Suddenly at Home

by Francis Durbridge

21 - 25 February 2017

Directed by John Sivewright

When Glenn Howard decides to get rid of his wealthy wife, firstly to enjoy her money, secondly to avoid spending the rest of his life in Bermuda, and thirdly to free himself for another woman, he works out a complicated but seemingly fool proof plan. Not only will this plan provide him with an alibi but also cast suspicion on his wife’s former lover, the writer Sam Blaine. Everything appears to be going according to plan, but Glenn has not counted on an opponent like the astute Superintendent Remick… Durbridge at his best!

Setting

The play was written in 1973 and would be set in that time period, in the living room of Glenn and Maggie's flat in London.

Characters

Glenn Howard - (Michael Griffiths) a seemingly likeable man with an easy charm, but underneath lies a plotter and manipulator. Lead part, lots of dialogue, an opportunity for a real tour-de-force. Aged 35-50.

Maggie Howard - (Fiona Richards) Glenn's wealthy wife, fairly coarse in speech and manner, but likeable. A medium part, has a fair bit to do in act 1 scenes 1& 2 (so needs to get the play off to a good start), but does not appear beyond then. Aged 30-40

Helen Tenby - (Alyssa Thompson) Maggie's younger sister, intelligent, loyal to her sister and while amiable towards Glenn, we must see an undercurrent of suspicion. A large part, aged 25-35.

Sheila Wallis - (Michelle Barter) Glenn's bit on the side (or is she?), attractive yet tense and curiously unfriendly at times. Heavily involved in Glenn's scheming. While Glenn keeps it together, Sheila starts to crack as the tension rises. A large part, aged 25-40.

Sam Blaine - (Alan Dester) Maggie's ex-husband, a writer, faintly conceited yet likeable. A smaller part, aged 30-50.

Remick - (Bob Rankin) A sharp, serious police officer. A smaller part but a strong maverick type character and dominates while he's on. Aged 30-60.

Appleton - (Calum Williams) The more genial police office. Another smaller part, but must carry himself with authority. Aged 50+ (ideally older than Remick)

Ruth Bechler - (Sinead Summers) The German au-pair (although there's nothing in the dialogue to suggest she needs to be German!), a small part but much more to her than meets the eye as she's carrying on with Glenn and helping him with his scheming! Aged 20-30.