Our next production
April 2012 – Suzannah by Jon Fosse and ‘Her Big Chance’ from Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads
Back in 2008, Synergy performed contemporary Norwegian playwright, Jon Fosse’s, Suzannah in its UK premiere. Fosse’s latest work, I am the wind, recently played at the Young Vic to excellent reviews. Suzannah is the story of Mrs. Henrik Ibsen – a spirited, fiercely intelligent woman who kept Norway’s most famous (and famously grumpy) beard-and-sideburn-wearer under control. Without Suzannah, we would have no Nora, no Hedda, no Hilde Wangel… We meet Suzannah at three stages of her life – as newly-engaged girl, worldly-wise mother and hopeful widow, the last incarnation clinging to her memories of life with Henrik and wondering if he really is just about to knock on the door again…
Lesley is an aspiring actress. She’s done the odd sitcom, soap and advert but, when she gets a part in a film, she really believes that her luck has changed. That this is her big chance. The fact that Lesley’s costume seems to consist of less and less in each take doesn’t appear to bother her… ‘Her Big Chance’ is one of Alan Bennett’s brilliant series of monologues, Talking Heads. Played by Julie Walters on screen, Lesley is the embodiment of hopeful actors everywhere – keen, hopeful, energetic yet also lonely, vulnerable and even a little bit desperate.