ROGER PARSLEY
CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED
CLASSIC ADAPTATIONS
Animal Farm
From the novel by George Orwell. Small/middle scale tour in 1992. Amateur Premiere in 1994. Eye Theatre production 1995. Wolsey Ipswich Youth Theatre production 1997. Canadian Premiere August, 2002
Minimum Cast: 3M, 1F; Full Cast: 7M, 5F
"Magnificent adaptation . . . mesmerising" (Brighton Evening News)
"Splendid adaptation . . . enjoyable and stimulating experience" (The Stage)All animals are equal - except, of course, the pigs, who are more equal than others!
Orwell's tragi-comic "fairy tale" brought to life by a vigorous text. This exploration of the use and abuse of power is as relevant today as ever.
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
Brideshead Revisited
From the novel by Evelyn Waugh. Middle-scale tour in 1993. National No1 tour in 1995. Text published by Samuel French Ltd. Now available for professional and amateur performances. Australian Premiere Sydney, 2006.
Minimum Cast: 4M, 3F; Full Cast: 14M, 8F.
"Excellent adaptation of a fine novel" (Brighton Evening News)
"A triumph - marvellous!" (Stevenage)"A truly wonderful play ... I have not had a better night's entertainment for as long as I can remember" (Bolton Evening News)
Waugh's greatest novel has been translated into a moving and elegant memory-play, beginning during the Second World War and looking back into the twenties and thirties as the world changes for ever.
East of Eden
From the novel by John Steinbeck. National middle-scale tour in 1995. East Anglian tour 2005.
Minimum Cast: 4M, 1F; Full Cast: 5M, 2F.
"Powerful production" (Stratford on Avon)
"Superb" (Macclesfield)
"Outstanding adaptation" (Essex Chronicle)
A powerful text, which uses the last third of Steinbeck's great novel as its source, focusing on the inner turmoil of the moody Cal, and his search for love both within and without his family. The story that made James Dean famous!
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
The Go-Between
From the novel by L.P. Hartley. Professional production at Norwich Playhouse, 1996. Amateur premiere Maddermarket Theatre February 2004.
Full Cast: 4M, 3F, 2 Boys.
"The essence of the novel is well and truly preserved" (Eastern Evening News)
"A thoroughly enjoyable evening" (Radio Norfolk)
"A remarkably strong piece of theatre" (The Stage)
An old man looks back at a childhood holiday staying at his schoolfriend's house in Norfolk at the turn of the century. His ultimately soul-destroying experiences are vividly explored in the text.
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
Howards End
from the novel by E.M. Forster. National tour: January - June 1996. Webber-Douglas Acting School production, June, 1997.
Minimum Cast: 4F, 3M; Full Cast: 7F, 4M.
"An elegant and absorbing adaptation, sensitive to the novel . . . the audience were captivated" (Stevenage)
"Captures the spirit of the novel ... superb" (Amateur Premiere, Eastern Daily Press)
"Should not be missed ... splendidly happy and satisfying" (Eastern Evening News)
A play which provides three major roles for women, and explores both the professed and actual values of England in the early part of the twentieth century. Carries a strong emotional undertow.
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
Maurice
From the novel by E.M. Forster. Commissioned for a world premiere national tour by SNAP Theatre Company - Autumn 1998. (A joint writing project with Andy Graham). Bloomsbury Theatre, London, March/April '99. French Premiere 2005.
Minimum Cast: 4M, 1F; Full Cast: 8M, 3F, 1 Any
The story of a young man's journey in search of his sexuality and his place in society. Forster's semi-autobiographical novel (not published until after his death) brought to the stage in a moving, sensitive adaptation.
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
My Beautiful Laundrette
From the film by Hanif Kureishi. Premiere at Trinity Arts Centre, Tunbridge Wells, 25th January 2002. (A joint writing project with Andy Graham).
Cast: 6M, 2F
Omar, a Pakistani teenager, persuades his boyhood friend Johnny to help him run a decaying laundrette that his Uncle Nasser has asked him to take charge of. Omar and Johnny become lovers , in spite of the ever-present menace of a street gang of Johnny's vicious fascist friends and Omar's more than a little suspicious and Mafia-like family. Comic ,sexy, brutal , tender - and very much a play for today!
"combines breadth of vision and rough-and- ready energy....the kind of evening that has strong appeal to
theatre's holy grail - the under-25's" (Guardian)"A wonderful theatrical experience - works 120%. The music, dance, symbolic action, speed, lighting, acting, all add up to this beautifully!" (73 year old audience member)
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
Of Mice and Men
From the novel by John Steinbeck. National tour, 1991. Major amateur production Singapore, February 2002.
