AFTER THE DANCE
BY TERENCE RATTIGAN
9 AUGUST – 9 SEPTEMBER
“The awful thing is that we’re still running away.”
David Scott-Fowler is a would-be historian, suffering writer’s block and lost in an alcoholic haze, his heavy drinking seriously affecting his health.
His wife Joan maintains a carefree public face, and doesn’t quite dare to reveal how much she loves him: after all, they married for fun, on a whim, when they were both ‘bright young things’ – and emotional commitment wasn’t part of the deal.
When David falls into a relationship with the much-younger Helen, an idealist who is determined to ‘save’ him, events take a tragic turn.
Rattigan’s play, written in 1939, is less well-known than his later hits (The Winslow Boy, Separate Tables) but displays all his skill as an observer of human nature and consummate theatrical storyteller.
Under the social comedy is a profound and subtle study of the young people who lived life to the full in the hedonistic 1920s, only to find themselves, a decade later, disillusioned and on the brink of a world war.
“One of the supreme dramatists of the 20th century” Michael Billington
Creative Team
Director Giles Gartrell-Mills
Assistant Director Mark G Nagle
Set Designer John Cervenka
Costume Designer Brodie Simpson
Lighting Designer Liam O’Keefe
Sound Designer Liam Kemp
Vocal Coach Amy Hume
Production Manager Mark G Nagle
Stage Manager Saskia van ‘t Hoff
ASMs Erik Janousek, Parth Prajapati
Operators Aneesh Acharya, Lucy Liang, Carlin Hurdis
Cast
Tom Aldous, Callum Alexander, Lloyd Allison-Young, George Banders, John Michael Burdon, Sandra Campbell, Rowan Davie, Peter Flett, Matt Ford, Valentin Lang, Lauren Lloyd Williams, Amelia Robertson-Cuninghame, Alyssan Russell, Claudia Ware
Dates & Times
Preview Wed 9 Aug, 7:30pm
Thu – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Final performance, Sat 9 Sep 2pm
TICKET prices
Full $35
Concessions, Groups (6+) $30
Members $22
Previews, Thrifty Thursdays $20
School groups:
$22 per student, teachers free.
Call our Theatre Manager 02 9519 3403
“Uniformly good performances from a large ensemble cast” The Buzz From Sydney
“The relationships mirror symbolically the political situation of the time. Beneath the shallow ‘party’ atmosphere there is an underlying tension manifested in the strained relationships that dependency and superficiality bring. There is an awareness of impending doom, suppressed in a fugue of alcohol and cheerful dissemblance.” Stage Whispers
“Under Giles Gartell-Mills’s excellent direction the play develops and becomes quite intense and multi-layered.” Sydney Arts Guide
“A beautiful production filled with elegant performances … sumptuous and beautiful to look at … pacey, lively and quick witted, all the while embodying a profundity that moves through time” Lisa Thatcher
Photos © Bob Seary
Main image © KODFilm/iStock