21st February 2024
What happens when a straitlaced lawyer marries a free-spirited romantic?
Neil Simon’s hugely successful romantic comedy Barefoot in the Park is heading to the Players Theatre in Thame, Oxfordshire, from 5th - 9th March. Barefoot was Simon’s longest-running play on Broadway from 1963-67, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. Redford reprised his role for the film adaptation in 1967, opposite Jane Fonda.
The story revolves around Corie and Paul Bratter, a newly married couple who have just moved into a tiny, down-at-heel top-floor apartment on East 48th Street, New York. It has no lift, a leaky skylight, a bedroom barely larger than a closet, and a bathroom with no bath. It’s a cold, snowy February, and the furniture hasn’t arrived.
Corie is free-spirited and vivacious and sees everything through rose-tinted glasses. Can she loosen up Paul, a buttoned-up, unadventurous, newly qualified lawyer? Corie also plays matchmaker to her mother, Ethel, trying to set her up with an ageing, eccentric, bohemian playboy who lives in the attic above their apartment. What could possibly go wrong?
Director Colin Lee says, ‘Barefoot in the Park is a truly delightful comedy. Theatregoers will enjoy an evening filled with laugh-out-loud fun punctuated by loads of great lines and quips. And the cast is sensational.’
Neil Simon (1927-2018) has many other credits to his name, including The Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys, and Plaza Suite (currently playing in the West End).
Barefoot in the Park will be performed at the Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame, Oxfordshire, from Tuesday 5th – Saturday 9th March inclusive at 7.45 pm.
Tickets are £10 - £12. Book online at www.thameplayers.co.uk or the Information Centre at Thame Town Hall or phone 01844 212833.