Cast: This is a small-cast version, designed for professional small-scale touring. It is written to be played by a cast of 5 or 6 with doubling. Full cast: 7m, 1f
"The best production of the John Steinbeck classic I have ever seen." (Worksop Trader)
"Profoundly touching and atmospheric." (King's Lynn)"Captures the novel with all its emotional intensity.." (Frome)
"Brings this timeless classic to life in the most enthralling way possible." (Singapore)
Steinbeck's moving tragicomedy of two itinerant workers, George and Lenny, and their hopeless dream, brought to life in an urgent and powerful re-telling of this well-known story.
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
The Picture of Dorian Gray
From the novel by Oscar Wilde. National tour, autumn 1997; Amateur Premiere, Sewell Barn Theatre, Norwich, May, 1998. Community Tour, Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, May 2002.
Minimum Cast: 3M, 1F; Full Cast: 5M, 5F.
"Bold and challenging adaptation . . . stunning theatre" (Herts & Essex Observer)
"A timeless, must-see production" (City Life, Manchester)
The portrait takes on all the sins of Dorian Gray, and the image slowly changes, as his wickedness and self-indulgence combine, into that of an old man. But how long will it be before the wages of sin are paid? A strong, atmospheric piece, set in the 1890's.
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
Pride and Prejudice
From the novel by Jane Austen. National tour autumn 1996, Eye Theatre production autumn 1998. Royal Theatre, Northampton community tour Spring 2001. Amateur premiere Sewell Barn Theatre, Norwich 2003.
Minimum Cast:3F, 2M; Full Cast: 5M, 6F.
"Deserves the highest praise . . . a play to impress those who know the novel and whet the appetite of those who have not read it" (Richmond)
"Elegant language . . . well-crafted adaptation . . . Jane would have loved it!" (Lowestoft)
All the main characters of Austen's great comic masterpiece are here - the ridiculous Mrs Bennet, the handsome but haughty Darcy, the flighty Lydia, and, of course, the pompous Mr Collins. Elizabeth Bennet meets and eventually conquers them all!
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
A Room With A View
From the novel by E M Forster. Premiered in July 2003 at the Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich.
Minimum Cast: 5M, 3F.
"An amusing and entertaining play" (Eastern Evening News)
"Puts life into this Edwardian tale of human passions" (Eastern Daily Press)
Some of E M Forster's liveliest and most entertaining characters are brought to life in this new adaptation, which explores the intertwining lives and loves of a group of English people at home and abroad.
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
Sense & Sensibility
From the novel by Jane Austen. Commissioned for a national tour Autumn '99. This script is now published by Samuel French and is available for Amateur performance immediately. (Joint writing project with Andy Graham). The amateur premiere was presented on 19-21 and 25-28 October, 2000 at The Sewell Barn Theatre, Norwich. Australian Premiere July, 2002.
Minimum Cast:3F, 2M; Full Cast: 4F, 3M.
This thought-provoking play concerns two sisters - Elinor, who is determined to live her life with reason, and Marianne, who is equally sure that life should be ruled by the dictates of the heart. This is Austen at her most thoughtful, but love and humour are never far away!
"Beams in like a summer's day - an airy and delectable mix"
The Worthing & West Sussex Argus
"skilful adaptation... loses none of the wit or intensity of the novel" Daily Post, Bangor
Samuel French Ltd, Tel 0171 387 9373
Website
Sons and Lovers
From the novel by D H Lawrence. National tour Jan - May 2001. This play was reviewed in the August 2001 edition of Curtain Call. Amateur Premiere at The Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich, 2002. King's Head Theatre, London 2005.
Minimum Cast:3F, 2M; Full Cast: 3F, 3M.
Gertrude, trapped in a sterile marriage, focusses all her passion, her hopes, and her expectations on her son, Paul. He, in turn, struggles to find his own way, looking for love with both Miriam and Clara only to discover that his mother's influence on his life kills all other passion. An exciting adaptation of the first great psychological novel.
"Stunning adaptation ... one of the finest pieces of theatre ever to be seen at the Sudbury theatre ... if you are going to see a show this year, make it this one"
East Anglian Daily Times"Powerful and absorbing ...demonstrating the truly great heights to which
the theatre can aspire"
South Wales Evening Post"Powerful...harrowing...exceptional"
Herts And Essex Observer
Roger Parsley, 66 Horsford Street, Norwich NR2 4LW
Tel: 01603-633931 Email
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