THE REAL THING

BY TOM STOPPARD

6 OCTOBER – 7 NOVEMBER 2015

“It’s no trick loving someone at their best. Love is loving them at their worst”

Henry, a successful playwright, has fallen deeply in love with Annie, an actress, and they have left their respective partners to embark upon a life together.

But Henry is riven by doubts – is what he feels ‘the real thing’ or merely an illusion? While Annie, taking up the political cause of a soldier arrested for an anti-war protest and pursued by a young co-star, is starting to feel the pressures of fidelity.

Having blithely written a hit play about adultery, Henry gradually comes to an awareness of the torment that love and betrayal can bring in their wake.

In this brilliant exploration of commitment – to lovers, children, causes, ideas – Stoppard brings together head and heart, life and art in exhilarating style.

“A finely acted, warm, strong and vibrant production of Stoppard’s witty, wordy, challenging play.” Sydney Arts Guide

CREATIVE TEAM

Director Alice Livingstone
Set Designer Sharina Matthews
Lighting Designer Richard Whitehouse
Costume Designer Famke Visser
Sound Design Alistair Wallace
Assistant Director/Dramaturg Roxzan Bowes
Costume Assistant Melissa Lombardo
Set Construction Jullian Westiake, Goran Erikson, Joel Robinson, Jezuina Ornelas
Production/Co-Stage Manager Jo Jewitt
Co-Stage Manager Joan Cameron-Smith
Assistant Stage Managers Tegan Diamond, Jared McCulla
Sound/Lights Operators Nick Hatzakos, Sebastian Vervoort
Voice/Dialect Coaching Helen Tonkin, Nick Curnow
Production Photography Bob Seary

CAST

Peter Eyers, Charlotte Hazzard, Ainslie McGlynn, Christopher Tomkinson, Emily Weare, Benjamin Winckle

TIMES

Previews Tue 6 Oct & Wed 7 Oct 7:30pm
Thu – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 5pm
Final performance, Sat 7 Nov 5pm

TICKETS

“There is great enjoyment to be derived in this production from a cast that can hardly be faulted. Once again New Theatre delivers the goods.” Dinner and a Show

“Witty and pointedly intelligent, with challenging concepts and brilliantly delightful use of language that keep us entertained while placing our brains on overdrive … Director Alice Livingstone is uncompromising with the depth of the text, while simultaneously introducing, quite miraculously, a jaunty pace to a staging that delivers solid laughs alongside a consistently astute level of discourse … The cast is a cohesive one that tells the story from a unified perspective, and the consequences are often powerful “ Suzy Goes See

“A finely acted, warm, strong and vibrant production of Stoppard’s witty, wordy, challenging play.” Sydney Arts Guide

“Stoppard has provided a frank and ironic look at infidelity and the fickle nature of love, and the pairing of his script with this cast is perfection. The laughs are constant and well deserved, and the whole team should be proud. This shouldn’t be missed.” Theatre Now

“Deliciously crafted … Director and actors play [Stoppard’s] notes with verve and vigour. Miss this at your peril. Thumbs up!” Oz Baby Boomers

”Alice Livingstone’s direction of an excellent cast prompts us to consider ‘The Real Thing’ in sex, relationships, art and various other aspects of life.” Upstaged Reviews