Habeas Corpus
By Alan Bennett
Directed by David Green
An hilarious romp as members of the Wicksteed family pursue their romantic and lustful ambitions.
In a satirical merry-go-round of mistaken identities and amorous encounters, we meet a series of characters for whom carnal pleasure appears to be the ruling passion of their lives.
One of master playwright Alan Bennett’s funniest plays
Performed Spring 2016
Cast
TBC
‘The real star has to be director David Green, who marshalled his troops expertly, choreographing the action at a cracking pace.
Suffusing the play with an energy it sorely needed to get over the finishing line, he was rewarded with raucous belly laughs throughout by an appreciative audience.’
— David Vass, Diss Express
Behind the Scenes
Review - David Vass, Diss Express
Anyone attending Alan Bennett’s Habeas Corpus looking for his signature humanity was in for a shock, as the broadest of farces barged its way onto the stage. Instead, it was with misanthropic glee and brutal nihilism that Bennett explored the absurdity of the human condition.
Habeas Corpus is over forty years old, and with its dodgy sexual politics and queasy subplots, its showing its age. All credit, then, to Open Space for their rollicking version of what could have been an uncomfortable ride. Peter Sowerbutts and Yves Green reprise their dysfunctional relationship from Who’s
afraid of Virginia Woolf, commanding centre stage with convincing and funny performances as the couple bickering in the eye of a perfect emotional storm. Tim Hall, as the pleating and whining man-child Canon Throbbing, was also very strong, while Pat Parris held the play together as Greek chorus stand-in, Mrs Swabb.
The real star, however, has to be director David Green, who marshalled his troops expertly, choreographing the action at a cracking pace. Suffusing the play with an energy it sorely needed to get over the finishing line, he was rewarded with raucous belly laughs throughout by an appreciative audience.