John proves he's no Charlie

10:20am Friday 18th July 2008

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THE picturesque surroundings of Dunham Massey Hall will form the backdrop to a quintessentially English farce - written by an American.

John Terry is directing Charley’s Aunt. Was he surprised when he discovered the creator of this old fashioned piece, Brandon Thomas, actually came from across the pond?

“The best observations of a culture tend to be made by people outside of that culture. He really captures this bizarre world of privileged, wealthy students. He captures that very brilliantly I think,” he says.

He says the company chose to revive this hugely popular classic for a variety of reasons. They felt the piece would suit the cheery, laid back atmosphere of summer. The original play was set in the 1890s and John says it is a sort of theatrical dodo and very different from the farces that audiences know and love today. “It’s a very generous farce, by which I mean the characters are generally propelled along by a kind of confusion and misunderstanding rather than by people being picked on,” he says.

Charley’s Aunt has an appeal that spans the globe and the original London production ran for a seriously impressive 1,500 performances. Rick Bowen * Heartbreak Productions present Charley’s Aunt by Brandon Thomas at Dunham Massey Hall on July 20 at 7pm. Tickets are available from 0161 941 1025.