanding our minds, and for sustaining our bodies with such unexpected victuals!”
-Helga B.

“A great production and a really successful excursion. Thank you!”
-Judy M.

“Thank you. We had a grand day!”
-Chuck and Jan H.

“I loved the trip!”
-Kathy S.

We hope to see you on our next trip, scheduled for May 11, to see Deirdre Kinahan’s THESE HALCYON DAYS at the Irish Arts Center in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more details!

Click here to read a first person account by Valley Advocate Reporter Chris Rohmann of our first New York City Theatre Tour to see THE WILD BRIDE at St. Ann’s Warehouse on February 24, 2013.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013,  9:30am-5:30pm
Roy Arias Studios, 777 8th Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10036

Thursday, April 25, 2013, 10:00am-5:00pm
Town Hall Theatre, 15 Middlefield Street, Chester MA, 01011

In 2013, CTC will present its 24th  season in Chester, MA.
CTC produces under an AEA/SPT Level 6 contract
For more information about CTC, go to www.chestertheatre.org

To arrange an appointment for the Chester EPA, please call 413.354.7770
Monday-Friday, 10-3, beginning Monday, April 8, 2013; or email: info@chestertheatre.org
The New York EPA will be scheduled and monitored by AEA.

Please prepare a short contemporary monologue.
Full descriptions of plays available at www.chestertheatre.org

ARMS ON FIRE
by Steven Sater

Music by Duncan Sheik

Directed by Byam Stevens
Performances June 26- July 7
First Rehearsal June 3

Ulysses, a factory worker, meets Smith, a young singer on the make. As Smith spins out his dreams for the future, he draws out Ulysses’ past, including memories of his lost love Josephina, a passionate nightclub singer. When she appears, both men must face truths about the present.

• SMITH, mid-30’s – An improviser in every sense. Hip and funny. Trying to find an angle.
• ULYSSES, mid to late 40’s – An immigrant from Honduras. Deep and thoughtful listener.
• JOSEPHINA, early 30’s – A nightclub singer in Honduras. Has lived hard, with feeling.
• Stage Manager – CAST*

TRYST
by Karoline Leach

Directed by Daniel Elihu Kramer

Performances July 7-21
First rehearsal June 17

In this psychological thriller, set in Edwardian London, a con man courts lonely women, marries them, takes their life’s savings and disappears. But, Adelaide, his latest target, has a peculiar effect on him, and almost nothing seems to go as he plans.

• GEORGE LOVE, 35-40 – Assured, smooth, well turned out. An improviser. CAST*
• ADELAIDE PINCHIN, early 30’s – A spinster, dependable, lonely, careful. Has plans. CAST*
• Stage Manager – CAST*

BODY AWARENESS
by Annie Baker

Directed by Knud Adams

Performances July 31 – August 11
First Rehearsal July 8

Phyllis has organized “Body Awareness Week” at the college where she teaches. She and her partner Joyce, are hosting Frank, a guest artist whose nude photos are part of the event. When Joyce’s son Jared turns to Frank for advice, and Joyce considers posing for Frank, tensions rise.

• JOYCE, mid 50’s – A high school teacher. Earnest, honest, patient, tries hard. CAST*
• PHYLLIS, mid 40’s – A college professor. Nervous in public. Not immune to PC issues. CAST*
• JARED, early 20’s – Works at McDonald’s, studies the OED. Denies he’s got Asberger’s.
• FRANK, mid 50’s – The guy who joined the commune because he believed in it (not to get laid).
• Stage Manager – CAST*

AN ILIAD
by Lisa Peterson & Denis O’Hare

Directed by Sheila Siragusa

Performances August 15-25
First rehearsal July 22

With his battered suitcase by his side, the poet tells his story: of gods and goddesses, kings and heroes, epic battles, an endless war.

• THE POET mid-50’s – Weary, been traveling a long time. It costs him to tell his story. CAST*
• Stage Manager – CAST*

*Performers will be considered as possible replacements, should any become necessary.

LONGING

LONGING, William Boyd’s adaptation of two Chekhov short stories gave us an opportunity to talk in depth about Chekhov, the Fourth Wall and the art of adaptation.

Set Designer Lizzie Clachan provided a fully built, three dimensional, charming and dilapidated summer house on a Russian country estate. Complete with a grass yard. This fully built set, signaled the convention that the Fourth Wall would be in, that we as the audience would be watching the event taking place and that no acknowledgment of our presence would be made. Further as a literal set, it required no work on the part of our imaginations to complete the illusion — what would take place in front of us would be linear, left to right, psychological realism driven work.

