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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Preacherosity
Verdict: Rehearsed reading / work in progress
London - Tristan Bates Theatre - 22 Feb 05
This report concerns Preacherosity, a work in progress by New York playwright Larry Herold given a rehearsed reading tonight. It credits tonight's new cast. See earlier report (below) for more detail of the play.
Tonight's exceptionally strong cast features the remarkable star of the legendary IRA drama Harry's Game, Ray Lonnen (Fred); adorable and gifted tv regular the stunning Tara Ward (Marcy); pretty and graceful Katie Warren delivering falling angel Angela with subtlety and impish élan; delightful Louisa Gummer, more often seen as a comedy actress (The Sitcom Trials) here playing it straight - reprising her role as Christine; the hugely experienced actor Peter Banks delivering Morris with conviction and a warm humanity; ebullient and charismatic Tom Thornton playing the Preacher, and directing.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Peter Banks - Morris. Louisa Gummer - Christine. Ray Lonnen - Fred. Tom Thornton - Preacher. Tara Ward - Marcy. Katie Warren - Angela.
Company Credits: Writer - Larry Herold (lerold@yahoo.com). Stage Directions - Kenneth Jay. Director - Tom Thornton. Technical Operator - Venue Staff. Cover Illustrator - Scott Williams. Company - Times Square Playwrights and Brilliant Theatre Troupe. Thanks to: Alexa Asjes, Michael Flynn, Thom Jackson, Marianne Clave, Luke Girling, Rachel Roberts, Paul Haley, Suli Majithia, Stewart Melton, EB.
END
John Park
report Tuesday 22 February / Tristan Bates Theatre, The Actors Centre
(c) Fringe Report 2005
reviews@fringereport.com
Fringe Report
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Preacherosity
and
First Lines
Verdict: Rehearsed readings / works in progress
London - Canal Café - 16 November 04
This report notes two works in progress by New York playwright Larry Herold. They are given a rehearsed reading tonight.
FIRST LINES (summary of this play only, as not seen) is a short comedy in one act, running at 35 minutes. It's set now, in American suburbia. Writer Larry Herold's summary: 'A son and his new bride try to communicate with a family that speaks only in the first lines of great literature.' Cast: Louis Brownhill - Son. Louisa Gummer - Mother. David Hale - Father. Seta White - Julie.
PREACHEROSITY is drama with comedy in two acts, set in the present. It runs tonight at 100 minutes with interval, with a cast of 6 (3F, 3M). The church of a small town in Texas needs a new minister. Its committee of upright citizens picks one, a stranger. But when he gets up to preach, his words strike too close to home.
Gary Condes plays the preacher prepared to do God's dirty work. Christine (Louisa Gummer) and Fred (Declan Hill) head the committee of more-or-less apparently virtuous citizens. Morris (Nick Dutton) is an air-conditioning engineer with a flawed past. Marcy (Lisa Stuart) nurses a guilty secret in her bosom - in fact, the guilty secret is her bosom. Angela (Seta White) is a small-town slapper ready for a Sermon on the Mount - with or without the sermon.
It's a sharp, barbed look at religious hypocrisy. With a careful edit, it could be intriguing in Edinburgh.
Larry Herold deserves congratulation for bringing the rehearsed reading out into a London fringe theatre as a means of showcasing new work. Tonight's format has actors seated on stage reading from scripts, but otherwise giving a full performance.
Larry Herold lives in New York, where he's involved in Times Square Playwrights - who regularly use this evening's format to show off new plays by writer members. Done well, as tonight, it's a superb means by which directors, producers - and audiences - can access new material more vividly (and enjoyably) than ploughing through scripts.
Anyone interested in organising or taking part in this kind of evening in London (or New York) can email Larry Herold at lerold@yahoo.com.
Cast Credits - First Lines: (alpha order): Louis Brownhill - Son. Louisa Gummer - Mother. David Hale - Father. Seta White - Julie.
Cast Credits - Preacherosity: (alpha order): Gary Condes - Preacher. Nick Dutton - Morris. Louisa Gummer - Christine. Declan Hill - Fred. Lisa Stuart - Marcy. Seta White - Angela.
Company Credits (both plays): Writer / Director - Larry Herold (lerold@yahoo.com). Company - Times Square Playwrights and Brilliant Theatre Troupe. Thanks to: Louis Brownhill, Thom Jackson, Declan Hill, Lucy Jane Tetlow, the casts, EB. Venue Credits: Canal Café Theatre: Technical Director - Ross McGivern. Artistic Director - Emma Taylor. Acting Artistic Director - Louis Brownhill.
END
John Park
report Tuesday 16 November 04 / Canal Café Theatre
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
