A gentle tragicomedy which brings together a rich cast of characters who follow – or fail to follow – the path of true love:
Ned, who ignores his father’s warning that “women are dangerously mad” & Grace, who sets Ned a sensible test, before agreeing to marry him. Their honeymoon in Westward Ho! is not the romantic idyll Ned had hoped for and sex with Grace in Muswell Hill, while brisk and bracing, isn’t tender.
Lilith & Henry – a magical pairing, adored by everyone, the stars of the university dramatic society – who find themselves marrying in a Saxon church and honeymooning in Verona. But do they share the same passions and will their life in Knightsbridge fulfil Lilith’s spoken and unspoken hopes and dreams?
Marco, tall and correct, & Flo, plump and chaotic, are of course unsuited. While Marco harbours a desire to be English, Flo yearns to be extravagantly Italian. Their relatives agree: it will end in disaster. It may not because Marco and Flo share a language that is more eloquent than words.
In Muswell Hill and Knightsbridge the opera ends. Tosca jumps from the ramparts and falls to her death. Ned makes his decision; Lilith makes hers. What happens the next morning when, by chance, they come face to face on the platform at King’s Cross St Pancras?
Nor must we forget Flo’s benevolent godfather, poor Uncle Hugo, who, many years ago, surrendered to family pressure and left the love of his life in Rimini to live, a lonely bachelor, in Bath. A melancholy story perhaps; sometimes the best we can hope for is the happiness of others…
Cast: 5M, 3F (minimum)
Principals (4m, 3f):
Hugo : 60s, Flo’s uncle
Ned : mid/late-20s
Grace : mid/late- 20s
Lilith : mid 20s
Henry : mid 20s
Marco : 30s (non-speaking)
Flo : 30s (non-speaking)
Support (2m, 1f, 10m/f):
Ned’s Father : 60s
1st Friend : early20s, non-speaking (m/f)
2nd Friend : early 20s, non-speaking (m/f)
1st Actor : early 20s, non-speaking (m/f)
2nd Actor : early 20s, non-speaking (m/f)
Director – early/mid-20s, (m/f)
Lilith’s Mother : 50s/60s, non-speaking
Lilith’s Father : 50s/60s, non-speaking
Priest : (m/f)
Waiter/Waitress : Italian, (m/f)
Solicitor : (m/f)
Italian relation(s) : one or more, (m/f)
English relation(s) : one or more, (m/f)
Suggested allocation of parts for a company of 8 actors (5m, 3f):
Hugo
Ned
Grace
Lilith / Italian relation
Henry / English relation
Marco / 1st Friend / 1st Actor / Lilith’s Father
Flo / 2nd Friend / 2nd Actor / Lilith’s Mother
Ned’s Father / Director / Priest / Waiter / Solicitor
Running time: 40 minutes
For a preview script and licensing enquiries, please contact Stagescripts