As a doctor, Chekhov prized the combination of clear sight and compassion. According to playwright William Boyd, Chekhov “saw life and the human condition with the utmost clarity… and he refused to judge or condemn.” As a Russian writing in the late 19th century he was portraying an entropic society and this sense that the social order is breaking down informs all of his plays — there is a sadness and sense of fate that pervades the stage. Perhaps, the quintessential Chekhovian line is Masha’s response to the question about why she’s wearing black: “I’m in mourning for my life.”

Chekhov’s protagonists seem helpless to change their conditions — only the secondary characters have the ability to prosecute an action. Often they make insubstantial, impulsive tactical moves, but these thrusts are always blunted, aborted, retracted, or doomed to failure. The entire arc of LONGING moves toward a kiss that at the very last moment doesn’t happen. Varia and Kolia are left with the memory of the moment when their lips almost touched.

Actors love Chekhov because his approach requires such subtlety — the action is character driven and it swings from comedy to tragedy constantly. In this production his sensibility was particularly well served by Tamsin Grieg and Iain Glen, who were poised, centered, emotionally available, grounded and very connected.

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME

Our final London Tour TalkBack came to a close with a preview of the 2013 Season from artistic director Byam Stevens and, for the second year in a row, a musical retrospective of the week penned by John Joelson and Joanne Levin, performed by Mr. Joelson. Sung to an array of tunes from The Rolling Stones to Marvin Hamlisch, the musical tribute was greeted by gales of laughter — a fitting end to a delightful week.

Saturday after the TalkBack is an open day, so people headed off in different directions to shop, see shows, go out to dinner, etc. Two shows in particular drew large contingents: the aforementioned THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME and OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD in a 25th anniversary production at a brand new theatre complex across Buckingham Road from the mews of Buckingham Palace. Timberlake Wertenbaker’s modern classic tells the true story of a production of Farquhar’s The Recruiting Officer, mounted by the convicts in the newly settled penal colony of New South Wales (Australia). While the choice of play is highly ironic, given the demographics of the cast, the play as a whole functions as a paean to the humanizing and transformative nature of the art of theatre. The convicts, a cynical lot reduced through circumstance to a level of existence hardly more than animal, learn that in order to successfully put on their play they will have to learn empathy and teamwork. Their unforeseen reward — self esteem and compassion for others.

In many ways, OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD recapitulated the theme we’d been following all week — that we should prize empathy over judgment.

At 9:00 Saturday night we had a final gathering in the fire-lit lounge of the Lancaster Hotel. Over platters of cheese and petit-fours, and liquids of various kinds, clusters formed and reformed as we compared notes, chatted, and made plans to keep up in the future. As the clock ticked towards midnight, the prospect of an early departure Sunday bade us exercise wisdom over valor, and so to bed. A warm, congenial, and welcome close to another truly superb London Theatre Tour!

Buckingham Palace

THE JUDAS KISS, David Hare’s story of the downfall of Oscar Wilde is rich terrain for exploration at our TalkBack. As is our wont, we opened with an examination of the physical setting — to find clues from the design team about the nature of the event we were to see. The setting for the first act is a hotel room in the Cadogan Hotel, on the day that Wilde’s libel suit against the Marquess of Queensbury has collapsed.

Marlebone High Street

The set featured black walls — used theatrically to create a void with no edges; a very small window, reminiscent perhaps of a prison cell; no visible means of entrance or exit; and most strikingly, a huge floor to ceiling drapery in purple. The Greek word hubris, which we have come to understand as a the tragic flaw of pride, has its roots in the word for purple.

As purple dye was derived from sea anemones, it was a very expensive color to make — ceremonial purple carpets were laid that only the gods were to walk on. Our understanding of the word hubris comes from the day when a human dared to walk on the purple carpet. Clearly, the design team would like us to keep the issue of pride in our consciousness — to consider that perhaps Wilde wasn’t a passive victim of persecution but someone who chose his end out of pride.

Wilde went to great length to craft a persona, and he became the greatest celebrity in England at the end of the 19th century. Hare explores the way in which celebrities become trapped in the persona they’ve created. Wilde disastrously played The Wit at his trial, and was blind to the true nature of the event in which he was a player. This failure to play the appropriate role had immediate and disastrous consequences.

On the other hand, the authorities had no desire to put the most famous man in England in prison and Wilde was given the chance to escape to France. Wilde’s friends begged him to go, but he was unable or unwilling to to conceive that “Oscar Wilde” would abandon the cause, and so he played the martyr to Victorian bourgeois hypocrisy.

