www.stokerep.org.uk	Stoke on Trent Repertory Theatre Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2TR	86th Season 2005/6
General Information Seat Prices Reservation Enquiries Rep Productions Visiting Companies Theatre Links The Repport About the Rep Mailing list Find us! 85th Season 2004-5 86th Season 2005-6 87th Season 2006-7	The Rep programme 2005 - 2006 Last season the Rep featured plays by Oscar Wilde, Mike Leigh, Gerald Moon, Neil Simon and Richard Harris.   11th - 15th & 18th - 22nd October 2005 The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde A trivial comedy for serious people. The Importance of Being Earnest was an early experiment in Victorian melodrama. Part satire, part comedy of manners, and part intellectual farce, this play seems to have nothing at stake because the world it presents is so blatantly and ostentatiously artificial. Below the surface of the light, brittle comedy, however, is a serious subtext that takes aim at self-righteous moralism and hypocrisy, the very aspects of Victorian society that would, in part, bring about Wilde’s downfall. 6th - 10th & 13th - 17th December 2005 Abigail's Party, by Mike Leigh Donna Summer is playing on the stereo. Dishes of cheese and pineapple are on the coffee table and Beverley awaits the arrival of her guests, Tony and Ang, who've just moved in over the road, and divorcee Sue, whose fifteen year old punk daughter, Abigail, is throwing a party of her own. Beverley's husband Lawrence, a workaholic estate agent, has rushed out to sort out a client and pick up some lagers. The scene is set for a few drinks, a bit of dancing, and relentless embarrassment of the guests in one of the funniest plays ever written. Thursday 22nd December Christmas at The Rep Tues 31st January - Sat 4th February & Tues 7th - Sat 11th February 2006 at 8pm Corpse!  by Gerald Moon [A Repertory Players production, directed by Diana Halstead] For the first time in more than 50 years, the curtain rises on a Repertory Theatre production at 8pm - half and hour later than usual.   Full of thrills and surprises, tricks and laughter, Corpse! is set in London in 1936 and tells the story of two twin brothers, one of whom plots to murder the other in the most unusual circumstances. Evelyn (Geoff Legan) an out-of-work actor, engages Major Powell (Howard Goodall) the genial Irishman with a shady past, to do away with his rich, sophisticated twin.  Their plotting in Evelyn's faded Aladdin's cave of a flat is punctuated by the visits of a delightfully theatrical landlady (Sue Thompson). As with most "fool-proof" plans, things do not go as they should and people are not what they seem.  Corpse! is not so much a whodunit as a whodunit to whom! Wednesday Ist - Saturday 4th March 2006 at 7.30pm Oleanna, by David Mamet [A Rep Studio production, directed by Alan Clarke] Carol (Kate Doughty), a student, is struggling with her course work and, on a more fundamental level, with her self-esteem and belief in her own abilities. During a tutorial with her professor, John (John Wicks), his attempts to reassure her reveal that he has experienced similar doubts about both his own abilities and the whole academic ethos and process. The personalisation of the student/tutor relationship and an instinctive, unthinking gesture triggers a chain of events which leads to the destruction of his perceptions, his uncertainties and his world. As the full realisation of his predicament gradually dawns upon him, the play builds to a devastating climax ... First performed in 1992, Oleanna is a searing study of a man forced to confront and adapt to changes within his profession and society which he can neither control nor, initially comprehend. Fourteen years on, the themes and gender roles, authority hierarchical power and political correctness are still at the forefront of the social and political agenda. "There can be no tougher or more unflinching play than Oleanna. The original ending is, brilliantly, 'the last twist of the knife'. ... The last line seems to me the perfect summation of the play. It's dramatic ice." [Harold Pinter, letter to David Mamet, 26 April 1993, personal archive.] 28th Mar - 1st April & 4th - 8th April 2006 California Suite, by Neil Simon Without doubt, Neil Simon is one of America’s most popular and prolific playwrights who, in a career spanning five decades, has made some keenly observed comments on the capacity of human beings to love, laugh, and generally make themselves appear ridiculous. 23rd - 27th May & 30th May - 3rd June 2006 Party Piece, by Richard Harris Strained relations between mismatched neighbours of a pair of terraced cottages in west London are the subject of this comedy by Richard Harris. On one side of the fence an old codger refuses to budge when his daughter-in-law, eyes firmly fixed on rising property values, suggests he move to an old people’s flat. Meanwhile next door a doctor and his young wife, recently moved in, are busily gentrifying their property with period fittings “rescued” from skips and preparing a housewarming barbecue for their friends - most of whom fail to turn up. ------------------------ Rep Production Booking Enquiries The Theatre Box Office is open from the Monday preceding the first week of each Rep production between 5pm and 8pm. » Reservations » Booking Form ---------------------------
	©Stoke Repertory Theatre, Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2TR Tel: (01782) 209784. We endeavour to ensure that the information given on this site is correct but we do not accept any liability for error or omission. Some of the articles in 'The Repport' and other Rep webpages include links to external websites. These links are included to give you the opportunity to explore an issue in more depth. The Rep is not responsible for the content of these Internet sites.