THE PRIVATE EAR and THE PUBLIC EYE Receive 50-Year Revival, August 29
By: Christina Mancuso May. 21, 2013
THE PRIVATE EAR and THE PUBLIC EYE, by the acclaimed and multi-award winning British playwright Sir Peter Shaffer, will have their first major revival in 50 years, when they begin a nationwide tour from 29 August 2013, with a national press night at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre on Friday 6 September.
The double-bill of two one-act plays was first performed in London's West End in 1962, starring the young Kenneth Williams and Maggie Smith. The plays then transferred successfully to Broadway in 1963, starring Barry Foster and Geraldine McEwan.
THE PRIVATE EAR and THE PUBLIC EYE are intimate one-act plays - both short and bitter-sweet comedies performed as a matching pair on the same night. They give the audience a fascinating window into the turbulent changing attitudes to love in the 1960s through a combination of comedy, pathos and drama.
THE PRIVATE EAR is set in a musky London bedsit, where reclusive Bob, normally used to giving his full attention to his record collection, calls in a favour from Ted, his slick, confident friend, to help him treat his date, the beautiful but shy Doreen, to a slap up meal.
THE PUBLIC EYE takes place in a swanky London accountancy office, where uptight Charles is confronted by Julian, an eccentric private detective hired by Charles to investigate Belinda, his young wife, whom he suspects of infidelity.
Sir Peter Shaffer's other plays include Amadeus, Equus, The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Lettice & Lovage and Five Finger Exercise.
The new national tour of THE PRIVATE EAR and THE PUBLIC EYE will star Jasper Britton as Charles, Steven Blakeley in the dual roles of Bob and Julian, Rupert Hill as Ted and Siobhan O'Kelly in the dual roles of Doreen and Belinda.
Jasper Britton will be coming to the tour fresh from starring in David Mamet's Race at Hampstead Theatre. Other recent theatre work includes Sade in Marat/Sade for the RSC, Peachum in the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of The Beggar's Opera and Simon Gray in The Last Cigarette at the Chichester Festival Theatre and the Trafalgar Studios London.
Steven Blakeley is popularly known as PC Geoff Younger in Heartbeat, with theatre credits including the recent national tours of Dry Rot and Funny Peculiar.
Rupert Hill, known for his role as Jamie Baldwin in Coronation Street, has theatre credits which include Heathcliff in Wuthering Heightsfor Hull Truck and Harry in the national tour of When Harry Met Sally.
Siobhan O'Kelly's television credits include Treasure Island for Sky 1 and Inspector George Gently for BBC 1, whilst she regularly appears on stage with The Original Theatre Company, including their recent productions of Twelfth Night, See How They Run andDancing at Lughnasa.
THE PRIVATE EAR and THE PUBLIC EYE will be directed by Alastair Whatley and designed by Hayley Grindle. They will be produced on tour by The Original Theatre Company and Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.
TOUR SCHEDULE
29 August - 8 September Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
10 - 14 September Gaiety Theatre, Dublin
16 - 19 September Bath Theatre Royal
23 - 28 September Malvern Theatres
30 September - 5 October Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne
7 - 12 October Milton Keynes Theatre
14 - 19 October Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke
21 - 26 October Cambridge Arts Theatre
28 October - 2 November York Theatre Royal
4 November - 11 November New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich
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