Westport Country Playhouse Presents Playwright David Hare in Conversation 10/16

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Westport Country Playhouse will present "A Conversation with Playwright David Hare," whose works include the plays "Plenty" and "Stuff Happens," and the screenplay for the Oscar-winning film "The Reader," on Friday, October 16, following the 8 p.m. performance of his play, "The Breath of Life." Directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, "The Breath of Life" features Jane Alexander and Stockard Channing.

The Playhouse special event, free and open to the public, will provide the audience with the award-winning playwright's in-depth insights about the production, followed by an interactive dialogue. It is open to all, including those who attend a performance of "The Breath of Life" at another time.

David Kennedy, Westport Country Playhouse associate artistic director, will moderate.

"We're so pleased that Sir David Hare has arranged to be here," said Kennedy. "It's an extraordinary opportunity to have an artist of his stature join us in conversation. He's a rare playwright, with a gift for articulating the necessity of his art form, the urgency of his drive to create, and his restless quest of almost four decades to make a drama that is in dialogue with the most urgent political realities of our contemporary world. This is an evening to look forward to."

Sir David Hare is an English playwright and theater and film director. His awards include the BAFTA Award (1979), the New York Drama Critics Circle Award (1983), the Berlin Film FestivAl Golden Bear (1985), the Olivier Award (1990) and the London Theatre Critics' Award (1990). His plays include "Slag" (1970), "Plenty" (1978), "A Map of the World" (1982), "Skylight" (1995), "Amy's View" (1997), "The Judas Kiss" (1998), "Stuff Happens" (2004) and "The Vertical Hour" (2006). "The Breath of Life" was written in 2002. His screenplays include "The Hours" (2001) and "The Reader" (2008). In 1998 he was given a knighthood for services to the theater.

"The Breath of Life" is a tale of two seasoned women, whose lives are interwoven through their relationship with a pivotal, yet offstage, male character, Martin. Madeleine Palmer, played by Jane Alexander, is a retired curator, living alone on the Isle of Wight. One day to her door comes Frances Beale, played by Stockard Channing, a woman she has met only once, who is now enjoying sudden success, later in life, as a popular novelist. Over the course of one day and one night, the two women reflect on their lives and their relationship with Martin, their joint obsession.

"The Breath of Life" runs September 29 through October 17.

About The Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater, serves as a treasured home for the performing arts and is a cultural landmark for Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management direction of Michael Ross, The Playhouse creates quality productions of new and classic plays that enlighten, enrich and engage a diverse community of theater lovers, artists and students. The Playhouse's rich history dates back to 1931, when New York theatre producer Lawrence Langner created a Broadway-quality stage within an 1830s tannery. The Playhouse quickly became an established stop on the New England "straw hat circuit" of summer stock theatres. Now celebrating its 79th season, Westport Country Playhouse has produced more than 700 plays, 36 of which later transferred to Broadway, most recently the world premiere of "Thurgood" and a revival of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" with Paul Newman, and in earlier years "Come Back, Little Sheba" with Shirley Booth, "The Trip to Bountiful" with Lillian Gish, and "Butterflies Are Free" with Keir Dullea and Blythe Danner. For its artistic excellence, The Playhouse received a 2005 Governor's Arts Award and a 2000 "Connecticut Treasure" recognition. It was also designated as an Official Project of Save America's Treasures by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is entered on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places. Following a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2005, The Playhouse transformed into a year-round, state-of-the-art producing theater, which has preserved its original charm and character. In addition to a full season of theatrical productions, The Playhouse serves as a community resource, presenting educational programming and workshops; a children's theater series; symposiums; music; films; and readings.

For more information or ticket purchases, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets may be purchased online at www.westportplayhouse.org.