The Warden - Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
TRAFFIC of the Stage is presenting David Witherow’s adaptation of Anthony Trollope’s The Warden at Highgate’s Upstairs at the Gatehouse from September 11 to September 30, 2012.
With The Warden, set in the 1850’s, Anthony Trollope launched his great series of novels, the Barsetshire Chronicles, mixing humour, psychological insight and exposure of mid-Victorian social ills.
Zealous young reformer John Bold goes to the nation’s most powerful newspaper with allegations of corruption in the cathedral city of Barchester.
His action sparks off a series of conflicts which result in a crisis of conscience for Septimus Harding, the unworldly Warden of the cathedral’s alms houses as he unexpectedly becomes the centre of a public controversy, caught between powerful conflicting forces.
This new adaptation with its 11-strong cast bring to the stage Trollope’s multi-layered world, which still has strong resonances today – the power of an uncontrolled press, nepotism and corruption in high places, abuse of privilege, hypocrisy and resistance to change.
Harry Meacher directs a cast that includes Simon Brandon (as Tom Towers/Matthews Spriggs), James Butler ( John Bold,) Laura Hanna (Eleanor Harding), Bryan Hands ( Bishop Grantly/Jonathan Crumple), Andrew McRobb (Joe Skulpit), Semane Parsons (Mary Bold), Lindsey Readman (Susan Grantly), Roger Sansom (Bunce/Sir Abraham Haphazard), Tim Thomas (Septimus Harding), Andrew Wickes (Theophilus Grantly) and Jonson Wilkinson (Abel Handy).
Harry Meacher’s previous work includes The Sensualist (Arts Theatre), The Masterbuilder and The School For Scandal (Upstairs at the Gatehouse), The Education of a Lap Dancer (Pleasance Theatre), In Love with Anton (King’s Head Theatre), Wuthering Heights (Bloomsbury Theatre ), King Lear, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Dracula, She Stoops to Conquer and The Importance of Being Earnest (UK regional tours) and recently, Mist ( after Dracula) in Holland.
Traffic of the Stage’s previous work at the Highgate venue includes Emma, Far from the Madding Crowd, Daniel Deronda and Northanger Abbey.
Produced by John Cooper, The Warden is designed by BW Hands, with scenic painting by John Dalton.
Tickets: Tuesday to Friday: £12 (£10 concessions); Saturday: £16 (£14 concessions); Sunday: £14 (£10 concessions) – available from the box office on 020 8340 3488 or online at www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com/.
Times: Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm, Sunday at 4pm.