by Shaun McKenna from a screenplay by Charles Dance.

Director Stephanie  Daly-Parks

After a huge storm a young man’s body is washed up on the beach below the cottage where elderly sisters Janet and Ursula have lived all their lives. He is alive but unconscious and injured. He is taken to the sisters’ cottage and they determine to look after him and to nurse him back to health with the help of the local doctor. There is consternation when he finally recovers consciousness and they find he does not speak or understand English. Their efforts to communicate with him involve elaborate mimes and attempts at German using their fathers old dictionary.. The sisters, especially Ursula, become very competitive about who should care for him. She wants him to herself. She reads to him. Janet plays for him – rather badly- but he obviously responds to music. When Dr Mead brings his violin the young man plays it exquisitely and everyone realises he is a very talented musician. As he recovers and starts to explore the outside world the sisters become uneasy. Ursula in particular is very protective, blocking the attempts of a young woman tourist to communicate with him. His presence disrupts not only their cosy, uneventful lives but those of the surrounding community. This is a poignant, reflective play about innocence, unfulfilled dreams and love that comes too late. 

The play was based on a story by William J. Locke and adapted for the stage by Shaun McKenna from a screenplay by Charles Dance. The 2004 film starred award winning actresses Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. This production by Playgoers promises to be as memorable as the film. 

The cast of Ladies in Lavender

Date: Tuesday 22nd – Saturday 26th March 2022.
Start Time: 7:30 pm
Doors open:  30 minutes before performance times.

Tickets:
Standard: £12.00
Concessions: £11.00
Tickets can be bought online or in person at the theatre each night of the show.

Production Photographs of Ladies in Lavender by Chris Lewis Photography

Article in  Playgoers’ Newsletter The Prompter – February 2022

The play revolves around a small Cornish close knit community in 1937, which is impacted by a shipwrecked young foreigner washed up on the beach and changes their lives. The play has comedy, emotional tension, and a musical and artistic theme. Everyone will enjoy this highly entertaining play adapted from the screenplay by Charles Dance by Shaun McKenna. The play was suggested when the season’s line-up was discussed by the Production Committee. I had read it and had said at an earlier date that l liked it, and so was asked if I would like to direct it. I have a fantastic group of actors who are highly accomplished and accommodating and thoughtful and expressive, see cast members below. IT has not been without some difficulties, not least of which was finding musicians suitable for the part, but as well, the set required a good deal of thought to enable the piece to flow in a way that is comfortable. My grateful thanks to thee skilful and accommodating set-building team. I believe strongly in a collaborative approach to working with the cast and tend to use actors’ interpretations of their character. And, of course, seven heads are better than one! I watch them as they move on the stage and we keep the ways that work. Similarly with the script, I don’t slavishly insist that not a word may be changed as the actors rehearse because it can get in the way of their interpretation, so the sooner lines are learned the freer the movement of each scene. The enthusiasm and passion for the play that the actors bring are the most helpful elements in bringing the whole work to life. There is some marvellous humour within the play and we are making the most of that, in the hope that the audience can enjoy and identify with all its emotional themes. I sincerely hope that you will come and watch – and enjoy – what our team has created.
Director, Stephanie Daly-Parks