State of Play in association with Concordance
presents
by Bill C Davis
Directed by Drew Ackroyd
Designed by Atlanta Duffy
Lighting by Mary Pope
Music by Jane Watkins
Cast:
Father Tim Farley - Kevin Colson
Mark Dolson - Brendan Patricks.
28 March - 22 April 2006
The first London revival of the multi-award winning American play
Father Tim Farley, a lover of the good things in life, is comfortably ensconced as priest of a prosperous Catholic congregation. His well ordered world is disrupted by the arrival of Mark Dolson, an impassioned and idealistic young seminarian. Their confrontation is a touching examination of the nature of friendship, courage and the infinite variety of love. This brilliantly funny yet compassionate play had a long and critically hailed Broadway run.
Mass Appeal premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club, directed by Geraldine Fitzgerald, and starring Milo O'Shea and Eric Roberts, and transferred to Broadway where it won the Outer Critics’ Circle Award. It was subsequently made into a movie starring Jack Lemmon and Charles Durning and was chosen one of the ten best films for that year by The National Board of Review. It has also been seen in Paris - where it received a Molière Award - as well as in Poland, Brazil, Argentina, Sweden, South Africa, Rome, Australia and Germany. This is its first UK production since the premiere in 1982 with Gordon Jackson and Rupert Everett.
Tony nominee and Finborough Theatre favourite Kevin Colson plays Father Tim Farley. Brendan Patricks - recently seen as Stanhope in the West End production of Journey's End - plays Mark Dolson
Playwright Bill C. Davis’ other plays include Dancing in the End-Zone which has played on Broadway, Miami and LA with Elaine Stritch, Pat Carroll and Lois Nettleton, Avow, and Wrestlers which has been performed by actors including Mark Harmon, Judd Nelson, George Clooney, and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Director Drew Ackroyd returns to the Finborough following his acclaimed productions of the London premieres of Larry Kramer’s The Destiny of Me (Nicholas De Jongh’s No 1 Critics' Choice, Evening Standard) and Sonja Linden’s I Have Before Me A Remarkable Document Given to Me By a Young Lady from Rwanda (Time Out Critics' Choice)
The Press on Drew Ackroyd
"Drew Ackroyd’s superlatively acted, powerhouse of a production electrifies the little Finborough stage with fierce passions and pain” Nicholas de Jongh, Evening Standard
“Director Drew Ackroyd’s terrific production bursts with some of the best perfomances in the capital. Ackroyd’s direction is nothing short of brilliant." Jewish Chronicle
"This British Premiere is a coup for the director Drew Ackroyd and for the Finborough" Susannah Clapp, The Observer
"Drew Ackroyd’s production of this compelling play deserves wider notice." Times Literary Supplement
"Sonja Linden's new play is a remarkable achievement…Drew Ackroyd directs with grace and confidence" Time Out
"Drew Ackroyd's elegant direction…Highly recommended." Jewish Chronicle
The Press on Mass Appeal
"There are few more invigorating theatrical experiences than hearing the voice of a gifted writer for the first time...(Bill C.) Davis is a natural: He writes with wit, passion and a sure sense of stagecraft." Frank Rich, New York Times
"A popular work in the best sense, deeply satisfying." Jack Kroll of Newsweek
“One of those very rare plays which not only entertains but also educates." The Hollywood Reporter.
Presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Limited.
