by Martin Sherman
17th to 24th May 2008
BILL BRAY introduces the author
Martin Sherman was born in Philadelphia in 1939 but is now a permanent resident of London. He writes mainly about the Jewish experience, although not so much from direct knowledge; after all, during the Holocaust he was in the United States and was too young to have been aware of it. But his generation is haunted by the spectre of what happened in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.
The sole character in this play is a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto. The feisty woman relates her memories, which include the establishment of the Jewish homeland in Palestine, told with directness and, surprisingly, with humour. It is Sherman's even-handed approach which gives such insight into Rose's related past so that the usual prejudices about these contentious events are coloured by the woman's humanity and with a natural affection for people in all their diversity. Sherman is a gifted story-teller, as richly manifested in Rose.
Come and be enthralled by this funny, moving and extraordinary story of her 88 years that we all need to know about.
The play received acclaim when performed by Olympia Dukakis in the National's Cottesloe Theatre in 1999.
MARGARET YOUNG introduces the actor
It has taken me 8 years, much summoning of courage, gallons of persuasion and the challenge of finding a like-minded actress to get this play from the printed page to the GWT stage and in mid-May it will be mission accomplished. It has been a privilege for me to produce plays by Euripides, Shakespeare, Sheridan and Chekhov, all authors whose writing transcends time and discusses the eternal elements of the human condition. Martin Sherman's Rose comes into this category.
It is not a well known play because it is a monologue for an actress of a "certain age." Rose is Jewish and is now 88. She was born in the Ukraine in 1920 and has lived through some of the most tumultuous events in human history. She has survived, not unscathed, but with her sense of humour intact. She has gathered enough compassion and wisdom to make her a much better United Nations Special Envoy to the Middle East than Tony Blair.
Rose walks on to a stage which is spartan in appearance for very good reason, which will be explained. She proceeds to tell us her life-story. Come prepared to laugh and cry in equal measure.
Mary Gibson is the actress who has accepted the challenge. Frequently in rehearsal we have found ourselves weeping as the text is brought to life.
Can a one-person play possibly contain the drama one looks for in theatre? Well, they are currently flocking to Vanessa Redgrave's one woman show at the National Theatre, The Year Of Magical Thinking, and I recall that there were full houses for Anthony Sher's solo interpretation of Primo Levi's Auschwitz memoir If This Is A Man. So, immodestly, I am hoping for large and appreciative audiences at Rose. Without a doubt it will be a life-affirming experience. |
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Mary Gibson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated