The Dresser
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Monday 22nd November - Saturday 27th November
Theatre Royal Bath Productions
Nicholas Lyndhurst and Julian Glover
...The year is 1941 and
Hitler's bombs are falling on war-torn
Britain.This does not however stop "Sir", a redoubtable
Actor-Manager made of the same stuff as the great Sir Henry Irving,
from touring the works of Shakespeare to theatres throughout
England, under the most trying circumstances ever presented to a
theatrical company this century.
Behind the scenes lurks his Dresser, the omnipresent
Norman. He is the unsung hero of the piece. While air raids
continue, he creates the cosy security of the
`bunker' backstage for the fading genius.
It is he who prepares the make-up table, mends the costumes,
massage his ego, remind him of his opening lines and provide the
sound effects in the storm scene. No actor-manager ever survived
entirely through his own efforts and this loving nostalgic peep
behind the scenes gives us a touching impression of the life of an
"ageing lion" of a man preparing for the greatest challenge for any
actor - a performance of Shakespeare's
greatest work `King Lear.´
It is Norman who, like
Shakespeare's Fool, tries desperately to
bolster up the tired and broken actor-manager, in a desperate fight
to prevent his personal problems from becoming too obvious to the
rest of the already stressed and nervous company of
actors.
Inspired by the memories of his years working as Donald
Wolfitt's dresser, Ronald Harwood's evocative, perceptive and
hilarious portrait of backstage life is one of the most acclaimed
dramas of modern theatre. This is the first major revival of the
play that was made into an award-winning film with Tom Courtney and
Albert Finney.
Nicholas Lyndhurst plays Norman. His leading comedy
roles have included Butterflies, The Two of Us, The Piglet
Files, Goodnight Sweetheart and, of course, Only Fools and
Horses, recently voted by the public the most popular sitcom of
all time.
Julian Glover plays Sir. One of the most distinguished actors
of his generation, his most acclaimed recent performance was,
appropriately, as King Lear at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre:
'Julian Glover gives the most thrilling performance of his
distinguished career...an acting master class' Sunday Times
Ronald Harwood won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for
The Pianist. His screenplay for The Dresser was also
nominated. Other notable stage successes include Taking Sides,
The Family, Equally Divided and Quartet.
Peter Hall needs no introduction. Founder of the RSC and
formerly Director of the National Theatre, he has been responsible
for some of the most unforgettable theatre productions of the last
fifty years.
