Too True To Be Good - Finborough Theatre
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
BERNARD Shaw’s Too True To Be Good, possibly one of the first absurd comedies in English and one of Shaw’s least performed works, runs for a limited season – from September 3 (previews from September 1) to September 26, 2009 – at Finborough Theatre.
A rich young woman catches a pair of burglars in her bedroom, but instead of calling the police she decides to run off with them, and live off the proceeds of her own burglary. The three embark on a permanent beach holiday, a life of fabulous wealth and total freedom.
Written in 1932, during the last great economic collapse, Too True To Be Good asks what it means to spend yourself sick. Described as a bizarrely hilarious and very contemporary analysis of out-of-control wealth, involving a giant amoeba and Lawrence of Arabia, this is a side of Shaw that is rarely seen.
Sarah Norman directs a cast that includes Steven Alexander, Alex Blake, Emily Bowker, Roger Braban, James Clarkson, James Hogg, Tai Lawrence, Jenny Lee, Olivia Lumley and Graham Seed.
First performed in New York and London in 1932, it has not been seen in London since 1975 (a Royal Shakespeare Company production with Ian McKellen and Judi Dench that transferred to the West End) and 1986 (Mike Alfreds’ Shared Experience production at the Riverside Studios). In 2006, it played to great acclaim at Canada’s Shaw Festival.
Shaw (1856-1950) remains the only person ever to have won both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar. His major plays include Pygmalion, Saint Joan, Major Barbara, You Never Can Tell, Heartbreak House, Misalliance, The Doctor’s Dilemma, Androcles and the Lion, Arms and the Man, Candida and John Bull’s Other Island.
Presented by Bitter Pill Productions in association with Nicola Seed and Phil Anderson-Dyer, Too True To Be Good is designed by Ruth Hall, with lighting by Peter Harrison.
Tickets: £13, £9 concessions, except Tuesday evenings £9 all seats, and Saturday evenings £13 all seats. Previews: £9 all seats. £5 tickets for under 30’s for the first week of the production when booked online.
Times: Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm, Sunday matinees at 3pm, Saturday matinees at 3pm (from September 15).
Performance Length: Approximately 2 hours 30 minutes.
For more information call the box office on 0844 847 1652 or visit the Website
State Fair continues at Finborough Theatre until August 29, 2009.
Read more