World-renowned as the funniest and most famous of all the funny, famous French farces, Sydney Theatre Company presents Georges Feydeau’s A Flea in Her Ear in a new adaptation at the Sydney Opera House from 31 October 2016.
Paris, 1908. After years of married bliss, Madame Raymonde Chandebise suspects her husband is having an affair. In an effort to catch him in the act at the notoriously seedy Snatch Time hotel, she causes a lot more trouble than she bargained for.
Spiralling into a high-octane storm of sexual intrigue, mistaken identities and bed-revolving mayhem, a cavalcade of characters get in on the act. A beautiful whirlwind of chaos ensues, compounded by mischievous doubling.Some want sex and revenge, several want to preserve their honour. All want to avoid being shot. Nobody gets any sleep. And you will laugh out loud.
A Flea in Her Ear is realised in all its clockwork-precision and Belle Époque splendour by the creative team behind STC’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: director Simon Phillips, designer Gabriela Tylesova and lighting designer Nick Schlieper. Harriet Dyer (Raymonde Chandebise) and David Woods (Victor Emmanuel Chandebise) lead a solid cast including Helen Christinson, Leon Ford, Harry Greenwood, Sean O’Shea, Kelly Paterniti, Justin Smith and Tim Walter.
Harriet Dyer’s work with STC has included roles in Hay Fever, Travelling North, Pygmalion and Machinal – for which she won the 2013 Sydney Theatre Award for Best Actress. She is well known for roles in television shows Love Child, Black Comedy, No Activity, Janet King, Packed to the Rafters, A Moody Christmas and Micro Nation.
David Woods was last seen at STC in Back to Back Theatre’s Super Discount and previously appeared in Pygmalion and Optimism. Co-Artistic Director of the award winning company, Ridiculusmus, he is currently on screen in Network Ten’s The Wrong Girl.
Georges Feydeau was influenced from a young age by prominent farcical authors such as Eugène Labiche and Henri Meilhac. His first significant international success, The Lady from Maxim‘s (La Dame de chez Maxim, 1899) and the monumental A Flea in Her Ear (La Puce à l’oreille, 1907) have been translated, adapted and produced countless times.
Writing over sixty plays, Feydeau is known for his immaculate theatrical structure and a preoccupation with geometry in comedy. His plays are seen today as precursors of Surrealist and Dada theatre, and the Theatre of the Absurd.
Director: Simon Phillips Featuring: Helen Christinson, Harriet Dyer, Leon Ford, Harry Greenwood, Sean O’Shea, Kelly Paterniti, Justin Smith, Tim Walter, David Woods Designer: Gabriela Tylesova Lighting Designer: Nick Schlieper Composer & Sound Designer: Steve Toulmin Assistant Set Designer: Elizabeth Gadsby Assistant Costume Designer: Alicia Clements Assistant Director: Imara Savage Voice & Text Coach: Charmian Gradwell Adaptation: Andrew Upton
A Flea in Her Ear
Drama Theatre – Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point
Season: 4 November – 17 December 2016 (previews: 31 October – 3 November)
Information and Bookings: www.sydneytheatre.com.au
Image: Helen Christinson features in A Flea in Her Ear – photo by James Green