The Bald Prima Donna

By Eugene Ionesco
Presented by Slip of the Lip Theatre Company

21st July – 1st August 2015

Tuesdays – Saturday 7.30pm
Matinees: Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th July at 4pm

Welcome to the home of Mr and Mrs Smith – in the suburbs of London. The Martins have popped in for a game of whist. Or is it dinner? Nobody seems quite sure. Why are they four hours late? Where has Mary the Maid been all afternoon? Is she really a famous detective? And why is the local fire chief hiding in the shrubbery?

“Some of the most accomplished actors I saw anywhere across the (Brighton) Fringe bring a delicious Joe Ortonish quality to the physical comedy”
– Plays International Magazine

There will be daggers drawn, kisses exchanged and hammers fetched. Frightful stories will be told about red-eyed children, retired country doctors and a snake with a murderous left-hook. And there will be fire. Lots of talk about fire. It’s too highly taxed.

Ionesco’s exploration of the frailties of language, and of the absurdity that arises out of our every day failures to communicate, is more relevant than ever in a world where text speak and poor email etiquette routinely cause offence and confusion. Slip of the Lip Theatre (www.slipofthelip.co.uk) draws out the poignant contemporary relevance while staying faithful to the text and stage directions of Donald Watson’s original translation of this 1950s absurdist classic.

Directed by Paul Hoskins and loved by audiences and critics alike, this “side-splittingly hilarious” comedy of manners is Ionesco’s iconoclastic, absurdist masterwork about distressed communication and that maddening English habit of saying one thing and meaning something else entirely. Ringing doorbells, contrarian clocks and a mysterious bald soprano provide the, at times cacophonous, soundtrack.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR SLIP OF THE LIP’S PRODUCTION OF THE BALD PRIMA DONNA:

“A pitch-perfect production … Some of the most accomplished actors I saw anywhere across the (Brighton) Fringe bring a delicious Joe Ortonish quality to the physical comedy … Slip of the Lip Theatre Company prove adept in remaining true to Ionesco’s intentions by teetering between absurdism and realism while retaining a naturalistic sheen.”
– Plays International Magazine

“The evening was funny throughout and at times side-splittingly hilarious … Griselda Williams and Brian Merry nicely capture the comic angst, repression and isolation of the seemingly straight laced Mr and Mrs Smith … The play remains as relevant as ever.”
– GScene Magazine

“Exceptionally well acted by a hugely talented cast …. [who] drew every ounce of absurdity and humour out of the play”
– Loitering in the Theatre

Running time: 75 minutes with NO interval

Tickets:
£12/£10 Concessions Tues, Weds, Thurs, Fri, Sat Matinees and Sundays
£14/£12 Concessions Saturday Evenings

Credit/debit card fee – 50p per ticket
Online fee – 5% of total transaction
BOX OFFICE: 020 8340 3488
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