The UK tour of the world première of Torben Betts’s Monogamy is to begin at Malvern Theatres.
Betts said, “I’m delighted that the Original Theatre Company and Ghost Light Theatre are producing my new play after they did such a fine job with their two touring productions of Invincible.
“I’m also very much looking forward to working with Janie Dee again after she starred in my adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2015.
“There are elements of that play in Monogamy in that it’s about, among other things, the conflict between an unhappy middle-aged celebrity and her angry son who feels very much at war with the modern world.
“As with Invincible, I’ve attempted to take the pulse of the nation and, though I don’t offer a cure for the self-evident sickness, I hope I’ve come up with a play which will make people laugh as much as it might prompt them to ask themselves some uncomfortable questions about the way we’re living our lives right now.”
Janie Dee played Phyllis Rogers Stone in Sondheim’s Follies at the National Theatre in 2017. In Monogamy, she is Caroline Mortimer, the nation’s favourite TV cook, who has it all. But the truth comes out when the cameras turn off and her private life is exposed.
The cast also includes Charlie Brooks and Patrick Ryecart as Sally and Mike, Jack Archer as Leo, Genevieve Gaunt as Amanda and Jack Sandle as Graeme.
Monogamy will be directed by Alastair Whatley, with design by James Perkins, lighting by Chris Withers and sound by Max Pappenheim. It runs at Malvern Theatres from Wednesday 2 until Saturday 5 May. It then tours to Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Aylesbury’s Waterside Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Richmond’s Theatre Royal and London’s Park Theatre from 6 June until 7 July.