1984-1985
GUTS presents David Storey's
Sisters
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YEAR: 1984-1985
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BOARD: ...
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PLAY: Sisters
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WRITTEN BY: David
Storey
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ABSTRACT OF THE
PLAY: Two sisters meet again, after a separation of seven years. Adrienne
Stanforth has made a career in the theatre world, Carol Lomax lives an
apparently uneventful life with her husband Tom in a small town in the
North Midlands. "Apparently" is a keyword in the plot; thus from the very
first scene, questions arise about Carol's house ("What is this house?
What goes on upstairs?"), a technique that Storey used again in Home
(1970). In the latter play it is not until half-way through that it becomes
clear that the setting is an asylum. In Sisters, further questions
are raised by Adrienne's curious behaviour and way of talking. Naturally,
these are effective plot elements in this psychological thriller, but the
uncertainties are also thematic. The charactewrs all cling to lies and
illusions; to their past, their jobs, or their dreams and fantasies. Storey
portrays them fiarly mildly, however, showing howthey depend on each other
in their vulnerability ("We'reheld together by our mutual dependency"),
and lodging the past in the plot as a binding force they cannot overcome.
He offers no choice, no alternative, no solution. Some of the characters
manage to hold their own with the help of their fixed ideas, for others
the dreams and illusions are insufficient in the conflicts that arise.
There is never complete certainty; the play has an open ending, and a crucial
off-stage incident is not cleared up. It has been pointed out that Sisters
resembles Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, but although
there are obvious similarities, the English play, with its uncertainties
and its elusive characters, is essentially different from its American
predecessor. Sisters was first presented at the Royal Exchange Theatre,
Manchester, on 12 September 1978, under the direction of Eric Thompson.
GUTS was the first company to perform the play in the Netherlands. The
play is set in the living-room of Tom and Carol's house in the North Midlands.
Act I is an early afternoon towards the end of autumn, Act II is the evening
of the same day, Act III present the audience with the early morning of
the next day.
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DIRECTOR(S): Wim
Tommassen
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PRODUCERS:
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Freddie Brossois
(Scenery)
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Marilous Engels
(Costumes, Props, Stage)
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Helga Humbert
(Scenery)
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Hans Jansen (Production
Manager)
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Fokke de Jong
(Costumes, Props, Stage)
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Rudy Noordenbos
(Photography)
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Mia Olthof (Assistant
Producer, Prompter)
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Pien van Schayk
(Make-up)
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Ingrid van Tuinen
(Prompter)
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CAST:
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Clariet Alofs:
CAROL
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Lidwien Biekmann:
ADRIENNE
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Heleen Brinkman:
JOANNA
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Frans Hempen:
CRAWFORD
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Gerard Kingma:
TERRY
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Hanneke Niessink:
MRS DONALDSON
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Ingrid van Tuinen:
BERYL
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Erik Verhagen:
TOM
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PERFORMANCES:
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MAY 1985:
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11 SEPTEMBER 1985:
Toneelzaal Alphagebouw
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12 SEPTEMBER 1985:
Toneelzaal Alphagebouw
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ON THE MUSIC:
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GUTS LETTERS:
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GUTS PUBLICITY:
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SPONSORED BY:
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PICTURES:
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Rehearsals.
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Camp.
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Performances.
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Additional pictures.