Willmott Celebrates Finborough's 30th with Tennesse WilliamsDate: 1 March 2010
Phil Willmott, acclaimed director of F**king Men and Naked Boys Singing, returns to the Finborough with the London premiere of The Notebook of Trigorin by Tennessee Williams, which runs from 30 March to 24 April.
The play, ‘a free adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull', was first produced at the Vancouver Playhouse in 1981, although Williams first spoke of writing such a piece early on in his career. It received its British premiere at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre in 2008 in a production directed by the theatre’s then artistic director, Ben Crocker. The upcoming Finborough production celebrates both the theatre’s 30th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of Chekhov’s birth.
Willmott has a special connection with the Finborough, having directed more shows there than any other director, most recently his 2009 adaptation of Arthur Wing Pinero’s The Enchanted Cottage, entitled Country Magic. Willmott’s F**king Men, which began life at the Finborough before transferring to the King’s Head then the Arts Theatre, was nominated for a Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Off-West End Production (see Interview, 28 July 2009).
The cast of The Notebook of Trigorin will include Stephen Billington and Morgan James, both returning to the Finborough following roles in F**king Men. The show will be designed by Kim Alwyn and Aimee Sajjan-Servaes.
The theatre will also be presenting Three Seagulls, three staged readings chosen to complement The Notebook of Trigorin. Two versions of Chekhov’s The Seagull - Irish playwright Thomas Kilroy’s The Seagull and the world premiere of journalist and critic Patrick Marmion’s Pieta - will be staged on 10 April and 24 April respectively. Daniel MacIvor’s His Greatness, which will be presented on 17 April, is a fictionalized account of the writing of The Notebook of Trigorin.
- by Jo Caird - Theatregoer Reporter
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