NEIL SIMON'S
September 6 - 17, 2005, in Daylesford Theatre
directed by
MARC
MOLLICA
About
"California Suite"
Hotel
suites have played a large part in Neil Simon's life, since his business has
taken him into many of them while traveling and premiering plays in various
cities. They have had a lasting effect on him and have prompted him to write
three works for the theatre - "Plaza Suite", "California Suite" and "London
Suite". "Plaza Suite" is the best known of the three and was noteworthy in 1968
for being his first compilation of one-act plays sharing a common setting (The
Plaza Hotel in New York City), and containing his first piece with an unhappy
ending and a serious theme.
"California Suite" came 8 years later and contains four one-act playlets, each
giving us a glimpse of various groups of guests in the same suite at the Beverly
Hills Hotel at different times of the same year. The first three stories concern
three widely divergent couples with vastly different dilemmas. The first one is
a heartfelt, insightful, yet scathingly funny portrait of a divorced couple
trying to do the best thing for their teenage daughter. The second one is a
free-wheeling farce about a man who wakes up with an unconscious hooker in his
bed and his wife on the way up to the room in the elevator, while the third
concentrates on a wonderfully eccentric British couple who have had a special
relationship for many years.
The fourth playlet is a madcap moment of physical comedy that focuses on two
affluent young couples who are best friends - until they go on an extended
vacation together - and end up having constant squabbles. This last scene is
based on Simon's real life experience when he and his first wife went on a much
anticipated vacation with their two best friends and chaos ensued.
Simon's work always brings that unmistakable taste of real life to the stage
that makes us believe and allows us to relate. He also gives us enough
stylization in character and situation to let us laugh heartily at ourselves and
others without any guilt. Guilt-less Neil Simon? Is that possible?
The Author: Neil Simon
The most performed
playwright of all time after Shakespeare and undoubtedly the most commercially
successful playwright in history, Neil Simon has had 30 of his plays performed
on Broadway and is the only playwright ever to have had four Broadway
productions running concurrently. His plays have been translated into dozens of
languages from Chinese to Russian and more of his plays have been adapted to
film than those of any other American playwright.
Simon
has also written the book for a number of musicals, as well as screenplays for
several of his plays, plus almost a dozen original ones. He received Academy
Award nominations for his screenplay of
The Odd Couple
(1968),
The Sunshine Boys
(1975), and
California Suite
(1978).
For
four decades, Neil Simon has lit up the stage with his ability to infuse humour
into the trials and tribulations of everyday people's lives. "He has ability to
write characters" said actor Jack Lemon of Simon, "even the leading characters
that we're supposed to root for are absolutely flawed. They have foibles. They
have faults. But, they are human beings. They are not all bad or all good; they
are people we know."
The
Director: Marc Mollica
We are happy to announce
that Marc Mollica will be returning to our shores this summer to direct a
production of one of Neil Simon’s most celebrated comedies “CALIFORNIA SUITE’.
Marc made his first visit here in 2002 to direct the critically acclaimed
production of “ART” by Yasmina Reza for the Bermuda Festival.
Marc is
a past Associate Director of the Bristol Old Vic, a lecturer at South East Essex
College and Masters Performing Arts College and Artistic Director of Threadbare
Theatre Company.
Neil Simon
is the most performed playwright of all time after Shakespeare and undoubtedly
the most commercially successful playwright in history, Neil Simon has had 30 of
his plays performed on Broadway and is the only playwright ever to have had four
Broadway productions running concurrently. His plays have been translated into
dozens of languages from Chinese to Russian and more of his plays have been
adapted to film than those of any other American playwright.
Simon has
also written the book for a number of musicals, as well as screenplays for
several of his plays, plus almost a dozen original ones. He received an
Academy Award nomination for his screenplay of “California Suite” in 1978.
For four
decades, Neil Simon has lit up the stage with his ability to infuse humour into
the trials and tribulations of everyday people's lives. "He has ability to write
characters" said actor Jack Lemon of Simon, "even the leading characters that
we're supposed to root for are absolutely flawed. They have foibles. They have
faults. But, they are human beings. They are not all bad or all good; they are
people we know."
Auditions
Saturday,
23rd & Sunday 24th July at 2pm
These will
be open auditions, held in a workshop format. Audition material will be
available from Friday, 15th July.
Performance
dates: 6th- 17th September 2005
More information
For further
information please contact the producer,
Jo Shane or the
co-producer
Nicola
Wilkinson, or check this website regularly. |
