by William Saroyan
Directed by David Cottis.
Designed by Fiona Parker.
Lighting by Ben Turnbull
Presented by Instant Classics in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre
Cast in order of speaking
Sam Hark-Harkalark – Antony Jardine
Poor Man – Tom Yeates
Ted Owlett – Anil Kumar
Telford Horniman – Richard Cunningham
Pearl Galway – Jessica Sandry
Father Finnegan – Martin Bishop
Ann Moon – Julia Sandiford
Gypsy Woman – Jennifer Thorne
Racing Tipster – Matt Tully
Wally Wailer – Tom Yeates
Daisy Dimple – Jessica Sandry
Blind Man – Matt Tully
Inspector Overboard – Martin Ritchie
Captain Datchikyili – Samuel Webster
Ambassador – Gordon Ridout
Man with Clock – Richard Crawley
Sam’s Grandmother – Jennifer Thorne
Princess – Julia Sandiford
Doctor – Richard Crawley
Sam’s Grandfather – Martin Bishop
**** Four Stars
Whatsonstage.com
[ saroyan centennial season ]
Sundays and Mondays, 8, 14, 15, 21 and 22 September 2008
“'We shall not try to be real in that way, since total success would make it necessary for us to leave the theatre immediately, and I don't believe we want to do that”
When bank clerk Sam Hark-Harkalark is falsely accused of stealing half a million pounds in banknotes signed ‘Good God’, he loses his job. Unbowed, he determines to jump higher than anyone else ever has. The only thing is, so far he hasn’t jumped at all....
This is the play’s first revival since its first performance by Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 1960, and the only piece Saroyan ever wrote to be premiered in Britain. After seeing Joan Littlewood’s production of Brendan Behan’s The Hostage, Saroyan wrote asking if the theatre wanted a new play from him. They responded enthusiastically, and the result was Sam, the Highest Jumper of Them All, a typically whimsical Saroyan play, as free-form and beguiling as a John Coltrane solo.
Among the many characters surrounding Sam are a rock ‘n’ roll singer, a Russian policeman who periodically stands on his head, and the Ambassador from the Audience to the Play. This production will incorporate some sections banned by the Lord Chamberlain, and never seen on stage before.
One of America’s most famous writers, William Saroyan (1908-1981) was born one hundred years ago in Fresno, California, the son of Armenian immigrants. His Armenian heritage gives his work a unique flavour, resulting in a very different view of the American experience than his slightly younger contemporaries Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. Indeed, in 1991, he was the first and only individual to be jointly honoured by the USA and the former Soviet Union with his own commemorative postal stamps. He sprang to fame overnight in 1934 with his short story about a starving writer trying to survive the Depression, The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, and his published writings include over 1,500 short stories, plays, and novels including The Human Comedy and My Name Is Aram. His most enduring achievements as a writer date from the late 1930's and early 1940’s when he won a Pulitzer Prize (which he refused on the grounds that “Commerce should not patronize art”), an Academy Award, and The Drama Critics Circle Award. From 1958, he lived mainly in Paris, and continued writing until his death in 1981.
The Finborough Theatre’s [ saroyan centennial season ], celebrating the centenary of the birth of William Saroyan, runs from September-December 2008, and also features rare revivals of two of Saroyan’s other plays – The Beautiful People and The Time of Your Life.
Director David Cottis makes his Finborough Theatre debut after a long career on the fringe including six years as the Literary Manager of the Etcetera Theatre where he ran the One-Person Play Festival, winner of a Guinness Ingenuity Award and a Time Out Critics’ Choice. His recent work includes The Menaechmi (Shakespeare’s Globe), Timon of Athens (Camden People’s Theatre), Richard III (Catford Broadway Theatre), and The Servant of Two Masters (Venezia! Festival, Northampton). His adaptation of Oliver Twist will go on national tour later this year.
The cast includes Martin Bishop, Richard Cunningham, Antony Jardine (Sam), Julia Sandiford and Jessica Sandry. Martin Bishop’s stage credits include 1947 Live (Delhi), She Stoops To Conquer (Hampton Court) and The Confidential Clerk (Finborough Theatre). Richard Cunningham’s many stage credits include Indian Ink (West End), You Never Can Tell, Wife Begins at Forty (UK Tours) and many roles at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch, the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, and the Library Theatre, Manchester. Antony Jardine has recently finished appearing as Philip Welch in The Deep Blue Sea (West End). Julia Sandiford’s stage credits include Crazy Love (Paines Plough), Swallow Song (Oxford Playhouse) and Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America (Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond). Film credits include Crocodile, written and directed by Che Walker. Jessica Sandry’s stage credits include many appearances with Hijinx Theatre, Gwent Theatre and the title role in Being Doris Day (Welsh tour).
The Press on Sam The Highest Jumper of Them All
“This comedy/fantasy breaks down the fourth wall and avoids all conventional dramatic structure – it was originally developed at Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop and devised through improvisation.” Aline Waites, Whatsonstage
“The comedy is played out in a ‘no holds barred’ style and is irresistible.” Aline Waites, Whatsonstage
“The characters include a rival bank clerk, the bank manager, a stripper, a blind beggar, a Teddy boy, a Russian, a gypsy, an Irish priest, Princess Margaret, a racing tipster, two grandparents, a man with a clock and an ambassador for the audience.” Robert Tanitch, British Theatre Guide
“The play, as you might expect, is an allegory with a political agenda…The style is strictly expressionistic.” Robert Tanitch, British Theatre Guide
“There is no real plot as such, it is more a like a revue.” Aline Waites, Whatsonstage
“Saroyan’s production had the unmistakable Littlewood, shambolic, rambling, anything-goes stamp, with the actors talking and singing directly to the audience.” Robert Tanitch, British Theatre Guide
“A collection of sketches with Antony Jardine’s Sam a charming centrepiece as a young man searching for his identity in an alien world run by a lunatic establishment.” Aline Waites, Whatsonstage
“Sam, the role created by Murray Melvin, is engagingly played by Antony Jardine.” Robert Tanitch, British Theatre Guide
Works of William Saroyan used with permission of Stanford University
