BC/EFA Presents Corin Redgrave in 'Tynan' on Oct.22

Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS is proud to present renowned actor Corin Redgrave in Tynan, based on the diaries of the influential and often controversial English theatre critic and writer Kenneth Tynan, for one performance only on Monday, October 22 at 8 PM at The Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place). The performance will benefit Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS and The Actors' Fund.

Immediately following the performance Lynn Redgrave and Vanessa Redgrave, Corin Redgrave's sisters, will host an exclusive post-performance reception attended by all three Redgrave siblings.

"Culled from Kenneth Tynan's diaries, the biographical play spans the last ten years of Tynan's life. These painfully honest and revealing diaries create a portrait of one of the most interesting and complex men of our time," explain press notes. Tynan is edited by The New Yorker's longtime theatre critic John Lahr and is adapted by Richard Nelson and Colin Chambers.

Tynan premiered at the Swan Theatre, Strat-upon-Avon, in October 2004 as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's New Work Festival.  Kenneth Tynan was one of the most controversial figures in English theatre of the 20th century. As the critic for The Observer, Tynan's motto "write heresy, pure heresy" occasionally put him at odds with some of The West End's most noted figures. During his tenure at The Observer, he championed theatrical realism and was an ardent supporter of the formation of a national theatre.

In 1963, Tynan left The Observer to become The National Theatre of Great Brittan's first Literary Manager under Sir Laurence Olivier, a position he held until 1972.

The event that Tynan is perhaps most readily identified with occurred in November 1965 during a broadcast on the BBC, Tynan was commenting on the subject of censorship and said, "I doubt if there are any rational people to whom the word 'fuck' would be particularly diabolical, revolting, or totally forbidden."

This was the first time the word "fuck" had been spoken on British television and the public outcry caused the BBC to issue a formal apology, sparked debate in Parliament, and eventually inspired comedian Billy Connolly to write the song "A Four-Letter Word."

The incident was part of a larger, long-running attempt by Tynan to break down "linguistic inhibitions on the stage and in print."

Outside of his criticism, Tynan's writings included the erotic revue Oh! Calcutta, one of the most successful theatrical hits of all time, and the 1971 script of Macbeth with Roman Polanski.

Tynan died in 1980 in Santa Monica, California.

Tickets are: $60 – reserved seating; $110 – reserved orchestra seat, post-performance reception hosted by Lynn Redgrave and Vanessa Redgrave, and limited edition CD of Corin Redgrave's reading of Oscar Wilde's De Profundis; $150 – VIP premium orchestra seat, post-performance reception hosted by Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave, limited edition CD of Corin Redgrave's reading of Oscar Wilde's De Profundis signed by Corin Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave, and a copy of the 2004 Faber and Faber published script of Tynan autographed by Corin Redgrave and Richard Nelson.

For tickets, please go to: www.BroadwayCares.org or call 212-840-0770 x-268.