Galleon Theatre Group to Stage Alan Ayckbourn's SEASONS GREETINGS

Galleon is rehearsing for their November run of Alan Ayckbourn's hugely popular 1980 play SEASONS GREETINGS. This comedy about the rows, tears, forced merriment and crises of Christmas family reunions is a great lead up to the Christmas period.

This is Galleon's 4th Ayckbourn comedy and they always prove to be hugely popular. The production will run 2 - 11 November 2017.

Neville Bunker and his wife Belinda are the hosts, entertaining a former colleague of Neville's (Eddie) and his heavily pregnant wife (Patti). Both marriages are desperately unhappy, the husbands are complacent bores, the wives feeling unloved and neglected, but almost everyone in this play is either vile or wretched. Other guests include Neville's alcoholic sister (Phyllis) and her hopeless GP of a husband (Bernard), the latter preparing for his annual puppet show, and Belinda's virginal unmarried sister (Rachel), who has invited her new boyfriend (Clive).

The explosive cherry on the comic cake is Neville's near-psychopathic security guard of an uncle (Harvey), who wears a knife strapped to his calf, is giving all the kiddies guns for Christmas and has prepared a few nasty surprises for the grown-ups too !

Kym Clayton is back in the directors "chair" again, having trod the boards earlier this year. Kym is a great lover of the works of Ayckbourn, and has very successfully directed 2 of the 3 previous Ayckbourn shows Galleon has produced over the years- "Time of My Life" and "Bedroom Farce" (both of these garnering nominations from ATG). He has also directed "Relatively Speaking" for Blackwood Players.

Kym has assembled a wonderful bunch of talented actors to bring you this dysfunctional Christmas get-together, including Bernard Brian Godfrey, Belinda Mari Nield, Clive Simon Lancione, Pattie Charlotte Batty, Phyllis Jo St Clair, Neville Scott Battersby, Harvey Lindsay Dunn, Rachel Maxine Grubel, and Eddie Adrian Henness.

The play was revived in London at the National Theatre in 2010 to great acclaim, and proves how Ayckbourn's popularity never seems to wane, as he continually proves himself as one of Britains foremost playwrights.

As Ayckbourn himself said of the play: "The family reunion, the pile of brightly wrapped presents; the log roaring in the grate; a children's puppet show and a Boxing Day tea; turkey dinners; paper hats; crackers and streamers; around the base of the gaily decorated tree an extramarital relationship; a couple of stray gunshots in the hall. All the ingredients for a traditional English Christmas."

As Samuel Beckett once bleakly observed, nothing is as funny as other people's unhappiness: "What's remarkable is how much hilarity Ayckbourn wrings out of the misery and cruelty!"

IF YOU GO:

SEASONS GREETINGS

Performance Dates - at the Domain Theatre, Marion Cultural Centre:
Thursday 2nd November 2017 to Saturday 4th November 2017 8.00pm
Thursday 9th November 2017 to Friday 10th November 2017 8.00pm
Saturday 11th November 2017 2.00pm
Saturday 11th November 2017 8.00pm - upstairs seating only available
Preview Wednesday 1st November 2017 8.00pm - limited numbers; online bookings only

Bookings:
Phone to books seats on: 0437 609 577
or
INTERNET - to pay by card - Go to ONLINE BOOKINGS
or
E-MAIL - leave us a message at bookings@galleon.org.au

Cabaret Seating:
If you require Cabaret Seating please request when booking.

Prices:
Tickets are $24; $20 concession (Pensioners and Seniors)
Preview $18 (limited numbers; online bookings only)

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