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Club Director's Notes

The Lady in the Van Tom and Viv Damsels in Distress

• Tom and Viv

• 24th May - 31st May
• Written by: Michael Hastings
• Directed by: Nigel Sharpe
• Performance Times: Sat 19:45, Mon 19:45, Tue 19:45, Wed 19:45, Thu 19:45, Fri 19:45, Sat 14:45, Sat 19:45

Synopsis

T.S. Eliot was on e of the twentiesth century's most significant writers. He was the author of The Wasteland and The Four Quartests and changed the face of modern poetry forever. His book of cat poems was also the inspiration for the long-running musical Cats.

Like many writer, however, the life of this most theatrical poet was as dramatic as his art.

Michael Hastings' play explores Eliot's intense relationship with his first wife, the troubled Vivienne.

Witty and poignant, comic and painful, it is an arresting account of a marriage.

Its first showing at the Royal Court in London attracted a diverse audience: including a man who turned up with a ferret in a cage! As one member of this audience expressed it: "I don't care if this play is called Bert and Deb or Dick and Sylv. This play is about one waman who loved one main to the exclusion of all others."

This mixture of love and madness, of poetry and passion makes the plauy a memorable experience. It also sheds likght on some of the work of this famous and fascinating writer.