THIS WAS A MAN to Make NYC Return for First Time Since 1926 with Project Shaw
The event will take place on Monday, July 20.
Gingold Theatrical Group has revealed an additional event in its Project Shaw series: a special presentation of Noël Coward's This Was a Man. This marks the first known New York presentation of the play since its original 1926 premiere. Casting will be announced at a later date. The event will take place on Monday, July 20.
One of Coward's rarely produced early dramas, This Was a Man explores themes that would come to define much of his work: social performance, morality, jealousy, repression, and the fragility beneath upper-class sophistication. The play follows Edward Churt, a successful painter whose carefully composed world begins to fracture as he confronts his wife Carol's infidelity. While Edward attempts to maintain an air of elegant detachment, his closest life-long friend becomes determined to force a reckoning that threatens to upend them all.
Sharp, psychologically probing, and surprisingly modern, This Was a Man asks enduring questions about masculinity, emotional repression, and the limits of civility. What happens when good manners become a mask for pain? Is it nobler to ignore betrayal or confront it directly? And what, ultimately, does it mean to be a man?
"The play was first mentioned to me by my godmother Hermione Gingold, for whom we named our company", says Gingold Artistic Director David Staller. "She had begun her stage career with Noel Coward when they were both children. Writing this play, and its initial rejection, altered the trajectory of his entire life, she explained. We've determined to share the play with New York for its first hearing in 100 years!"
This special addition to Project Shaw continues Gingold Theatrical Group's long-standing commitment to reviving provocative and underappreciated theatrical works that resonate deeply with contemporary audiences. Founded in 2006, Project Shaw has become one of New York's leading classic reading series, celebrating the legacy of George Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries through dynamic presentations featuring many of the stage's most acclaimed artists.
This event features general seating. For reserved seats or season discounts, please contact the Gingold office: 212.355.7823 info@gingoldgroup.org.
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