A Month in the Country, by Turgenev Directed by Bruce Guthrie Unsatisfied by her husband’s love, and also that of a family friend, a bored wife sets her sights on her son’s handsome young tutor. To what lengths will she go to win her prize? Comedy and cruelty mingle in this tale of intensive rivalry and unrequited love. Friday 19 - Saturday 27 October 7.30pm Richard Burton Theatre £10, £8 concessions The director describes this play as a ‘sort of Russian Desperate Housewives’ and Brian Friel's version of this play has a contemporary feel to the language, making it funny, punchy and gripping which may be contrary to many peoples preconceptions of a play that is very much part of the classic Russian repertoire. Bruce Guthrie says, “working with Olivier award winning director Howard Davies, a master of directing plays like this, I learned about exploring the humour and hard edges of these kind of plays. They are plays about people, passion and frustration, and perfect studies of relationships, which is why they are still performed hundreds of years after they were written." Describing Friel's version of the play, Guthrie comments, “He really pulls out the humour in what could be a very modern story about the wife of a rich land owner who has everything but is still bored and searching for the excitement and passion her life is missing." On the characters in the play, adds, "We have such a rich and well-drawn group of interesting people from different parts of the world as well as the surrounding rural areas of Russia. All have unique backgrounds and depth that inform the decisions and mistakes they make. In this production, I let the actors speak in their native accents rather than a uniformed way as I feel it reflects the diversity of the characters, but also because accent isn't very relevant in a piece like this. Historically, accents would differ greatly from village to village over the space of a couple of miles as well as class." The world of the play and the set will have a period feel to it and look very naturalistic. "There will be real trees, grass and part of a house on stage! It will look beautiful and make the audience feel like they are indeed spending time at a country house during the height of a Russian summer." Actor Heledd Gwynne, shown in the attached photo, was the host of our 1st Birthday Party Concert in June and was in National Theatre Wales’ production of A Provincial Life. Director Bruce Guthrie has been nominated for 2012 BroadwayWorld UK Awards for Best Direction for Incident at the Border Also showing: Boston Marriage by David Mamet directed by Louise Hill S4C Studio Vincent in Brixton by Nicholas Wright Directed by Robin Belfield Caird Studio |
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Wednesday, October 10, 2012 |
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