“Late Company is a hard-hitting, gripping depiction of issues that are ever-present in modern society”
In the intimate space of Trafalgar Studios 2, Late Company opens with married couple, Debora and Michael Shaun-Hastings, making the final preparations in their dining room for what appears to be a dinner party, although the audience is unsure of the exact occasion. Following the arrival of Bill and Tamara Dermot and their teenage son, Curtis, it becomes clear that the Shaun-Hastings’ son, Joel, committed suicide following homophobic torment from his peers, including Curtis. This gathering is not your average dinner party, but an awkward chance for reconciliation and closure.
The discomfort of the situation is made clear from the start, with all actors playing this well, most notably Lisa Stevenson as Tamara Dermot, whose agitated, sometimes comedic, attempts at small talk are cut short when Lucy Robinson as Debora Shaun-Hastings exclaims “Let’s just start!”. What follows is the sharing of memories of Joel and his achievements. Michael shows off medals and certificates won by his son, whereas Debora presents, with fondness, “photos that capture him”- a painful, yet beautiful reflection of a mother’s love. The piece escalates dramatically from here, with emotion-fuelled outbursts and revelations about Joel and the part the internet and social media had to play in his ordeal.
Zahra Mansouri’s set is naturalistic and adds to the believability of the piece, as does her costume design. This, along with the intimacy of the space, allows you to be pulled in to the action and feel as though you are in the dining room with the two families.
Robinson portrays grieving mother Debora’s raw emotion excellently and her delivery of a letter written to Curtis, displaying her heartbreak, is a standout performance of the production. David Leopold’s Curtis captures teenage awkwardness extremely well. Initially reluctant to take part in the discussions and keeping largely quiet, he begins to show remorse as the production progresses, culminating in a very effective closing sequence.
Director Michael Yale’s production is exceptionally well acted and the tension created from the themes of cyber- bullying, suicide and parental responsibility is, at times, broken by welcomed comic one-liners. Late Company is a hard-hitting, gripping depiction of issues that are ever-present in modern society and is greatly thought-provoking.
“A funny, dark, beautiful play… Le Grand Mort will take me so far out of my comfort zone I may never return.” Julian Clary
Julian Clary is to star in the world première of the black comedy Le Grand Mort. It was written specially for him by four-time Olivier Award nominated writer Stephen Clark (Martin Guerre, Zorro, Love Story, and the play Stripped, which won him a Stephen Jefferson Award), who died at the age of 55 last October.
Directed by Christopher Renshaw, Le Grand Mort will première at Trafalgar Studios from Wednesday 20 September – Saturday 28 October.
In his super stylish, sterilely beautiful Notting Hill kitchen, Michael is preparing dinner for two. As he meticulously cuts the vegetables with almost a surgeon’s precision, he talks, with knife-like wit, about cases in history where the human body has continued to prove useful even after death. As he slices and chops, one wonders who is coming for dinner and what the main course might be. When Tim, his young guest arrives, they engage in a series of funny, thrilling but searingly dangerous mind games, as they try to unravel the reasons why they are both there. Only when the games turn deadly do they catch a glimpse of the sadness and loss within each of them, that enables them to at least begin to connect with the truth, using whatever damaged shreds of humanity they still have left.
Julian Clary said:
“In 2010 Stephen Clark took me out to lunch in Camden and told me he’d like to write a play for me. How lovely, how flattering, how unusual! Over the following few years I got the occasional email from Stephen saying ‘I haven’t forgotten the play!’ but I decided he’d probably thought better of it. We were both busy with life, work and in Stephen’s case, some serious health issues. Then, one day in 2013, it arrived. A funny, dark, beautiful play…Le Grand Mort will take me so far out of my comfort zone I may never return.”
Director Christopher Renshaw said:
“Through our many collaborations, Stephen Clark and I became very close friends. Someone with whom I shared absolute trust, not only in our work but in our lives. A brave, honest, brilliantly funny man, who faced the many health challenges of his life without a single complaint. An inspiration. It is so very sad for me that Stephen will not not be here for the first production of Le Grand Mort, but I know he will be watching from somewhere, sipping a glass of good red wine, absorbing and encouraging every moment of rehearsal, as he always did.”
More casting to be announced
Creative Team:
Director – Christopher Renshaw
Production Designer – Justin Nardella
Lighting Designer – Jamie Platt
Producer & Casting Director – Danielle Tarento
JULIAN CLARY
Julian Clary is a comedian, entertainer and author, who has toured across the world with his one-man shows. He became a household name in the late 1980s, and remains one of the country’s most popular entertainers. Julian has appeared on numerous popular TV shows including Sticky Moments, Terry and Julian, Strictly Come Dancing, QI, Have I Got News For You and Celebrity Big Brother, which he won in 2012. He also hosted his own natural history series, Nature Nuts, for ITV and paid tribute to the life and works of his idol Noël Coward for Sky Arts’ Passions series. Julian has starred in West End productions of Taboo, Olivier Award-winning Cabaret and Cinderella at the London Palladium, which broke box office records. In 2016, he extended his critically acclaimed UK tour, The Joy of Mincing, and this year published the third instalment of his hugely successful children’s book series, The Bolds.
