Tuesday, 28 February - Saturday, 24 March 2012
ReDiscoveries2012 Season | February to April 2012
Tuesday, 28 February - Saturday, 24 March 2012
The world premiere of a new version
Nominated for four Off West End Awards -
Best Male Performance (Zubin Varla)
Best Ensemble Acting
Best Lighting Designer (Neill Brinkworth)
Best Set Designer (Ellan Parry)
***** Five Stars WhatsOnTheFringe
**** Four Stars, The Public Reviews
Don Juan’s back from the War and he’s got some catching up to do. Berlin is crumbling, but after years of abstinence, the Don is ready for more of the debauchery that once made his name. Amidst political and economic upheaval, Don Juan finds himself increasingly at odds with the man he used to be. Is this notorious lothario about to experience a sudden change of heart?
Ödön von Horváth’s startling tale of displacement and isolation in the aftermath of the Great War is presented in a bold new adaptation by award-winning playwright Duncan Macmillan.
Playwright Ödön von Horváth (1901-1938) was born in Fiume, now Rijeka, near Trieste on 9 December 1901. His father being a diplomat, the family moved from country to country."I am a melange of Old Austria; Hungarian, Croat, Czech, German; alas, nothing Semitic". His plays include Tales From the Vienna Woods, Judgment Day, Faith Hope and Charity and Italian Night. Choosing to stay in Germany and document the rise of National Socialism, his work was violently repressed by the Third Reich, and many of his masterpieces including Don Juan Comes Back From The War were never performed until after his death. In later years, he turned to writing novels, and his popular works A Child of Our Time and Youth Without God are considered modern classics. He was killed on 1 June 1938 at the age of 38, in a freak accident on the Champs-Elysées, when a branch of the chestnut tree under which he was sheltering from a thunderstorm fell on his head. He also appears as the lead character in Christopher Hampton's play Tales from Hollywood.
"Probably the most interesting production in London this week is a world premiere of a new version of Don Juan Comes Back from the War" Fringe Report
"Please go to the Finborough and see this astounding production!" Carolin Kopplin, Uktheatre.net
"Given the intimacy of the Finborough Theatre, this is not a piece for the fainthearted, but it is top notch theatre. Go and see it." Karandash, Whats On The Fringe
"Ödön von Horváth’s startling tale of displacement and isolation in the aftermath of the Great War is presented in a bold new adaptation by award-winning playwright Duncan Macmillan" Fringe Report
"In Duncan MacMillan's new version the writing is gritty, grimy, and powerful, while director Andrea Ferran's production has some mesmerising moments and beautifully acted memorable scenes that liberate a raw sensuality." Jo Sutherland, The Stage
"Duncan Macmillan's adaptation of Ödön von Horváth's classic is callously bleak" Chris Hislop, One Stop Arts
"The von Horvath is long overdue a revival and Duncan Macmillan’s version does it proud." Karandash, Whats On The Fringe
"...the considerable surreal humour in Duncan Macmillan's new adaptation" Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out
"Zubin Varla’s Don Juan is a piece de resistance. Charming rather than charismatic, he is like a wounded bird, frantically flapping but destined to fade." Karandash, Whats On The Fringe
"Zubin Varla as Don Juan is a force of nature, a great seducer, erratic, neurotic and fragile." Jo Sutherland, The Stage
"At the play’s centre Zubin Varla movingly displays a range of emotions from demonic energy to debilitated confusion and despair, holding our attention and sympathy throughout." Fringe Report
"Varla holds it together with this monster of a role. A charming, frightening spectre of a lothario, his cracked, hoarse delivery fills the room with haunting sibilance, and he is given a wealth of beautiful lines and moments to shine." Chris Hislop, One Stop Arts
"Zubin Varla is hardly off the stage as the lusty lothario and is mesmerising throughout as a man whose certainties are being stripped away as he attempts to fight his nature and reach for his ‘pure bride’ whom he jilted at the altar – he thought perfection lay just around the corner yet there it remains. Varla cavorts, carouses, seduces, strips with persuasive sexual energy, but it is the agony that he can’t conceal that really touches one in what at times feels like a Herculean performance." Ian Foster, The Public Reviews
"Zubin Varla as Don Juan is a force of nature, a great seducer, erratic, neurotic and fragile." Jo Sutherland, The Stage
"RSC and NT regular Zubin Varla in the title role." Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out
"...a fantastic Don Juan in Zubin Varla who perfectly conveys the vanity, quiet desperation and vulnerability of his character. Rosie Thomson is excellent as the Mother who tries to scrape out a living for herself and her daughter after being dismissed to make room for the returning soldiers. Charlie Cameron is charming and disturbing as the Lolita-like Girl. Leah Whitaker, "He's surrounded by a brilliant ensemble of women. Each one he comes across is fascinated with him and there's a great range of carefully nuanced performances, whether childish, stoic, fragile or wry." Vicky Ellis, Whats On Stage
"Laura Dos Santos, Eileen Nicholas, and Sarah Sweeney are outstanding as their various female characters." Carolin Kopplin, Uktheatre.net
"The excellent Charlie Cameron" Julia Rank, Exuent Magazine
"Rosie Thomson is particularly strong in this role, as her character warily softens and then hardens again against the sinner." Fringe Report
"There’s also excellent work from Laura Dos Santos who recurs powerfully in the final three scenarios.
Andrea Ferran’s direction does not shy away from the bleakness of the material but threads a vein of mordant dark humour" Ian Foster, The Public Reviews
"Director Andrea Ferran presents a fresh and relentless view of this intriguing play" Carolin Kopplin, Uktheatre.net
"Edward Lewis’s ominous soundscape and Neil Brinkworth’s lighting work together seamlessly, and Ellan Parry’s striking design suggests a run-down urban setting and prison, with metal grill for a floor and barbed wire at the back of the stage." Julia Rank, Exuent Magazine
"Ellan Parry’s spare design and period props compliment the piece exactly." Karandash, Whats On The Fringe
"When it comes to production values, the Finborough shows us just how it’s done in a fringe venue." Everything Theatre
"...once again the Finborough theatre impresses with its clever yet simple set design" Everything Theatre
Tuesday to Saturday Evenings at 7.30pm.
Sunday Matinees at 3.00pm.
Saturday Matinees 3.00pm (from 10 March 2012).
Performance Length: Approximately 1 hour 40 minutes with no interval
Tickets £13, £9 concessions
£5 tickets for Under 30’s for performances from Tuesday to Sunday of the first week when booked online only.
£10 tickets for residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on Saturday, 5 March 2011 when booked online only.
Tickets £15, £11 concessions
except Tuesday Evenings £11 all seats, and Saturday evenings £15 all seats.
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Image copyright Jonás García http://www.flickr.com/photos/mensaka