Written by David Mamet / Jean-Paul Sartre
Performed May 2000
no way out… no exit… no escape
Sartre’s In Camera (huis clos) is a classic play, written in the 1940’s in which three characters are locked into a room with no means of escape. Each has guilty secrets which led them there, and only through their discussions and arguments about life and death do they realise the horrible truth: they are dead, and “hell” for them is the other people in the room.
who do you believe?
Mamet’s The Shawl is a short play where a young woman asks a clairvoyant for advice following a bereavement. He gently helps her, but is he genuine? Mamet’s play explores the nature of truth and trust and provides gripping drama.
BACKGROUND
In May 2000, TheatreFusion produced an ambitious double bill of plays, performing Sartre’s classic In Camera (also known as huis clos) alongside Mamet’s short potent The Shawl. Both plays looked at the nature of human behaviour and truth and complimented each other, though written 50 years apart.
VENUES
- The Arches, Midland Street, Glasgow, 10th – 13th May
- East Kilbride Arts Centre, 18th – 20th May
CREDITS
Director IN CAMERA Thomas Gemmell | Director THE SHAWL Karen MacLeod
Stage Manager Shaun McLaren, Marc MacGregor | Programme Thomas Gemmell | Poster/Artwork Irwin Stuart Design
IN CAMERA
Garcin Tony Close | Valet Alan Bryant | Inez Deborah Cannon-Carmichael | Estelle Abigail Gemmell
THE SHAWL
John Charles Donnelly | Miss A Amanda Harvey | Charles Graeme Kerr
REVIEWS
The Herald : an adventurous coupling that works… Tony Close, Deborah Cannon-Carmichael, and Abigail Gemmell are the three sinners in the Sartre. It is an enjoyably gruesome realisation (though not for them) that the torturers will, in fact, be themselves, being themselves. Charles Donnelly (gives) a convincing performance that conveys just the right amount of pathos and ambiguity
Evening Times : Deborah Cannon-Carmichael stands out as hard-headed Inez… strong performances in particular from Charles Donnelly as the jumpy psychic and Amanda Harvey as the sceptical client… both of these clever and rather unsettling tales are well-played, and leave you with plenty to think about after it’s all over.
Audience :
the choice of plays was excellent..
the performances of Deborah Cannon-Carmichael and Abigail Gemmell were rivetting…
Charles Donnelly’s dynamic performance in The Shawl kept you on the edge…
Meaty, stimulating plays with good production and strong cast…
TheatreFusion 