Planet Theatre

Less THAN Kind 2013

The 2013 national tour, visiting seven acclaimed medium-to-large-scale theatres, was an even greater success than that of 2012, riding high as it did on the rack of glowing testimonials which greeted our previous outing.

In this hilarious romantic comedy, steel magnate John Fletcher has in 1945 become a minister in Churchill’s war-time cabinet, and been given the colossal challenge of out-producing Albert Speer and the Nazi war machine to provide tanks for D-Day. He looks forward, when the war is over, to leaving the cares of government, and filing for divorce from his unfaithful wife, so as to marry his one true love, the charming widow Olivia Brown. However an even greater foe enters the fray - Olivia’s son Michael who, now 17, has returned from evacuation in Canada as a confirmed socialist, demanding “fair shares for all” in the post-war world. This youthful extremist, outraged at the thought of his mum marrying a conservative, one of ‘the enemy’, takes lessons from the plot of ‘Hamlet’ to make his disapproval known. Relations reach boiling point, until Olivia is forced to choose between them, son or lover. Which is it to be?

Starring Sue Holderness (Only Fools and Horses, Green, Green Grass) and William Gaminara (Silent Witness), this beautiful Terence Rattigan comedy was, through wartime exigencies, only seen in a mangled version, while the author’s original script lay undiscovered in an archive. Happily this was disinterred by Adrian Brown, and it is now brought to the stage in his ‘critics choice’ production.

Production Pictures >>
Rehearsal Pictures >>
Video Footage >>

UK National Tour 2013

Oxford Playhouse
Tues 14-Sat 18 May
01865 305305

Salisbury Playhouse
Mon 20-Sat 25 May
01722 320333

Brighton Theatre Royal
Mon 27 May-Sat 1 June
0844 871 7650

Richmond Theatre
Mon 3-Sat 8 June
0844 871 7651

York Theatre Royal
Tue 11-Sat 15 June
01904 623568

Cheltenham Everyman
Mon 17-Sat 22 June
01242 572573

Aylesbury Waterside
Mon 24-Sat 29 June
0844 871 7607


Reviews

"Classy, slick and elegant"

"The stage set is a masterpiece of atmospheric detail"

"This wartime comedy seems fresher and more poignant today than much contemporary writing. William Gaminara is superbly cast. Rattigan’s play more than proves that modern generations did not invent sex"

"A hugely entertaining comedy of wits. Everything about this production says First Class."

"…wrapped up in wit and sugar-coated with charm…."

"A very funny, well acted and emotionally engaging play."

"Wonderful high comedy with unspoken pain beneath."

"Everything about this production says First Class.
A hugely entertaining comedy of wits."

"A stellar cast, lead finely by Sue Holderness and William Gaminara"

"Sue Holderness is simply marvellous as the scatty but loving Olivia Brown"

"Sue Holderness is superb – a clever blend of the scatter-brained and the totally devoted"