Four Farces

April to July 2013

DATES:

April to July 2013

CAST:

Richard Latham
Asta Parry
John O’Connor

CREATIVE TEAM:

Writers: John Maddison Morton, William E Suter & Joseph Stirling Coyne
Director: Jonathan Kemp & Peter Craze
Lighting: Duncan Hands
Designer: Tomasin Cuthbert
Scenography: Martyn Doust
Sound: Derek Carlyle

VENUES:

Wilton’s Music Hall, Greenwich Theatre and National Tour

The Show

Duelling pistols, intoxication, double-crossing, thwarted lovers, twirling moustaches and cross dressing are just some of the elements in this superb evening of Victorian one-act farces. There’s more than a hint of Monty Python and The Goons to these hidden farcical gems. Written between 1847 & 1860, these plays whisk us back over 150 years and invite us to forget our worries for an hour or two.

REVIEWS:

‘This is a half archaeological curiosity, half timeless fun. I had expected only mild interest in four obscure Victorian one-act farces but the plays proved me wrong with perfectly judged renderings by the European Arts Company.’

The Times

‘The three performers, Richard Latham, Asta Parry and John O'Connor, throw themselves into their roles with madcap glee, expertly giving life to the stereotypes, and playing the slapstick with cheeky knowingness. This is a very entertaining evening, fascinating for students of theatre history, but also enjoyable on its own terms.’

WhatsOnStage

‘The terrific venue of Wilton’s Music Hall, recently saved from the philistine’s bulldozers, is the perfect home for Four Farces. For an evening of quality lowbrow Victorian entertainment played at full throttle, you can’t go wrong. This full-blooded presentation of the best of Victorian broad comedies makes for a delightfully entertaining evening.’

Entertainment Focus

‘The production moves at an excellent clip and has just the right flavour of knowing silliness. Marvellously lyrical and inventive'

The Spectator

‘I thoroughly recommend seeing Four Farces, particularly for any comedy fan – you really can begin to discern the heritage of acts like Morecombe and Wise and Monty Python in these four old farces. The show was funny and quirky, and makes for a highly enjoyable evening of theatre, totally befitting to the charming old music hall.

A Younger Theatre

‘It is lovely to see these little pieces performed in a contemporary setting for them. An authentically eccentric performance with impeccable throwaway timing. Shades of Pirandello, or even Monty Python.’

Broadway Baby

The Trials of Oscar Wilde

Supported by Arts Council England

DATES:

October – November 2015

CAST:

John Gorick
Rupert Mason
William Kempsell

CREATIVE TEAM:

Writers: Merlin Holland & John O’Connor
Director: Peter Craze
Designer: Dora Schweitzer
Lighting: Duncan Hands
Sound: Derek Carlyle
Stage Manager: Tamsin Withers
Photography: Emily Hyland

VENUES:

Trafalgar Studios, London

The Show

A thrilling dramatisation of the libel and criminal trials of Oscar Wilde by his grandson Merlin Holland and John O'Connor. Following a 60 date UK tour, this show transferred to Trafalgar Studios in the West End. 14 February 1895 was the triumphant opening night of The Importance of Being Earnest and the zenith of Wilde's career. Less than 100 days later, he found himself a common prisoner sentenced to two years hard labour. So what happened during the trials and what did Wilde say? Was he persecuted or the author of his own downfall? Using the actual words spoken in court, we can feel what it was like to be in the company of a flawed genius - as this less than ideal husband was suddenly reduced to a man of no importance.

REVIEWS:

‘A sell-out success. John Gorick is a beguiling Wilde in a smart play that reveals the establishment at its worst.’

THE OBSERVER

'For a century, what Wilde actually said at his trials was a mystery. But the recent discovery of shorthand notes changed that. Now his grandson Merlin Holland has turned them into a play. The result is as good as being in the gallery.'

The Independent

'Oscar Wilde is brought back to life in this new play about the writer’s downfall. John O’Connor and Merlin Holland (the grandson of Wilde) have adapted the transcripts into a fascinating play.’ 

Time Out

'There is a prurient fascination here in watching Wilde's shifting moral compass. Writers John O'Connor and Merlin Holland have ensured there is plenty of context - Wilde's barbed point about a brothel being close to the Houses of Parliament is well made. Without attempting to excuse Wilde, this portrays a man whose own arrogance helped precipitate a downfall that was engineered not for what he did, but what he stood for.'

Time Out

'Despite the tension of the trial, flashes of Wilde’s flippant wit shine through. How, demands Carson, can Wilde not regard his letters to Douglas as extraordinary? “I think everything I write is extraordinary.” Attaboy, Oscar.’

