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Caught in the Net by Ray Cooney
The play is set to open on 11 November 2010 and will be directed by Peter Deane (your current website scribe). Previous shows from this director for WDG include Kid Stakes (1989), The One Day of the Year (1990 and 2001), Other Times (1996), Hot Taps (1999), Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (2005) and Pass the Butler (2007).
AuditionsInitial auditions were held on Tuesday 27 July and Thursday 29 July at 7:00pm in the Green Room. This was a break from tradition for the November production which is usually cast after the August production. Further canvassing and private auditions were carried out over the next couple of weeks and the final cast announced on Tuesday 10 August. In order to get the rehearsal time needed for a November opening, auditions were in July/August, with rehearsals to commence on Tuesday 24 August, three days after Harp on the Willow closed. We are delighted to finally to announce the cast. The successful auditionees were:
Click Here to download the Fact Sheet with key dates and information for auditionees (pdf file, 144,616 bytes)
Press ReleasesOur policy is to progressively release information on the show to further our publicity aims. Here's what's been issued so far: Press Release #1 4 Sep 2010 (pdf file, 120,120 bytes)
What is Caught in the Net about?
This play is a typical Ray Cooney farce. That description may be enough for some people, but if you’re still intrigued, and love a good rollicking farce, read on. The play is the sequel to another Ray Cooney Farce (Run for your Wife) which was presented by Wyong Drama Group in April 2003. In this farce we learn of John Smith, taxi driver, of both Wimbledon and Streatham who has, unbeknown to each other, two wives, Mary and Barbara. John is ably assisted by Stanley in ensuring that the pair never find out that the other exists. We now fast-forward eighteen years. Barbara has a son, Gavin; and Mary has a daughter, Vicki. Thanks to modern technology the two Smith children meet in an internet chat room and it seems they are growing keen on each other. At first they are amazed at the coincidences surrounding their fathers. Both are called John Smith (well, there are a lot of them). Both are taxi drivers (again there are a lot of them). Both are the same age (this is getting to be uncanny). Both have the middle name Leonard (now it’s even suspicious). Is John’s biggest secret about to be revealed? Stanley is still helping him keep mum about it. But it turns out Gavin is very keen on meeting Vicki and vice versa. John is keen to prevent the meeting as it will complicate his arrangements with his wives somewhat more than they already are. He is also absolutely determined to prevent the unthinkable from happening between the two young ones. At first things, go well. Only a few lies are needed on the part of John and Stanley. But naturally, it doesn’t remain this way. Stanley’s somewhat senile father arrives, expecting to get a lift from his son to the airport to start his long-awaited holiday. This makes it even harder for John and Stanley to keep their story going and results in more lies, and some incredibly ponderous phone calls. Gavin actually visits Vick’s house and desperately tries to see her, but with Stanley and John working hard and fabricating even more untruths, this doesn’t happen. More and more lies are the fare of the day and eventually they become so ludicrous that even John and Stanley have trouble believing them! This sounds like the recipe for a fast-paced farce in the classic Ray Cooney vein. The play was nominated for the 2002 Olivier Award and the 2001 Evening Standard Awards for Best New Comedy. Cooney’s plays are anything but high brow literature, but what they do is entertain. One critic has said “It has been a while since I cried laughing at the theatre, and what a joy it is when it happens.” Another writes: “Cooney gives you a master class in the art of farce … the perfectly potty plot is a precision-built laughter machine.” WDG is sure this play is definitely its audience’s cup of tea. If you’re after laughs that are frequent and don’t need much effort in achieving, this play is one for you.
Cast required
Hit No
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