Wednesday 9 April to Saturday 17 May

LONDON ASSURANCE
by Dion Boucicault

Directed by Nikolai Foster
Designed by Philip Witcomb
Lighting by Guy Hoare
Music by Grant Olding

The stylish, romantic comedy, London Assurance, brought overnight success to the Irish-born playwright Dion Boucicault, then barely 20 years old, when it was first performed in 1841. It is one of the few 19th century plays that are still performed today. Oscar Wilde was inspired by the play, so if you enjoy Wilde’s work then this is for you.

The director, Nikolai Foster:

“I feel honoured to have directed the first major revival, in recent years, of this exceptional Victorian comedy. Boucicault's accessible, witty and electrifying language stands the test of time and his colourful characters never fail to inspire, delight and intrigue.

 A dazzling satire, the play is still relevant today. It could easily represent one of drama's earliest feminist plays. Lady Gay Spanker's love for her husband, is brilliantly balanced with the demands she makes on him, and her dexterity in handling a modern marriage. Similarly, at 18 years old, Grace is an exceptionally intelligent and erudite young woman, who understands only too well that marriage equals money, nothing more. Over the course of the play she also discovers a capacity for love, and this dichotomy creates brilliant, challenging and entertaining drama.

Our production is set very much in the period it was intended, with the occasional modern twist along the way."

The company:
Ken Bradshaw (Dazzle) played Touchstone in David Freeman’s production of As You Like It last year;  Mike Burnside (Max) has enjoyed an extensive career with the RSC and many other companies; Robert Calvert (Martin, James, Solomon) last appeared in Amadeus at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre; Clare Corbett (Grace),  appears at The Watermill for the first time playing a lead role; Nigel Hastings (Meddle) appeared in Othello at The Globe in 2007; Alan McMahon (Cool) was last seen in Bagnor in The Triumph of Love; Laurence Mitchell (Charles Courtly) has worked extensively in many of the great UK producing theatres;  Gerard Murphy (Sir Harcourt Courtly) makes his Watermill debut after performing lead roles in numerous productions over the years; Geraldine McNulty (Lady Gay Spanker) played Mrs Raven in 6 series of My Hero and makes regular appearances in TV comedy shows including The Catherine Tate Show; Vivien Reid (Pert) is a regular at Glasgow’s Citizen’s Theatre and Christopher Ryan (Adolphus Spanker) played Mike in all 26 episodes of The Young Ones and was a regular cast member as Dave Hedgehog in Bottom.

Interpreted Performance
British Sign Language interpreted performance
Monday 21 April

Tickets from £12 to £21

For further information and to book see here: