Trinity Rep to Present Twin Plays HOUSE & GARDEN, 5/16-6/30

From the author of Absurd Person Singular comes the theatrical event of the season: a pair of interlocking comedies that take place simultaneously, with one cast performing both shows in two different theaters at the same time. Directed by resident company member Brian McEleney, the shows open in previews on May 16 and then run simultaneously through June 30 in both the Chace and Dowling Theaters. Hailed by Timemagazine as "An audacious, crazy, altogether brilliant achievement, " the Guardian UK calls the evening "much more than a romp, " and states that the play just "bursts at the seams with comedy, intrigue and calamity." Tickets are on sale now at the Trinity Rep box office, 201 Washington St.; by phone at(401) 351-4242; and online at www.trinityrep.com.

A masterfully constructed duo of plays, House & Garden are like two opposite sides of a theatrical puzzle - the picture gets clearer, funnier and more profound, when you return to see the second side of the story. Teddy and Trish are hosting a big gArden Party for the town. Friends, family, a London writer, and a French movie star... what could go wrong? Fans of Ayckbourn will know the answer: anything and everything. While the actors race fromHouse (in the upstairs theater) to Garden (yes, all the way back down the stairs to the first floor theater), the lucky audience stays put, seeing each production one at a time, in either order.

Both plays tell a day in the life of the same set of twenty characters and star an incredible ensemble of Trinity Rep favorites, including resident company members Angela Brazil, Janice Duclos, Phyllis Kay, Barbara Meek, Anne Scurria, FrEd Sullivan, Jr., Stephen Thorne and Joe Wilson, Jr.; Guest artists Mary C. Davis and Barry M. Press and Brown/Trinity MFA students Catherine Dupont, Steven Jaehnert, Ted Moller and Bridget Saracino.

The seven member children's cast features Swansea, MA resident Lauren Durkin; Warwick resident Kate Fitzgerald; Cranston resident Bedros Kevorkian; Providence residents Margo Herreid, Elliot Peters and Phineas Peters and Pawtucket resident Taliq Tillman.

Set in the same time span over the course of one day, the plays show two different sides of the comings and goings of planning the annual neighborhood gArden Party. Each play is set in a different locale. House - as the name suggests - keeps its characters firmly ensconced in the living room of homeownersTeddy and Trish. Teddy has had an affair with the neighbor's wife and now his marriage is in dire jeopardy. The fact that his neighbor's son, Jake, is in love with his daughter makes things even more complicated. Meanwhile, in Garden, the household help are busily preparing for the upcoming gArden Party. Add to the mix a dash of very influential guests, a vivacious French film star, and pretty much the entire neighborhood and you soon have a hilarious combination of Ayckbourn's wacky characters, gin-soaked truths and topsy-turvy storytelling.

Tony award-winning set designer Eugene Lee has created both the detailed manor house and the lush landscaped gardens of this sprawling country house in England. Bringing their unique design talents to the production are the exceptional team of lighting designer Bryon Winn, costume designerWilliam Lane and sound designer Peter Sasha Hurowitz.

Director Brian McEleney has been a member of the resident Acting Company since 1983. A Trinity Rep Associate Director, he has directed Trinity Rep productions of Absurd Person Singular. Sparrow Grass, Twelfth Night, A Raisin in the Sun, All the King's Men, Measure for Measure, Dinner with Friends, Master Class, Mrs. Warren's Profession, A Christmas Carol, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Stones in His Pockets, Proof, Our Town, and Hamlet (2006 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director), as well as over a dozen Conservatory productions, including The Merchant of Venice, Blood Wedding, Pericles,and Troilus and Cressida. A graduate of Trinity College and the Yale School of Drama, he was a member of the faculty at Princeton University from 1982- 1990. In addition to his work at Trinity Rep, he has acted in productions in various New York theatres such as Theatre for the New City and St. Clement's Theatre, and has been a member of the Robert Lewis Acting Company and the Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble. He is the head of the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Acting Program.

Sir Alan Ayckbourn is one of England's most successful living playwrights. He has written and produced 72 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was the artistic director of Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre from 1972 - 2009, where all but four of his plays have received their first performance. Major successes include Absurd Person Singular (1975), The Norman Conquests trilogy (1973), Bedroom Farce (1975), Woman in Mind(1985), House & Garden (1999) and Private Fears in Public Places (2004). His plays have won numerous awards, including seven London Evening Standard Awards. Ten of his plays have been staged on Broadway, attracting two Tony nominations, and one Tony award.

Talkbacks will be held after every performance of House & Garden. Audiences are invited to share their response to the play's production and themes for approximately twenty minutes. Each talkback will conclude with a short walk retracing the actor's trek from one set to the other during the performance. NBC 10 sponsors Trinity Rep's 49th season, with supporting sponsors Cox Media, Rhode Island Monthly and RISCA.

Since its founding in 1963, Trinity Repertory Company has been one of the most respected regional theaters in the country. Featuring the last permanent resident Acting Company in America, Trinity Rep presents a balance of world premiere, contemporary, and classic works for an estimated annual audience of approximately 120,000. In its almost 50-year history, the theater has produced 61 world premieres, mounted national and international tours, and, through its MFA program, trained hundreds of new actors and directors. This season marks the 46th year of Project Discovery, Trinity Rep's pioneering educational outreach program. Last season, Trinity Rep's educational programs reached nearly 15,000 Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut students through matinees as well as in-school residencies and workshops. Brown University/Trinity Rep offers professional training for actors and directors in a three-year MFA program. Subscriptions are now on sale for Trinity Rep's 50th Anniversary 2013-2014 season, which includes John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, the New England premiere of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang, Lionel Bart's Oliver!,Intimate Apparel by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, the world premiere of Veronica Meadows by Stephen Thorne and A Lie of the Mindby Sam Shepard. For more information, call the box office at (401) 351-4242 or visit Trinity Rep's website at www.trinityrep.com.

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