I Am A Camera - Southwark Playhouse
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
I AM A Camera, by John Van Druten, will run for a 3-week season at Southwark Playhouse (The Vault) from Wednesday, September 5 to Saturday, September 22, 2012.
Based on Christopher Isherwood’s memoirs Goodbye to Berlin, and the inspiration for the musical Cabaret, I Am A Camera is part glamorous whirlwind of Berlin Bohemia, part harrowing depiction of the Nazi’s rise to power.
Anthony Lau will direct a cast that features Rebecca Humphries (as Sally Bowles) and Freddie Capper (Fritz). Further casting has still to be announced.
Rebecca Humphries was last seen as Molly in The Kitchen (National Theatre) and in The 24 Hour Plays (Old Vic). On television she played Beth in Big Bad World, Kate in Cardinal Burns and Holly in Come Fly With Me.
Freddie Capper’s theatre credits include Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations (Baroque Theatre Company) and Dr. Benjamin in Waiting for Lefty (Theatre Royal Haymarket). On television he has appeared as Archie in Behind Bars.
I Am A Camera‘s title is a quote taken from Isherwood’s first page – “I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking”.
The play’s Broadway premiere in 1951 was a triumph for Julie Harris as the insouciant Sally Bowles, winning her the first of her four Tony Awards for Best Leading Actress in a play. A subsequent 1955 film adaptation was also called I Am A Camera. With a screenplay by John Collier and music by Malcolm Arnold, it starred Julie Harris, Laurence Harvey and Shelley Winters.
In 1966, the play and film inspired the musical Cabaret by John Kander and Fred Ebb and the subsequent 1972 film of the same name with Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey and Michael York.
Produced by Paulden Hall Productions in association with folie a deux, I Am A Camera will be designed by James Turner, with costume design by Sarah Booth. Composer and musical director will be Angus McRae.
Tickets: £9, £13, £17 – Airline Style Pricing, the earlier you book the cheaper the tickets – available from the box office on 020 7407 0234 or online at www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk.
Times: Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm, Saturday matinee at 3pm.
Mack and Mabel continues in the Vault at Southwark Playhouse until August 25, 2012.
Rufus Norris’ much anticipated re-imagining of his double Olivier-award winning production of Cabaret opens at the Savoy Theatre on October 3, 2012 following a four-week national tour.