image credit: Rosanna Miles as Marion, Graham O’Mara as Ronald
Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne
Tuesday 25 – Saturday 29 February
Celebrating their 20th anniversary, producers London Classic Theatre return to Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park Theatre from Tuesday 25 until Saturday 29 February with Alan Ayckbourn classic, Absurd Person Singular.
Michael Cabot directs John Dorney (Geoffrey Jackson), Felicity Houlbrooke (Jane Hopcroft), Helen Keeley (Eva Jackson), Rosanna Miles (Marion Brewster-Wright), Graham O’Mara (Ronald Brewster-Wright) and Paul Sandys (Sidney Hopcroft).
Sidney Hopcroft, a small-time tradesman, persuades wife Jane to throw a party hoping to find favour with a bank manager and local architect. As celebrations begin, class differences and naked ambition combine to hilarious effect as one by one the characters seek refuge in Jane’s kitchen.
Over the next two years, the Jacksons and Brewster-Wrights take turns to host festivities. But Sidney’s star has begun to rise and roles are increasingly reversed as the cracks in the other couples’ marriages begin to show. Absurd Person Singular won the Evening Standard Best Comedy Award.
Alan Ayckbourn is an award-winning playwright and national treasure his work is performed all over the world with favourites including The Norman Conquests, Bedroom Farce, A Chorus of Disapproval which have gone on to become iconic classics.
John Dorney plays architect Geoffrey; his previous credits for London Classic Theatre include Hysteria, Absent Friends, The Caretaker and Humble Boy. Felicity Houlbrooke takes the role of Jane, Sidney’s wife. Previous credits for the company include My Mother Said I Never Should and The Importance of Being Earnest. Other theatre credits include Hard Times (Oldham Coliseum), The Railway Children (King’s Cross Theatre).
Helen Keeley plays the troubled Eva Jackson, her previous credits for the company include Private Lives and The Importance of Being Earnest. Rosanna Miles plays the eccentric Marion Brewster-Wright, with theatre credits for The Crucible (UK tour), Le Jardin (Bath Theatre Royal) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (UK tour). Television credits; The Grimleys, Teachers and Specials.
Graham O’Mara plays banker Ronald Brewster-Wright. Previous credits for London Classic Theatre include No Man’s Land. Other theatre credits include Government Inspector and The Three Musketeers (Young Vic), television credits include Friday Night Dinner, Sirens and The Queen: 1974. Paul Sandys plays the tradesman who is desperate to impress Sidney Hopcroft. Previous credits for the company include Private Lives, Entertaining Mr Sloane and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Michael Cabot directs and is the founder and Artistic Director of London Classic Theatre. He has directed all forty-one LCT productions since their touring debut in 2000.
Absurd Person Singular is at Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne from Tuesday 25 to Saturday 29 February, with nightly performances at 7.45pm and 2.30pm Matinees on Wednesday and Saturday. Tickets are priced £18 – £25.50 with concessions available including tickets for just £9 for Students and £10 for under 25’s. To book call 01323 412000 or online eastbournetheatres.co.uk
