A Night in Provence
A Night in Provence – Robin Hawdon’s comedy of manners, premiered in the UK and Germany to splendid reviews. Latest production, Zurich May 2019.
Ah Provence! The French Riviera – where the well-to-do rent luxury villas for exorbitant sums in order to get their annual fix of sun, sea, and haute cuisine. However, imagine the crisis if one such sumptuous place was double booked. Worse – imagine it triple booked! By a French couple, an English couple, and heaven forbid, an Irish couple. Marriages have foundered on less. Add the ingredients of copious champagne, heightened sexual impulses, and ingrained cultural differences, and the European Union (never mind Brexit) comes close to imploding.
Cast
- FRED (A Londoner)
- JUDY (His Wife)
- SHAUN (An Irishman)
- MOIRA (His Wife)
- MAURICE (A Parisian)
- YVETTE (His Wife)
- All are in their late thirties/early forties.
Setting
The main living area of a traditional affluent holiday home in the South of France. Wide open-plan space with small kitchen area to one side. On the forestage a terrace running the full width of the stage, with patio furniture. Light and shade and Provencal colours everywhere.
Reviews
…Now this admirable dinner theatre is reducing audiences to helpless laughter once more with this consistently entertaining playwright’s latest work… makes for a great night out. – Oxford Times
An overcrowded French holiday villa makes for a houseful of laughs… Robin Hawdon keeps the sexual frisson simmering in one of the Mill’s unqualified successes… – Reading Evening Post
There is nothing quite like a frothy, amusing tale to send you out of the theatre feeling good, and Robin Hawdon’s new comedy does just that. Inspired by the pros and cons of the European Union… nothing short of brilliant… bringing together three couples sharing a glamorous location overlooking the sea… where sun, wine, and skinny dipping under the moon has its effect. – The Stage
Chaos, banter, and sexually charged jokes ensue when three couples clash at a holiday villa in Provence… This fast-paced romp was a joy to watch from start to finish… A wonderful way to spice up a chilly evening. – Wokingham Times