London Evening Standard

'The Trials of Oscar Wilde is hugely enjoyable and thought-provoking. It sheds light on a genius who continues to fascinate us, as well as tapping into current concerns about celebrity trials and the criminalisation of homosexuality as equality takes one step forwards and two back. Wilde aficionados will love it – but the themes reverberate far wider.

Entertainment Focus

‘There’s something about a courtroom drama which exerts a peculiar fascination. Lying on oath is never a clever thing to do. Especially when it starts with a fudge about your actual age. The play revels in Wilde's posing, his delight with his own bon mots, and his inability to take this public platform seriously until far too late.’

WhatsOnStage

'Written by Wilde’s only grandchild Merlin Holland and actor/producer John O’Connor, this is a form of verbatim theatre that fillets the transcripts of Wilde’s three trials and draws on letters and some of his other writing to give an entirely factual account of Wilde’s story.’

British Theatre Guide

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Supported by Arts Council England

DATES:

January – February 2016

CAST:

Guy Warren-Thomas
John Gorick
Rupert Mason
Helen Keeley

CREATIVE TEAM:

Writers: Merlin Holland & John O’Connor
Director: Peter Craze
Designer: Dora Schweitzer
Costumes: Fi Russell & Anett Black
Lighting: Duncan Hands
Sound: Matt Eaton
Photography: Emily Hyland

VENUES:

Trafalgar Studios, London

The Show

Following a 60 date UK tour, this show transferred to Trafalgar Studios in the West End. This new adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s only novel was written with his grandson Merlin Holland and timed to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the story’s publication in 1891. Featuring material suppressed from the original manuscript and never before seen on stage, the show was a sell-out success. Set in the decadent world of Victorian London, a beautiful young man becomes infatuated by the exquisite portrait painted of him. He makes a Faustian pact that he will remain forever young while the picture grows old. Combining drawing-room comedy and gothic horror, this was a gripping and hugely entertaining theatrical event.

REVIEWS:

‘It’s Dorian Gray as Wilde intended.’

The Times

‘There are more quotable lines here than in all of Wilde’s plays put together.’

Daily Express

‘This new adaptation by Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland no less, restores some lost lines, including poor Basil’s confession, lending a renewed, subtly tragic dimension to a book known for its themes of damnation, decadence and the sickness of one man’s soul.'

Huffington Post

'This fine adaptation deserves to be seen for its own qualities, for the fresh insights it brings to a work we think we know all too well, and for what it tells us of Wilde. It showcases in exemplary fashion the jostling, unstable and ultimately tragic combination of talents and aspirations that comprised Wilde's unique persona.’

British Theatre

'Classics are classics for a reason and this production strips back the myths and returns to the humour, the tragedy and, best of all, the ideas of the novel. I've read the book and seen other adaptations, but this version carried a power new to me and more than a frisson of horror.' 

Broadway World

'This Oscar Wilde fable of the beautiful boy Dorian who keeps his fresh appearance while in the attic his portrait snarls, sneers and withers to monstrosity deserves respect in the revisiting, not least as a cry of pain from the age of homosexual persecution. In this version it gets that respect, because Wilde’s only grandson, Merlin Holland has adapted and dramatized it, consulting unseen manuscripts and crucially reintroducing the more explicit homoeroticism which Wilde and his editors prudently removed.’

Libby Purves, Theatre Cat

‘In Wilde’s own words, “there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about”, and this enthralling adaptation with its sexual innuendos, plentiful gags and humorous cross-dressing should keep audiences buzzing with things to say.'

A Younger Theatre

‘Adapted by Merlin Holland and John O’Connor, it brings together elements from the story first published in Lippincott’s Magazine, as well as the book itself, making for an absolutely fantastic script put onto the stage. Not an event to be missed for all the Wilde enthusiasts of the world’

Entertainment World

‘This is not only a well written adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray but a well-staged and acted one, bringing fresh insight to a much admired book and well-loved author.'

Live Theatre

‘There’s no denying the power that still resides in Wilde’s uncensored words and any excuse to see them on stage should be taken.’ 

City AM

 ‘Through access to the original manuscripts, Holland and O’Connor have produced the version of Dorian Gray that Wilde always intended us to see. This gripping production brings fresh insight to a work that many think they know but few understand.’

