The Priory (play)
| The Priory | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Michael Wynne |
| Date premiered | 2009 Royal Court in London |
| Original language | English |
The Priory is a play by Michael Wynne. It opened at the downstairs theatre of the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2009. The production starred Jessica Hynes, Rupert Penry-Jones, Charlotte Riley, Alastair Mackenzie, Joseph Millson and Rachael Stirling. After receiving good reviews, its run was extended.
Synopsis
Following her split from her boyfriend, Kate decides to invite a group of her closest friends to a renovated and supposedly haunted priory, for a New Year's Eve party. However, as the drinks and drugs start to flow, personal revelations begin to emerge leading to near tragedy and a fraught morning after.
Characters
The Priory has a cast of 7; the main characters are;
Kate - a budding author who has suffered personal tragedy throughout the previous year and is looking forward to a better one.
Daniel - a gay architect who surfs the internet looking for love.
Carl - a "resting" actor, best known for a coffee commercial, now happily working in a garden centre and Kate's college boyfriend.
Rebecca - Carl's BAFTA award winning wife and obsessive mother of his two small children.
Ben - an award winning travel writer.
Laura - a counter girl at Harvey Nichols and Ben's fiancé of one day, the pair having met the night before.
Original Production
The premiere of the play was at the Royal Court Theatre in London. It was directed by Jeremy Herrin and starred Jessica Hynes as Kate, Joseph Millson as Daniel, Rupert Penry-Jones as Carl, Rachael Stirling as Rebecca, Alastair Mackenzie as Ben and Charlotte Riley as Laura.
The play received generally good reviews [1];
While Wynne takes us on an entertaining journey, his ultimate destination turns out to be all-too familiar. - The Guardian
Being younger, he knows where the bodies are buried on the contemporary cultural and sexual battlefield, but the way he goes about unearthing them has an old-fashioned feel to it. And I found a fair amount of it hard to believe. - The Independent
There is plenty to savour, though, in Jeremy Herrin's production and the excellent cast's delivery. Rachael Stirling is horribly good as the egocentric TV producer, while Rupert Penry-Jones squirms and sulks enjoyably as Carl and Joseph Millson has lovely comic timing as Daniel. - The Financial Times