Two (2024)
Performances: Tuesday 28 May – Saturday 01 June 2024, Old Fire Station
Contents
Introduction
Laughter, love, loss and reconciliation. Two is set in 1989, in a northern pub over one evening, providing a snapshot view of the lives of the bickering landlord and landlady and their customers. The play consists of 14 scenes combining humour, sadness and anger as the regulars pass through the pub. All 14 characters are played by the two actors.
As an audience you'll experience the highs and lows of life - Moth and Maudie, Fred and Alice (who have never got over the death of Elvis, the Old Man and the Old Woman: one of who misses their partner every day, and the other cares for theirs whilst looking for the small joys in their routine. Their characters are linked by the pub, as well as the daily challenges of life.
We hope you'll laugh, cry and stay for a pint of Drambuie afterwards.
"A sharp, salty, quickfire evocation of the surface gaiety and underlying melancholia of English pub life." (Michael Billington, The Guardian)
"Riveting ... more laughs, tears and hopes than you should really expect." Sunday Telegraph
Winner of the Manchester Evening News Best Play award 1989
Cast
- Landlord, Moth, Old Man, Mr Iger, Roy, Fred, Boy - Chris Bennett
- Landlady, Old Woman, Maudie, Mrs Iger, Lesley, Alice, Woman - Polly Sands
Crew
- Assistant Director - Charlotte Mansergh
- Stage Manager - Kay George
- Assistant Stage Manager - Rebecca Thackray
- Lighting Operator and Sound Operator - Rachael Lovegrove
- Lighting Designer - Anna Callender
- Sound Designer - Dean Moore
- Set Designer - Stephen Hayward
- Costume and Props - Jenny Bennett, Martha Bennett, Charlotte Mansergh, Zoe Callender, Sophie Callender and cast and crew.
- Photographs - Phil Gammon
- Poster Designer - Daz Aldridge
- Rigging and Set Construction - Dennis Fenton, Randy Brown, Bob Callender, Zoe Callender, Sean Thomas, Stephen Hayward and cast and crew.
Special thanks to Bar, Front of House, The Liar cast and crew, Jenny Bennett and Martha Bennett, John Boqwana Page, The Rosendale, The Bricklayers Arms.
Preview from the SLT Website
The following preview by director Jess Osorio was published at www.southlondontheatre.co.uk on 08 May 2024:
What inspired you to direct this play?
I chose it for various reasons. I was involved as stage manager when it was last staged at SLT and it was always in the back of my mind as one to come back to. It runs the full gamut of emotions while giving us a glimpse into the lives of the landlord, landlady and the customers who pass through the pub over an evening. It challenges the actors as they have to play seven different characters each, transitioning quickly from one to the next, and they need to find a connection with each.
Who are the characters we'll meet in the pub?
The key protagonists are the Landlord and Landlady. We also meet Old Man, who has lost his wife but never forgotten her; Old Woman, who is caring for her aging husband and finds joy in the mundane; Moth & Maudie, a young unmarried couple; Fred and Alice; Roy & Lesley, Mr & Mrs, Iger who somehow stay together despite their differences; and Boy & Woman.
What the challenges and opportunities do you associate with directing actors playing multiple parts?
Supporting them to find a connection or way in to each character and facilitate the transitions and changes. We also have to ensure the audience will know which character is which and join the actor on each individual journey; hopefully having some empathy or understanding, even for those who are not entirely likeable.
What do you hope the audience will take away from the production?
I hope they will laugh and cry with the characters, and see there can be love and affection despite the experiences life throws at us. And for those who remember the traditional English boozer and the music of the 80s, a trip down memory lane.
Can you sum up the play in three words?
Tough, Hopeful, Reflective.
Reviews
"An evening at the pub....meeting all the locals, the odd couple, the lost boy, the bully, the wedding party, and all served by the married patrons....but all characters played by the two actors, Chris Bennett and Polly Sands who were wonderful. The best thing i've seen there this year. The South London Theatre is a marvelous place." An anonymous reviewer (received following the performance on 30 May.)
Gallery
See production photographs here
Reminiscences and Anecdotes
See Also
- Two (2004) The 2024 version took place almost 20 years to the week since the previous production. The stage manager in 2004 was Jess Osorio.
