A scathing and very witty examination of the public and private lives of so-called "cultural icons".
". "Sister George" is a beloved character on a popular BBC soap opera, a cheerful nurse who bicycles about the countryside singing hymns and doing good.
In private life, June Buckridge, the actress, is a swaggering, foul-mouthed, alcoholic lesbian in a long-term relationship with waifish Alice "Childie" McNaught. Due to low ratings, cutbacks and June's own bad behaviour, the BBC decides to "kill Sister George" on the series. A visit from Miss Mercy Croft, a no-nonsense network executive bearing the bad news, sends June into meltdown.
What better way to kick off the Christmas celebrations than to spend a couple of hours in the warm embrace of one of the most famous, much loved, and most performed farces in British theatrical history.
It has variously been described as:
"A comedic jewel"
"Indestructibly funny"
"Improbable and wonderfully comic"
"Delightfully funny"
"An Ageless classic"
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First performed in 1892 "Charley's Aunt" broke all historic records for plays of any kind with an original London run of 1,466 performances.
It has had numerous subsequent productions all around the world, including many film and musical theatre adaptations.
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CAST
Jack Chesney Taylor Lewendon
Charley Wykeham Patrick Machin
Brassett Lindsay Jones
Lord Fancourt Babberley Topher Lynn
Sir Francis Chesney Chaz Davenport
Kitty Verdun Lauren Killham
Amy Spettigue Mica Sharples
Stephen Spettigue Peter Court
Donna Lucia d'Alvadores Chrissie Derrington
Ela Delahay Mairi Holmes
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A great favourite - a farcical, elegantly written comedy which secured Wilde's reputation forever.
The play's title serves a double function, referring to both the importance of honesty and truthfulness in human relations and to the fact that two men are displaying anything but those virtues when they commandeer the name Ernest as a pseudonym to advance their own romantic causes.
‘A Handbag!’
A deeply-moving, mystical yet hilarious play in which the socially-inept Felix, a Cambridge research fellow, returns to his Cotswold family home after his father’s death to find that his mother, the appalling Flora, has disposed of all his father’s belongings, including his bees, and is contemplating re-marriage.
But what does string theory and the behaviour of bees have to do with all of this?
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Winner! 2000-2001 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
Winner! The Critics' Circle Best New Play Award
Winner! The People's Choice Best New Play Award