Absolute Hell
Rodney Ackland is one of Britain's most distinguished dramatists. He lives in Richmond and he is 80 years old this year. To celebrate his birthday we are presenting this epic play.
With a cast of 18, it is set in 'La vie en rose' drinking club in 1945. The war has ended and it is the eve of the general election. The club has been a refuge for many during the war years, but now they all face a new future with varying hopes and fears.
First presented under the title The Pink Room, the demise of the Lord Chamberlain has allowed Ackland to completely revise his text. The result is a play that sets people's personal and private relationships against a background of national and world affairs.
Absolute Hell is a funny, moving and powerful play about people's desperate attempts to make their lives work. This production was part of the Time Out Award-winning season in 1988: "awarded to Sam Walters for an exceptional season at the Orange Tree. Described by one of the panel as a 'theatrical totter', he has had a good living off the rejects of 20th century drama. A farce of the 50s, a Granville Barker, an early John Whiting and the Octogenarian Rodney Ackland's 'Absolute Hell' all proved fascinating discoveries. And in Martin Crimp, Walters showed he had a keen eye for the future as well.'
Rodney Ackland is one of Britain's most distinguished dramatists. He lives in Richmond and he is 80 years old this year. To celebrate his birthday we are presenting this epic play.
With a cast of 18, it is set in 'La vie en rose' drinking club in 1945. The war has ended and it is the eve of the general election. The club has been a refuge for many during the war years, but now they all face a new future with varying hopes and fears.
First presented under the title The Pink Room, the demise of the Lord Chamberlain has allowed Ackland to completely revise his text. The result is a play that sets people's personal and private relationships against a background of national and world affairs.
Absolute Hell is a funny, moving and powerful play about people's desperate attempts to make their lives work. This production was part of the Time Out Award-winning season in 1988: "awarded to Sam Walters for an exceptional season at the Orange Tree. Described by one of the panel as a 'theatrical totter', he has had a good living off the rejects of 20th century drama. A farce of the 50s, a Granville Barker, an early John Whiting and the Octogenarian Rodney Ackland's 'Absolute Hell' all proved fascinating discoveries. And in Martin Crimp, Walters showed he had a keen eye for the future as well.'
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