James Saunders’ play about love, marriage and sex, Bodies, will be staged for the first time since 1979 when it is revived by Two’s Company later this month. The production, directed by Tricia Thorns, runs at Southwark Playhouse from 13 February to 9 March 2019. Book your tickets now!
Bodies asks, “Why do people fall in love? Or get married? Why do things fall apart? And what happens next?” Saunders’ play is a startling portrait of sexual and marital relations in the 1960s and 70s, and delves into these questions with bitter humour.
Two couples meet for the first time in nine years. During that time, Helen and David have been through therapy and gained a new sense of contentment. But Mervyn, who comes to dinner with his partner Anne, is far from convinced, and begins prodding. It’s not long before memories of the past come flooding back, of the time Mervyn had left Anne for Helen, and David had gone to live with Anne…
Islington-born playwright James Saunders was one of Britain’s leading creators of Theatre of the Absurd. His early play, Next Time I’ll Sing To You ran in both the West End and in New York, and won him the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright in 1963. Other plays include A Scent of Flowers, The Travails of Sancho Panza and The Island.
Bodies was first staged at the Orange Tree Theatre in 1977, before being revived by Hampstead Theatre in 1978. It transferred to the West End in 1979 with a cast including Dinsdale Landen, Gwen Watford, David Burke and Angela Down.
James Saunders
The Two’s Company production of Bodies features a cast including Alix Dunmore, Annabel Mullion, Peter Prentice and Tim Welton.
Director Tricia Thorns is a performer with 35 years of experience on stage and on screen. She makes up one-third of Two’s Company, working alongside former Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Artistic Director, Ian Talbot and producer Graham Cowley. The company launched in 2003 aiming to uncover unjustly forgotten plays. Among their previous projects are Forgotten Voices from the Great War, What the Women Did, Red Night, Ex and London Wall.
Bodies plays at Southwark Playhouse as part of an exciting spring season that also includes the transfer of Hope Mill Theatre’s acclaimed Aspects of Love, the world premiere of All in a Row and a revival of James Phillips’ drama The Rubenstein Kiss.
Meet the cast
Alix Dunmore previously worked on the Two’s Company productions of London Wall, The Fifth Column and What the Women Did. Her other stage credits include Macbeth, Timon of Athens (both The Factory), A Day by the Sea (Southwark Playhouse), Ben Hur (Tricycle Theatre) and The 39 Steps (Criterion Theatre). Her television credits include Call The Midwife, Doctors and Holby City.
Annabel Mullion boasts stage credits including Love in Idleness (Apollo Theatre), The White Carnation (Finborough Theatre) and An Inspector Calls (Garrick Theatre). Her television credits include Women on the Verge, Victoria, Doll & Em and Lucan.
Peter Prentice was recently seen in The Best Man at the Playhouse Theatre. On stage, he has also starred in Titanic (Charing Cross Theatre), Afterlife, Les Parents Terribles and Sweeney Todd (all National Theatre), while his TV credits include Doctors, Silent Witness and Close to the Enemy.
Tim Welton‘s credits include Intimate Exchanges, Abigail’s Party, Changing Rooms (all Sheringham Little Theatre), Three Musketeers, Closer (York Theatre Royal) and Macbeth (Orange Tree Theatre).
