Deathtrap
by Ira Levin
in association with Dramatists Play Service Inc.
by Ira Levin
in association with Dramatists Play Service Inc.
Performed; 21st-23rd March 2024
Produced by Mary Shalvey
Cast
Sidney Bruhl – Andrew Lamb
Myra Bruhl – Claire Kennedy
Clifford Anderson – Jack Merriman
Helga ten Dorp – Kathryn Wilkinson
Porter Milgrim – Ian Passmore
Sidney Bruhl – Andrew Lamb
Myra Bruhl – Claire Kennedy
Clifford Anderson – Jack Merriman
Helga ten Dorp – Kathryn Wilkinson
Porter Milgrim – Ian Passmore
Understudies
Clifford Anderson – Stephen Bartlewska-Brown
Helga ten Dorp – Charlotte Wild
Porter Milgrim – Tira Teague
Clifford Anderson – Stephen Bartlewska-Brown
Helga ten Dorp – Charlotte Wild
Porter Milgrim – Tira Teague
Stage Management
Stage Manager – Lloyd Coulson
Technical Supervisor – Stephen Bartlewska-Brown
Stage Crew – Alistair Babbington, John Baillie, Wai Chan, Lloyd Coulson, John Gray, Brian Marston and Michael Payne
Set Design & Scenic Art – Lloyd Coulson, Mary Shalvey & the company.
Props – Lloyd Coulson, Mary Shalvey & the company.
Costumes – Mary Shalvey & the company.
Make-Up – Alice Rayner, Mary Shalvey & the company.
Stunt Coordinator – Lloyd Coulson
Prompts – Katherine Gilboy and Charlotte Wild
Music – Elena Strefford-Caine
Stage Manager – Lloyd Coulson
Technical Supervisor – Stephen Bartlewska-Brown
Stage Crew – Alistair Babbington, John Baillie, Wai Chan, Lloyd Coulson, John Gray, Brian Marston and Michael Payne
Set Design & Scenic Art – Lloyd Coulson, Mary Shalvey & the company.
Props – Lloyd Coulson, Mary Shalvey & the company.
Costumes – Mary Shalvey & the company.
Make-Up – Alice Rayner, Mary Shalvey & the company.
Stunt Coordinator – Lloyd Coulson
Prompts – Katherine Gilboy and Charlotte Wild
Music – Elena Strefford-Caine
Theatre Management
Box Office – Vivien Hughes
Front of House Management – Charis Varnavides
Stewards – Eliakim Benjamin, Carol Fearn, Janet Johnston, Karen Lamb, Ashlyn Lucas, Brenda Porter, Leon Prager and Sheila Telfer
Bar Staff – Sheana Dudley, Claire Kennedy, Tira Teague and Sheila Telfer
First Aiders – John Burgess, Max Dudley and Helen Lewis
Publicity Artwork & Materials – Andrew Lamb
Box Office – Vivien Hughes
Front of House Management – Charis Varnavides
Stewards – Eliakim Benjamin, Carol Fearn, Janet Johnston, Karen Lamb, Ashlyn Lucas, Brenda Porter, Leon Prager and Sheila Telfer
Bar Staff – Sheana Dudley, Claire Kennedy, Tira Teague and Sheila Telfer
First Aiders – John Burgess, Max Dudley and Helen Lewis
Publicity Artwork & Materials – Andrew Lamb
RoCo wishes to thank all those members and friends who have helped to make this production possible.
Synopsis
Once successful playwright Sidney Bruhl, has long suffered a series of box office flops and is struggling to break out of his ongoing rut. One morning he receives a script in the post from Clifford Anderson, a young would-be playwright, seeking his feedback and advice. Asserting that the play is a certain hit, an embittered and envious Sidney reassures his wife Myra that he is only joking, when he frightens her with suggestions that he'd like to kill Clifford in order to steal the script for himself.
For our production, the play was relocated to the UK, with the action taking place in Sidney Bruhl's study, a handsomely converted stable in the Bruhl home on the outskirts of York.
About Deathtrap & Ira Levin
Deathtrap by Ira Levin is known as one of the biggest hits to have been staged on Broadway, running for four years with almost 1800 performances following its debut in 1978. It holds the record for the longest running comedy-thriller on Broadway.
Deathtrap was first presented by Alfred de Liagre, Jr. and Roger L. Stevens at The Music Box theatre, in New York City on 26 February 1978. Marian Seldes, who played Myra Bruhl, appeared in every one of the plays 1,793 performances, a feat that earned her a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records as 'most durable actress'.
The play was nominated for four Tony Awards in 1978, for Best Play, Featured Actor, Featured Actress and Best Director. It also won Levin his second Edgar Award, for Best Play.
Deathtrap was presented for the first time in the UK by Michael White, at the Garrick Theatre on 26 October 1978. It was later adapted into a feature film in 1982, directed by Sidney Lumet from a screenplay by Levin and Jay Presson Allen, starring Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon.
Ira Levin was an American novelist and playwright. His most notable works include the novels 'A Kiss Before Dying', 'Rosemary's Baby', 'The Stepford Wives' and 'The Boys From Brazil'. Several of his novels and plays have been adapted into feature films besides Deathtrap, most notably Rosemary's Baby in 1968, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes.
Photo Gallery
Here is a selection of photos taken during the rehearsals of Deathtrap, along with a selection of the publicity artwork produced for the production.