The setting for Act II is a hotel outside Naples. Unlike the dark, heavy furnishings of a British Victorian era hotel, this room is light and airy — a natural setting for the extended nude scene that opens the act. Act I also opened with a nude scene, but upon discovery, the maid and footman involved immediately scramble for their clothes. In Naples, Bosie his Italian lover lounges as if in some private Eden. But if the forces of hypocrisy have fallen away, so has Oscar’s stage. Particularly the one on which he plays the Contrarian — the Irish, socialist, wit. He has no audience and therefore, no function.

Paul Rothe and Son

Bankrupt, he must choose between being with Bosie and an allowance. In both scenes Hare has put Wilde on the horns of a dilemma. And, if one accepts that choice is at the heart of drama, then this is very solid dramaturgy. The joy of experiencing the play is trying to decipher Wilde’s motivations for the choices he made — was it Love, Honor, Pride, Obstinancy, Contrariness? Some cocktail of various of these ingredients? It reminds us that we are all ultimately a mystery to each other.

As we were closer to the end of tour than the beginning, many of us went in search of gifts or mementoes after the TalkBack. Some of us went north of Oxford Street to Marlebone High Street, to wander its panoply of small shops and boutiques. Daunt’s, the Edwardian era bookshop is always a highlight, as is La Fromagerie, one of the great cheese shops in the world. Paul Rothe’s, a very small cafe and purveyor of jams, jellies and preserves gives a delightful window into World War II era London. The Wallace Collection, with its palm-strewn atrium or Durrant’s, a 300 year old hotel family-run hotel with a number of cozy lounges, both provide an opportunity for a very British Tea. Somehow its always a shock to emerge from this intimately scaled neighborhood into the bustle of department store Oxford Street.

Friday night would take us to a non West End destination — the newly rebuilt Hampstead Theatre in the Swiss Cottage area of North London for the world premiere of LONGING, William Boyd’s adaptation of two Chekhov short stories, starring Tamsin Grieg and Iain Glen.

LONGING

Maurice Mandel and Ina Lee Selden at TalkBack

Our TalkBack Thursday began with an exploration of the way the action of THE CAPTAIN OF KÖPENICK proceeded (on the Text/Subtext continuum) as compared to Pinter’s OLD TIMES. Written in 1931, Carl Zuckmayer’s play which he subtitled “A German Fairytale” proceeds almost completely through Text. As a political and social satire, the play hardly concerns itself with Subtext at all. While there is some irony, the intentions and motivations of the characters are clearly stated.

The challenge facing the writer of satire is how to make the bitter pill of social commentary easier to swallow. The answer of course is comedy and often music, which keeps the mood from sinking inexorably. Zuckmayer, who was a colleague of Brecht and Wedekind at the Berliner Ensemble, employs many of the same conventions one encounters in their plays — use of banners and slogans, popular music (and hymns), short discrete scenes, action set in previous historical periods (in this case 1906) and characters from the “lower depths.”

Jane and Marty Schwartz at TalkBack

Voigt, the hero of the play, is a lifelong petty criminal, who in the first scene of the play is being released from prison. Through a bureaucratic lapse, he has no identity papers, and therefore can’t get work. In fact, the bureaucracy which was intended to protect citizens from the excesses of the powerful through the rule of law has now become an endless labyrinth that forces the citizens to spend their lives in pursuit of permits. Act I follows Voigt as he resorts to theft and skullduggery in order to survive.

At the top of Act II, while being chased by the police, Voigt happens on a costume shop and he exits with a captain’s uniform, which magically transforms him into a figure of respect and power. Ultimately he invades the town hall to liberate the treasury. This fairytale of transformation was actually based on a true case, in which Voigt became something of a minor celebrity.

The many scenes and change of venue in the script were inventively served by all the magic that the Olivier Theatre at the National has at its disposal. If a play has 20 scenes and venues, then this is the first challenge the director and design team must confront. in this case, the fairytale nature of the script was brought to life with the magic afforded by an array of stage machinery, revolving turntables, lifts, flies, projections and lighting effects that kept the action moving while providing a certain whimsical effect.

At the center of all this theatrecraft was a performance of hugely human proportion from the great actor Sir Anthony Sher. His ability to imbue this petty criminal with a warmth and charm truly held the enterprise together. As a South African Jew, he knows what it is to be an outsider, and he brought all that knowledge to bear on this large and complex undertaking.

Albert Memorial, Hyde Park

Thursday was the most beautiful day so far, with the sun in evidence and mild temperatures, so plans were adjusted accordingly, with many of us out and about on walking expeditions. Hyde Park shone in its early spring splendor — from the Italian Water Gardens to the Princess Diana Memorial to the Albert Memorial, the park was hopping with fresh air lovers of the two and four legged variety.

