Ustinov Studio Sets Autumn 2015 Season

The Ustinov Studio, Bath is delighted to announce its autumn 2015 season, which features two rarely-performed French masterpieces of farce, Eugène Marin Labiche's MONSIEUR POPULAR directed by Jeremy Sams and Georges Feydeau's THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY directed by Laurence Boswell.

UK PREMIERE
MONSIEUR POPULAR by Eugène Marin Labiche
In a new translation by Jeremy Sams
Thursday 1st October - Saturday 7th November
Directed by Jeremy Sams

To ensure his romantic affairs with married ladies run smoothly, Célimare has a ruse. To keep things sweet, he befriends their husbands too, and in truth, he has been a wonderful friend. He remembers their birthdays, chooses their furnishings and employs their cooks. Everybody's happy - even the dog. But when the 47 year-old prepares to leave the past behind and marry 18 year-old Emma, it's easy enough to burn his lovers' letters, but his mistresses' husbands are simply not prepared to let him go. Set in 19th Century Paris, this hilarious French farce is replete with songs and dances.

Jeremy Sams is an award-winning director whose credits include NOISES OFF, THE LITTLE BRITAIN TOUR, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, EDUCATING RITA, THE WIZARD OF OZ and PETER GRIMES. His many translations include LES PARENTS TERRIBLES, THE MISER and MARY STUART for the National Theatre, and EXIT THE KING for the Ustinov Studio.

UK PREMIERE
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Georges Feydeau
Translated by Kenneth McLeish
Thursday 12th November - Saturday 19th December
Directed by Laurence Boswell

Monsieur Duchotel, a Parisienne businessman, has a roving eye and a lust for...fishing trips. It turns out he has been casting his line in uncharted waters and he's not the only one. His best-friend, Dr Moricet, has a passion for poetry and a longing for Léontine - Duchotel's beautiful and trusting young wife. Then there's Gontran, Duchotel's randy young nephew, who's always after a hand out, and Madame Latour, a concierge who was once a countess married to a lion-tamer...

Feydeau's uproarious farce brilliantly incorporates all the classic elements of the genre. Behind the shutters at 40, Rue d'Athènes, Dr Moricet's love-nest becomes the venue for a whole shoal of illicit rendez-vous, ridiculous cover stories and bungling policemen. As doors slam, would-be lovers hide in closets and men find their trousers round their ankles, this glorious concoction will have you hooked.

Laurence Boswell is the Artistic Director of the Ustinov Studio where he "has decisively established Bath's Ustinov Studio as a powerhouse" (Independent). His work at the Ustinov Studio has included THE VIBRATOR PLAY, THE SPANISH GOLDEN AGE, INTIMATE APPAREL, EXIT THE KING and THE MOTHER.

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