Rumpus Theatre Company and the Sarah Thorne Theatre, Broadstairs are to tour George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man as a tribute to theatre director and producer Michael Friend, who died in 2023.
Michael Wheatley-Ward from the Sarah Thorne Theatre, who discovered he and Friend had a mutual love of Bernard Shaw’s works, commented, “we had a long and successful partnership. For many years Michael Friend was a most accomplished company manager for several opera companies and large commercial producers.
“He founded his own company Michael Friend Productions in 1992. In all we co-produced nearly 100 plays and pantomimes. Our summer repertory seasons which started in Margate moved to the Sarah Thorne Theatre in Broadstairs in 2007. That became our happiest time.
“It can be said that Michael Friend produced more of Shaw’s works than many others and always with the care and attention that Shaw would have approved. His passing ends a major era in the theatre world but his memory stays with many of us. Michael was a very learned gentle man and also a gentleman.”
John Goodrum from Rumpus added, “Michael Friend was a great intellectual and a tireless producer and enthusiast of Bernard Shaw's plays. He also produced and directed my Broadstairs panto right to the end, directing the last panto in 2022 on Zoom from his home in rural Essex.
“Arms and the Man is a sparkling comedy that has more than a little to say about the state of the world today.”
All the cast are either Rumpus regulars or appeared in Tabs Productions’ Classic Thriller Season at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham earlier in 2024.
Sarah Wynne Kordas, who played Adelaide Pinchin in Karoline Leach’s The Mysterious Mr Love in the thriller season, will take the part of Raina Petkoff.
Juliette Strobel, Dorothy in Peter Gordon’s Murdered to Death, will play Louka in Arms and the Man, while Karen Henson, who directed three plays in the thriller season and took the role of Joan Maple in Murdered to Death, will be Catherine Petkoff.
Goodrum, who was George Love in The Mysterious Mr Love, will play Captain Bluntschli. He will also direct and design Arms and the Man. Rumpus regular David Martin will take the roles of Nicola and a Russian officer.
David Gilbrook will be Major Paul Petkoff and will design the sound. Pavan Maru, who was Perry Kingsley in Francis Durbridge’s Fatal Encounter in the thriller season, will play Sergius Saranoff. Costume supervisor will be Geoff Gilder.
Arms and the Man will open at the Sarah Thorne Theatre, Broadstairs on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 October. It will then tour to the New Theatre Royal, Lincoln on Tuesday 8 October, The Haymarket, Basingstoke from Thursday 10 until Saturday 12 October, Winding Wheel, Chesterfield on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 October, Middlesbrough Theatre on Friday 18 October and Theatre Royal Winchester on Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 November.