Productions
See also: Productions on Damsels in Distress (plays) page.
The production at the Stephen Joseph Theatre had an opening night on 30 August 2001 and a premiere on 4 September 2001 (the late performance in the season due to the play being a late idea). It featured the following cast:
- Arabella Lazenby - Jacqueline King
- Julie-Ann Jobson - Saskia Butler
- Paige Petite - Alison Pargeter
- Derek Jobson - Robert Austin
- Micky Rale - Tim Faraday
- Dee Jobson - Beth Tuckey
- Justin Lazenby - Bill Champion
The production team was the following:
- Director - Alan Ayckbourn
- Design - Roger Glossop
- Lighting - Mick Hughes
- Costumes - Christine Wall
- Music - Keith Jarrett
The production then toured, including a return to the Stephen Joseph Theatre in November to make up for the short run earlier.
The first West End performance was made at the Duchess Theatre on 7 September 2002, featuring the same cast and production team. The success of this play over the other two Damsels in Distress plays eventually led to this play dominating the run. This caused considerable upset amongst Ayckbourn and the cast who had expected the plays to be performed equally. Eventually, Ayckbourn expressed his frustration with West End Theatre in general. This was interpreted by many as a threat to boycott the West End altogether.
In 2004 and 2005, the play received three further professional productions by professional theatre companies.
Read more about this topic: Role Play (play)
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