In Search Of An Author
Six Characters in Search of An Author kick off at the New Theatre
Rosaria Sgueglia looks at the new show in town by Rupert Goold
Kissed on the forehead by critics during its 2008 run, Six Characters In Search Of An Author will make its comeback in Cardiff as a part of a limited national tour.
Six Characters In Search Of An Author was first a tremendous piece by Luigi Pirandello, the Sicilian born father of Italian theatre. The plot wasn't simple. There were six characters who, coming up to the stage, used to tell the audience their story. They said they had been dumped by their ‘author’ and were looking for another one.
Today, the plot hasn't changed much but it has certainly been re-interpreted in a more modern key to certainly approach the 21st Century audience.
During the editing of a documentary film six people arrive on the scene. Nobody knows them and even more important nobody is waiting for them.
The documentary producer makes an agreement with these six strangers: they won't play any character at all, they will simply be themselves and it's their story that will be filmed.
First staged in 1921 by Pirandello, Six Characters In Search Of An Author will make it hard for you to distinguish the border between fiction and reality, between the stage and the world outside.
Directed by Rupert Goold, Six Characters In Search Of An Author features a gold cast with Macbeth's and Jane Eyre's interpreter Jack Shepherd who plays the father and The 39 Steps' Catherine McCormack who's the producer.
Both joined by a phenomenal cast which includes Russell Bentley, Sarah Belcher, Gina Bramhill, Andrew Frame, Jeremy Joyce and Dominic Rouse.
What else can we say? Make sure you don't miss this old school show with a flair of modernity next week from Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 November.
Tickets: £7.50-£25