London Theatre

Beau Brummell

AN ELEGANT MADNESS

DATES:

February to March 2017

CAST:

Sean Brosnan
Richard Latham

CREATIVE TEAM:

Writer: Ron Hutchinson
Director: Peter Craze
Designer: Helen Coyston
Lighting: Duncan Hands
Costume: Anett Black
Photography: Alex Harvey-Brown

VENUES:

Jermyn Street Theatre, London

The Show

Combining the grandeur of King Lear with the regency farce of Blackadder III, this superb black comedy has been described as ‘Waiting for Godot for the fashion conscious’.

It is the winter of 1819. The most stylish man of his day (to whom a statue will later be raised in Jermyn Street) lives in exile in a madhouse in Calais. The mind of George Bryan Brummell, known as The Beau, revels in past glories when he dominated the worlds of fashion, wit and dress. He is convinced that his old friend and patron the Prince of Wales (now King George IV) will visit him and restore his position in society. Today, the King is coming to Calais!

REVIEWS:

'A Wildean Waiting for Godot. Hutchinson writes fluently and amusingly about narcissism and the cult of celebrity. There’s chemistry between seasoned performers Sean Brosnan (a suitably haughty Brummell) and Richard Latham (reliably sardonic as Austin). Director Peter Craze succeeds in conveying its subject’s understanding of dress as a matter of almost religious significance.’

The Evening Standard

'Beau Brummell is back and you can’t take your eyes off him! It sticks in your mind and haunts you twelve hours later with the image of senile defiance, remembered grace and crazy nobility. Can’t get it out of my head.’

Libby Purves, Theatre Cat

'Very enjoyable! Sean Brosnan and Richard Latham are well cast with some cracking  lines throughout. This is a lovely play right in the heart of London. It has to be produced at the Jermyn Street Theatre – just a hop and a skip away from Beau Brummell’s Statue on Jermyn Street'

Theatre Reviews

'Richard Latham and Sean Brosnan carry off their co-dependency admirably. Brosnan has gaunt elegance and, like Brummell’s neck cloths, just the right amount of starch. Moreover, Latham brings earthy revolutionary spirit to the servant who is wittier than his bon mot-dropping master can ever realise.’

The Stage

'Hutchinson’s script allows Brummell to fire off sharply funny zingers like an embryonic Wilde. As the fallen man of London society, Sean Brosnan is a plaintive mix of superciliousness and befuddlement, nicely undercut by Richard Latham’s exasperated Austin.’

Time Out

'It is appropriate that a play about Beau Brummell should open within yards of the statue of London’s most celebrated dandy. Director Peter Craze creates some nice iconic images as Brummell is dressed with religious ritual and there are flashes of Wildean observation in the dialogue'

Daily Express

Chekov's Shorts

Supported by Arts Council England

DATES:

January to April 2017

CAST:

upert Mason
Eva Savage
William Hartley

CREATIVE TEAM:

Writer: Anton Chekhov
Director: John O’Connor
Designer: Helen Coyston
Lighting: Duncan Hands
Costume: Gianluca Gasparini
Photography: Emily Hyland
Translator: John O’Connor & Irina Sabristova

VENUES:

Touring to 45 venues all over the UK including York Theatre Royal, Theatre Severn, The Roses Tewkesbury, Richard Burton Theatre, Derby Guildhall, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.

The Show

A hugely entertaining collection of classic one-act farces by Anton Chekhov, including The Evils of Tobacco, The Dimwit, The Bear, Swan Song and The Proposal. Chekhov as you’ve never seen him before – funny! Originally performed in Russian vaudeville theatres, these bittersweet plays are Chekhov at his comic best - before The Seagull got stuffed, Uncle Vanya fired blanks, The Three Sisters started moaning and The Cherry Orchard was ‘car-parked’.

REVIEWS:

‘Chekhov wasn’t all doom and gloom! European Arts Company’s production of Chekhov Shorts is fast-paced, witty and engaging.’ - The Stage

'Sharp and viciously cruel at time, last night’s selection of five of Chekhov’s early short plays provided plenty of laughs and not a little insight into the Russian playwright’s later works' - Edinburgh Evening News

'This is the kind of show that makes you want to fight tooth and nail for UK arts funding. A small company performing little-known material in a tiny provincial venue – and every single member of the capacity audience having a better time than they would in the West End' - Venue Magazine

'This programme of short Chekhov plays offers a pleasingly warm, human and welcoming experience to audiences across the UK. These well-shaped little plays have a spirit and industry that is hard to resist' - The Scotsman

'The five short plays performed by European Arts Company foreshadow the greatness of Chekhov’s later theatrical work. The production is well acted, robustly staged and often very funny.’ - British Theatre Guide