Short Plays 2022

A selection of short plays - the directors of which are new to directing at the NVT

A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter - directed by Gaby Bowring
The Evils of Tobacco by Anton Chekhov - directed by Tobias Clay
Face to the Wall & Fewer Emergencies by Martin Crimp - directed by Stefan Haselwimmer
How He Lied to Her Husband by George Bernard Shaw - directed by Neil Hadley

Programme

Cast & Production Team

A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter - directed by Gaby Bowring

At the age of sixteen, Deborah fell victim to a sleeping sickness. She has been suspended between a conscious and unconscious state ever since, watched over throughout by her devoted doctor. Twenty-nine years later, Hornby is now able to revive his patient and observe as Deborah reawakens, gently helping her to adjust to a world beyond her recognition.

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The Evils of Tobacco by Anton Chekhov - directed by Tobias Clay

Written in 1886, a henpecked husband offers/is required to give a lecture on the harmfulness of tobacco (veering wildly off-topic resulting in a greater understanding of his own pathos-laden ineptitude).

A typically cynical, ultimately hilarious Chekhov tour-de-force short.

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Fewer Emergencies by Martin Crimp - directed by Stefan Haselwimmer

Two plays from this trilogy will be performed - Face to the Wall & Fewer Emergencies

Some people reflect on a gun massacre, others argue about the fate of "poor Bobby" trapped in his own horror story. This sinister, graphic and timely piece by Martin Crimp forces us to question cosy norms and the polished perfection of the tales we tell ourselves.

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How He Lied to Her Husband by George Bernard Shaw - directed by Neil Hadley

Bernard Shaw takes a refreshing and critical attitude to the traditional bourgeois love triangle situation and explores a plot twist at the end of the piece which is both thought-provoking and entertaining.

Set in a well furnished flat in London, Aurora Bompas is flustered as she has misplaced a collection of love poems from her admirer, Apjohn. He is a "beautiful youth" of around nineteen years and has a naive and poetic view of love and relationships.