Details

Christmas 1962, Chicago, small apartment... Unconventional couple, Sue and Bernie, are awaiting the impending visit of Sue's delinquent son Donnie with excitement and trepidation. When Donnie makes an unexpected announcement, tensions between the already strained family relationships grow and competition between the two men threatens to destroy the life that Sue has worked so hard to create. On Christmas Eve when the next-door neighbours join the party, tensions escalate resulting in an inescapable and horrific showdown. Natural Affection flips the American Dream on its head. A complex, dark and anguished study of discordant family life, William Inge's lost treasure explores the themes of sexual dissatisfaction, loneliness, frustrated small-town dreams, alcoholism and tortured identity. The work has never before seen in the United Kingdom. This lost treasure by an American Icon has, in the playwright's own words, "been contested, praised, disputed, and criticized." Inspired by the violence Inge was witnessing in the media at the time, Natural Affection retains the power to shock and is as resonant today as it was when it was first produced over fifty year's ago. UK Premiere

Cast/Performers

Lysette Anthony (Sue), Louis Cardona, Timothy Knightley, Adriana Maestranzi, Jessica Preddy, Jeremy Smith, Jonathan Wadey

Creatives/Company

Author: William Inge
Presented by: House on the Hill Productions (in association with Jermyn Street Theatre)
Director: Grace Wessels
Design: Victoria Johnstone
Costume: Emily Stuart
Lighting: Steve Lowe