The hardcore theatre junkies were able to get their fix at the Thursday matinee of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, an adaptation of Mark Haddon’s best selling novel about a boy (Oscar) with Asperger’s Syndrome who sets out to solve a mystery. What starts out as a puzzle turns into an Odyssey that leads back to Oscar himself – truly a coming of age story. Marianne Elliott whose theatrical creativity was so much a part of the success of WAR HORSE, brings that same inventiveness to the intriguing and beguiling settings and movement of CURIOUS INCIDENT. The show was a sold out hit at the National, and is a very tough ticket in its West End transfer — hopefully it will come to NY before too long.

After a series of dinners hosted by Board Members Cipora Brown, Gail Perlman, Bob Tutnauer and Artistic Director Byam Stevens, we were back in the West End for David Hare’s THE JUDAS KISS, starring Rupert Everett in highly praised portrayal of Oscar Wilde.

JUDAS KISS

The TalkBack on Wednesday began with a demonstration by Byam Stevens and Robin Tilghman of basic acting exercises in which very simplistic dialogue is explored using different intentions and motivations. The dialogue for the first exercise consisted of the numbers from 1 to 10 cycled; the second of the lines: “I know you will” and “I know I won’t” alternated. The infinite possibilities of inflection came as a surprise to many and pointed to the choices encountered by the actors and director in rehearsal.

Paul Finks, Marshelle Finks, Marty Schwartz, Gail Perlman, Jane Schwartz, Alba Tutnauer, Byam Stevens, Robin Tilghman, Mike Perlman, Bob Tutnauer on the Millennium Bridge

The point of the demonstration was to illustrate the difference between Text and SubText. Text is the language the playwright has provided and which in a typical drama prosecutes the “argument” of the play. SubText refers to the actor’s true intention which “hunts” beneath the surface of the written dialogue; that intention may complement or even run counter to the stated intention in the Text.

Harold Pinter’s OLD TIMES, at least in Ian Rickson’s production proceeds more in tune with the SubText than the text. Text tends to enchain cause and effect as the character pursues his/her goals. It is the surface, more or less logical, negotiation. Subtext is more primal, more elemental, informed by fantasy, emotion, memory, lust and fear, it lurches forward and makes sudden and unpredictable turns. Since there are no logical segues, proceeding on this level of experience requires actors who are very much in tune with their instruments.

Millenium bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral

When the logical enchainment is de-emphasized, the result is action that is puzzling, mysterious, sometimes frustrating or confusing, but always intriguing. Pinter was an actor before he became a playwright, and it is reflected in his writing. Most playwrights are concerned with creating a coherent alternative reality (a writerly approach). Pinter proceeds from Image (a poet’s instinct, more in alignment with an actor’s instinct) — a complete commitment to this moment, without worrying how it relates to the next.

OLD TIMES is the story of a love triangle and, in an interesting twist, the two actresses alternate roles from performance to performance. At the performance we saw, Kristin Scott Thomas played Anna who, after a 20 year absence, comes to visit her married friends Deeley and Kate. Thomas’s feline grace and piercing intelligence were very much in evidence as she tantalized Deeley. Lia Williams, as Kate, was mesmerizing, portraying a character who is very much present but mysteriously quiet much of the play. Rufus Sewell had the most complex challenge as a man caught between two women played by different actresses from night to night. He fully committed to the infantile aggressions and dependencies that Pinter often requires of the men confronting female sexuality in his plays.

Tate Modern

One thing that can always be counted on with a Pinter play – it will provide more than enough material for a 90 minute TalkBack!

After TalkBack a large group headed for the Tate Modern museum on the South Bank, just upstream from the National Theatre, our destination for the Wednesday matinee. Upon exiting the Tube, we executed a 180 degree turn around the magnificent edifice of St. Paul’s before heading downhill to the Millennium Bridge, a low slung pedestrian bridge spanning the Thames that lands on the South Bank right in front of the Tate. After pausing to have our picture taken mid-span we proceeded to the forecourt of the mammoth building that was the Bankside Power Station. Repurposed as a museum housing modern art, it is the most visited modern art museum in the world with close to 5 million visitors annually.

A Roy Lichtenstein retrospective was on view, but some of us headed instead to the gallery featuring Mark Rothko’s murals intended for The Four Seasons restaurant in New York — the works that are the subject of John Logan’s hit play RED. Rothko discovered that the contemplative immersion required by work he had created hardly seemed appropriate for a restaurant, so he donated them to the Tate, in appreciation for the time he’d spent in London and for the high regard he had for Turner.

All too soon, we had to leave the Tate and head downstream to the National Theatre, for the afternoon performance of Carl Zuckmayer’s satire THE CAPTAIN OF KÖPENICK, featuring a widely praised performance by Sir Anthony Sher in the title role.

THE CAPTAIN OF KÖPENICK