DIRECT FROM A SOLD OUT RUN AT THE OLD VIC IN LONDON,
ALAN AYCKBOURN’S COMIC TRILOGY
THE NORMAN CONQUESTS
OPENS APRIL 23 AT BROADWAY’S CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE THEATRE
FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT OF 16 WEEKS
AYCKBOURN’S MASTERPIECE, DIRECTED BY MATTHEW WARCHUS
AND FEATURING THE ORIGINAL CAST, BEGINS PREVIEWS APRIL 7
Alan Ayckbourn’s comic trilogy of plays, THE NORMAN CONQUESTS, will come to Broadway directly following its sold out critically acclaimed run in London. The production, the latest success for The Old Vic Theatre Company under the artistic leadership of Kevin Spacey, will play for 16 weeks only. THE NORMAN CONQUESTS, directed by Matthew Warchus, opens Thursday, April 23 at Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50th Street). Previews begin Tuesday, April 7.
The first Broadway revival of Ayckbourn’s masterpiece will feature the original heralded company from The Old Vic: Amelia Bullmore (Ruth), Jessica Hynes (Annie), Stephen Mangan (Norman), Ben Miles (Tom), Paul Ritter (Reg) and Amanda Root (Sarah).
Tickets will be available soon through Telecharge at 212-239-6200 and www.telecharge.com.
THE NORMAN CONQUESTS will be produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, Steven Baruch, Tom Viertel, Dede Harris, Tulchin/Bartner/Lauren Doll, Harriet Newman Leve, Eric Falkenstein/Jamie deRoy, Michael Filerman/Jennifer Manocherian, in association with Pam Laudenslager/Remmel T. Dickinson, Jane Dubin/True Love Productions, Barbara Manocherian/Jennifer Isaacson.
THE NORMAN CONQUESTS comprises three full length plays – Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden – which are ingeniously written to be enjoyed individually or as a trilogy, in any order. The action is simultaneous and each exit in one play turns out to be an entrance in another. The plays will be performed on a rotating schedule during the week and can also be seen in one day on “Trilogy Saturdays”.
Set in the dining room (Table Manners), living room (Living Together) and garden (Round and Round the Garden) of an English country house, THE NORMAN CONQUESTS follows six characters – assistant librarian Norman, his wife, in-laws and the local vet – from Saturday night through Monday morning. We watch as desperate lothario Norman (Stephen Mangan) attempts to seduce his sister-in-law Annie (Jessica Hynes), charm his brother-in-law’s wife Sarah (Amanda Root) and woo his estranged wife Ruth (Amelia Bullmore), during a disastrously hilarious weekend of eating, drinking and misunderstanding. With his characteristic compassionate humor, Ayckbourn explores the disappointments bubbling beneath the surface as his characters’ dreams of love and fulfillment go amiss.
The first London revival of THE NORMAN CONQUESTS ran September 11-December 20, 2008 at The Old Vic and was an instant sell out. For the production, the venerable 200-year-old theatre was converted for an in-the-round staging which will be retained for Circle in the Square’s unique configuration.
Reviews for the production were ecstatic. “I came out feeling that it would be right up there on my list of all-time great theatre events,” wrote Robert Gore-Langton in the Sunday Telegraph. “You’ll laugh. A lot,” exclaimed Benedict Nightingale, The Times. “Left me helpless with hilarity,” cheered Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph. “Matthew Warchus’s production is wonderfully entertaining, fluent and expertly acted. I recommend seeing the whole trilogy. It’s heaven in triplicate,” raved Paul Taylor in The Independent.
THE NORMAN CONQUESTS is designed by Rob Howell, with lighting by David Howe, music by Gary Yershon and sound by Simon Baker for Autograph.
THE NORMAN CONQUESTS will be performed in repertory. The schedule is as follows:
Week of April 7-12:
Tuesday, April 7 at 8 PM Round and Round the Garden
Wednesday, April 8 at 8 PM Table Manners
Thursday, April 9 at 8 PM Living Together
Friday, April 10 at 8 PM Table Manners
Saturday, April 11 at 11 AM Table Manners
Saturday, April 11 at 3 PM Living Together
Saturday, April 11 at 8 PM Round and Round the Garden
Week of April 13-19:
Monday, April 13 at 8 PM Round and Round the Garden
Tuesday, April 14 at 8 PM Table Manners
Wednesday, April 15 at 8 PM Living Together
Thursday, April 16 at 8 PM Round and Round the Garden
Friday, April 17 at 8 PM Table Manners
Saturday, April 18 at 11 AM Table Manners
Saturday, April 18 at 3 PM Living Together
Saturday, April 18 at 8 PM Round and Round the Garden
Week of April 20-26:
Tuesday, April 21 at 8 PM Round and Round the Garden
Wednesday, April 22 at 2 PM Living Together
Wednesday, April 22 at 8 PM Table Manners
Thursday, April 23 at 6:45 PM Round and Round the Garden
Friday, April 24 at 8 PM Table Manners
Saturday, April 25 at 11 AM Table Manners
Saturday, April 25 at 3 PM Living Together
Saturday, April 25 at 8 PM Round and Round the Garden
General playing schedule after opening:
Tuesday at 7 PM Round and Round the Garden
Wednesday at 2 PM Table Manners
Wednesday at 8 PM Living Together
Thursday at 8 PM Round and Round the Garden
Friday at 8 PM Table Manners
Saturday at 11 AM Table Manners
Saturday at 3 PM Living Together
Saturday at 8 PM Round and Round the Garden
There are two additional “Trilogy Weekends” on May 16—17, and June 27—28, when all three plays will be performed on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets will be available soon through Telecharge at 212-239-6200 and www.telecharge.com.
