Charley’s Aunt is THE British farce, the best-known and probably the most loved in this genre and, with Birmingham’s Crescent Theatre always offering something special, this is a sparkling new adaptation by the Crescent’s own Michael Barry. With mistaken identities, young loves, old loves, angry uncles and a beautiful exotic aunt flying by at breakneck speed, this is a classic example of why this type of show offers such a fun time in the theatre.
Charley’s Aunt has been a firm favourite with audiences and critics alike from when itfirst appeared at Bury St Edmunds in February 1892. From there, its success was meteoric and, with a record-breaking four year run at London West End’s Globe theatre, it broke the then record for the world’s longest-running play, clocking up some 1,466 performances. Meanwhile productions were happening all over Europe and, in 1893, another record-breaking four-year run began, this time on Broadway.
The core of the story is two Oxford students who want to spend time with the women with whom they are infatuated. But, in those days, they must of course be chaperoned. This chaperoning was going to be by an aunt visiting from Brazil, but she has been delayed. So they persuade a college mate to dress up and pretend to be the aunt … and chaos ensues!
As Michael Barry, adapter and director, explains:
“Charley’s Aunt is a perfect summer play. It’s funny, zany, a bit of a romp and exactly what you want for a summer evening: to watch something that is unashamedly light-hearted fun. Nothing dreadful happens in Charley’s Aunt. I want our audiences to forget all the difficulties and troubles in the world and just ride on the cloud of the jokes, the actions and the silly situations that arise and believe for that time that everything is fine.”
“Charley’s Aunt is great entertainment. But farce is also one of the most difficult theatrical genres. Nothing demands greater accuracy of timing, let alone energy and stamina, and the characters have to be larger than life in every way – but to work, underneath all that those characters have to be real. Our amazing cast are rising to that challenge incredibly well, their feel for comedy is terrific and it’s shaping up to be a top-class show.”
Maintaining a long-standing Crescent tradition, this production of Charley’s Aunt will also undertake a short tour in the West Midlands. Michael Barry comments:
“It is of course a whole different challenge to perform outdoors, not least with coping with wildlife and aircraft overhead! We’re busily preparing for that too, and for the adaptations it requires, and looking forward to it enormously. Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens, Hagley Village, Selly Manor and Harvington Hall are super venues, each with its own special feeling, and we can’t wait to see what happens when life in 1905 Oxford and an exotic aunt from Brazil arrive there!”
Charley’s Aunt will be presented in the Crescent theatre’s Studio on 27, 28 and 29 June – that’s opening on a Thursday – or audiences could catch it at Castle Bromwich Hall on 30 June, Hagley Village on 7 July, Selly Manor on 10 and 11 July or Harvington Hall on 13 and 14 July. All information is on the Crescent’s website: www.crescent-theatre.co.uk