New tours for classic farces
Two of the most popular farces of modern times will be on tour around the country over the next few months.
Run for Your Wife is a comedy of multiple complexity – first seen 25 years ago, which went on to become one of London’s longest-running comedies. Second comes Noises Off, Michael Frayn’s 1982 smash hit.
In Run for Yor Wife, John Smith is a London cabbie with his own taxi, a wife in Streatham, a wife in Wimbledon, and a schedule which is on a permanent knife edge.
He has been a successful bigamist for three years – but an increasingly tired one. All starts to unravel one day when he is taken to hospital with mild concussion. In the ensuing complications, aided by the lodger, John tries to cope with an increasingly complicated situations – featuring two policemen, the two wives and an hysterical dress designer. Eventually, telling the truth seems the best option…
This revival stars Melvyn Hayes (of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum fame), Mark Wingett (PC Carver in The Bill), Paul Henry (Benny in Crossroads) and Barry Howard (the ballroom dancer in Hi-de-Hi!). The lead is played by actor and former stand-up David Callister.
The tour of Noises Off marks a revival of the National Theatre’s 2000 production, directed by Jeremy Sams, which later transferred to both the West End and Broadway.
The action takes place during the dress rehearsal for, and then during a tour of, Nothing On, a trouser-dropping farce. Tense relationships within the company come to the boil, as we see increasingly chaotic performances of the play from both in front of and behind the curtain. Casting details were unavailable as we went to press.
Run for Your Wife will be visting:
Malvern Festival Theatre (28th July-2nd August) Blackpool Grand Theatre (4th-16th August) Swansea Grand Theatre (19th-23rd August) Llandudno Venue Cymru (25th-30th August) Worthing Connaught (2nd-6th September) Swindon Wyvern Theatre (9th-13th September) Stevenage Gordon Craig Theatre (16th-20th September) Windsor Theatre Royal (6th-11th October) Lichfield Garrick Theatre (4th-8th November).
Dates for Noises Off include:
Newcastle Theatre Royal (15th-20th September) Glasgow King’s Theatre (22nd September-27th September) Oxford Playhouse (30th September-4th October) Cardiff New Theatre (21st-25th October) Milton Keynes Theatre (10th-15th November) New Wimbledon Theatre (17th-22nd November Bromley Churchill Theatre (24th-29th November)