BIOGRAPHIES
Amelia Bullmore (Ruth) Stage credits include The Thickness of Skin, Road and The Queen and I, all at the Royal Court, Inadmissible Evidence at the National Theatre and A View from the Bridge at the Manchester Royal Exchange. TV: “Whistleblowers,” “State of Play,” “I’m Still Alan Partridge,” “Linda Green” and as “Coronation Street” regular Stephanie Barnes. Film: Mrs. Dalloway, Festival.
Jessica Hynes (Annie) co-wrote and co-starred in “Spaced” on Channel 4, which won her the Best Female Comedy Newcomer Award at the British Comedy Awards in 2000. She was nominated for the BAFTA Best Actress Award for the film Tomorrow La Scala and was nominated for the 2003 Best Performance in a Supporting Role Olivier Award for The Night Heron at the Royal Court. Other theatre credits: The Plough and the Stars and Fiddler on the Roof, both directed by Matthew Warchus at West Yorkshire Playhouse. TV: “The Royle Family” and “Doctor Who”. Film: Son of Rambow, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Shaun of the Dead.
Stephen Mangan (Norman) Extensive theatre credits include The People are Friendly at the Royal Court, Noises Off at the Piccadilly, Declan Donnellan’s production of Noel Coward’s Hay Fever at the Savoy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing and School for Scandal, all for the Royal Shakespeare Company. TV: Guillaume Secretan in “Green Wing,” “The Armando Iannucci Show,” “Lucky Jim,” “I’m Alan Partridge,” and Adrian Mole in “The Cappuccino Years”. Film: Festival, Confetti, Billy Elliot.
Ben Miles (Tom) was last seen on stage at the Royal Court in My Child and at The Old Vic as Bolingbroke in Richard II. Other theatre credits include Hand in Hand to the Promised Land at Hampstead and The Cherry Orchard, The London Cuckolds and Mary Stuart at the National Theatre. Ben is best known for his role as Patrick in BBC’s “Coupling,” and has worked extensively in both film and television, including roles in the recent BBC adaptation of “Lark Rise to Candleford” and films V For Vendetta, Speed Racer and Ninja Assassin.
Paul Ritter (Reg) His extensive theatre credits include The Hothouse, Royal Hunt of the Sun, Coram Boy and The Coast of Utopia, all at the National Theatre, The Night Heron at the Royal Court and at The Old Vic in Snake in the Grass, presented by the Peter Hall Company. TV: “Peterloo,” “Ripley’s Gold,” “Waking the Dead,” “He Kills Coppers,” and “Little Dorrit”. Film: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Quantum of Solace, Son of Rambow.
Amanda Root (Sarah) recently appeared on stage at the Almeida in Enemies and Conversations After a Burial. Other theatre includes The Plough and the Stars at West Yorkshire Playhouse and extensive work at the RSC. TV: “The Robber Bride” (Working Title), Dolly in “Anna Karenina” (C4) and Adela in “The House of Bernarda Alba” (C4). Film: Enduring Love, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith, Persuasion, Jane Eyre.
Alan Ayckbourn (Playwright) is one of England’s most treasured playwrights, author of 71 plays which have been produced in the West End, at the National Theatre or at the Royal Shakespeare Company. They have been translated into 35 languages, and performed continually throughout the world and have received many national and international awards. His works include Relatively Speaking, Absurd Person Singular, The Norman Conquests, How the Other Half Loves, Just Between Ourselves, Bedroom Farce, A Chorus of Disapproval, Woman in Mind, Comic Potential and Things We Do For Love. Intimate Exchanges, his eight play series revived in the UK in 2006/07, transferred to New York as part of the Brits Off Broadway Festival, with Time Magazine voting it one of the ten best productions of 2007.
Matthew Warchus (Director) His other Broadway credits are the Tony Award-winning revival of Boeing-Boeing, Yasmina Reza’s Art, Life (x) 3 and the upcoming God of Carnage, True West and Follies. He has received three Tony Award and two Drama Desk Award nominations. Off-Broadway, he directed Reza’s The Unexpected Man. His numerous West End credits include God of Carnage; Speed the Plow; The Norman Conquests; The Life of Stuff; Art; True West; The Unexpected Man; Life (x) 3; Our House; Tell Me on a Sunday, and Endgame.
The Old Vic in London is one of the best-known and best-loved theatres in the world. Its iconic building houses a rich history of great British talent from Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson to Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Peter O’Toole. The Old Vic Theatre Company under the artistic leadership of Kevin Spacey continues to attract the best talent; Jeff Goldblum, Richard Dreyfuss, Ian McKellen, David Suchet and Diana Rigg have all been members of the Company. The Old Vic, BAM and Sam Mendes have this year formed a transatlantic company, The Bridge Project, to perform double-bills of classic works, launching with The Cherry Orchard and The Winter’s Tale now playing at BAM. The Old Vic’s production of A Moon for the Misbegotten starring Eve Best and Kevin Spacey was a sell-out success on Broadway. It also runs an award-winning Education and Community program, Old Vic New Voices, which mentors young theatre practitioners, both in London and New York. The Old Vic Theatre Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Old Vic Theatre Trust (Chief Executive Sally Greene), a charity supported in the US by The American Associates of The Old Vic, a registered US non-profit organization
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