Posted: Thu 20th Jan 2022

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Theatr Clwyd with romantic comedy Same Time, Next Year

News and Info from Deeside, Flintshire, North Wales
This article is old - Published: Thursday, Jan 20th, 2022

Grab your loved ones this Valentine’s season, be it friend, partner, family member or theatre lover for this wonderful comedy about marriage and parenthood, made famous by the Oscar nominated film. 

London Classic Theatre Company, who brought Absurd Person Singular to the venue last season return with this delightful show. 

Doris (played by Sarah Kempton) and George (played by Kieran Buckeridge) meet in 1951, a chance encounter in a Californian hotel that leads to a passionate one-night stand.

Both are married to other people but, soon aware that this might be the start of something, they promise to meet 12 months later. So begins a romantic love affair that lasts 25 years.

The play charts their lives through the ups and downs of parenthood, career highs and lows as well as the shifting fashions and morals of the passing decades.

Bernard Slade paints a bittersweet, nostalgic and very funny portrait of two likeable protagonists who find themselves in the most unusual of long-term relationships.

Q&A with stars of the show Kieran Buckeridge and Sarah Kempton.

Can you tell us what we can expect from Same Time, Next Year?

Kieran: Same Time, Next Year is a funny, romantic, and sometimes moving comedy which charts the relationships of Doris and George. A one-night stand turns into something quite unexpected, and the audience get the chance to watch their unfolding lives, both together and with their respective spouses. It is a reflection of 25 years of American morals and attitudes mirrored in the two protagonists.

Sarah: Lots of laughs, maybe even a couple of tears, mostly an evening spent in the company of two loveable, engaging characters in a very interesting situation! 

Tell us about the characters you play.

Kieran: I play George. He’s a husband, accountant, and father of three. A fairly neurotic, insecure man, completely racked with guilt for doing what he’s doing. As Doris says he “walks around like an open nerve”, thought, I have to say I still like him! I can’t help it. I’d probably be just as anxious given the circumstances we find him in. 

Sarah: I play the role of Doris. She’s a fantastic character to play; not only is she witty and charming but she goes on this fantastic journey from dissatisfied 1950s housewife to powerhouse businesswoman, via lots of twists and turns of self-discovery on the way.

There’s so much to get my teeth into and I’m loving playing around with how she changes each time we see her in these 5-year jumps in her life.

What’s also nice is seeing what doesn’t change about her, if we still see shadows of the young, free, playful Doris in the more serious mature businesswoman she becomes.

Doris is from an Italian American family and had to leave high school early when she fell pregnant with her first child. Although life can be tough with her husband and three young children, she clearly has a lot of love there. What’s lovely is seeing how her relationship with George helps her to develop and grow as a person. 

How does it feel to be back in the rehearsal room?

Kieran: It is wonderful to be back in the rehearsal room. The first time for the best part of 2 years. It feels familiar and friendly and it’s very exciting to be coming back to it all with this play. I admit I was a little anxious about the first day back, but it’s amazing how it all just comes flooding back.

Sarah: It’s fantastic being back in the rehearsal room! It’s been a tough couple of years for the entertainment industry with some pretty heart-breaking moments.

I certainly deeply appreciated how television, films and recordings of plays helped to motivate me, inspire me and simply give a break from tricky times in lockdown.

It’s so wonderful to be back in the room working on a live play and I can’t wait to be back in a theatre sharing a unique experience with an audience.

The energy of a live performance is impossible to replicate, and I’ve certainly missed it!

There’s something magical about that time in rehearsal taking a play from a page in a book and working as a company to piece it together and create this live experience together as a team. Even though you can only see two of us on stage in this play, the rehearsal is a team effort with a group of us working together to create what you see.

There’s something really fun and satisfying in that. 

What are you most looking forward to about going on tour?

Kieran: I haven’t been on tour since I did Private Lives with London Classic Theatre so I’m very much looking forward to visiting some new places. We’ve been cooped up for the last 2 years so I shall make the most of being out and about.

There are some lovely places on our tour so I shall be doing a bit of sightseeing, getting some walks in, and finding the best coffee in the UK!

Sarah: I love touring – I think we’re so lucky to live in a country where each area is so different and really has its own identity.

There are several places on this tour I’ve never been to so I can’t wait to explore new places, find some interesting little coffee shops and places to eat.

I’ve been mostly just in London for two years, so it’ll feel like a massive adventure just leaving the house!! 

Why should audiences come to see Same Time, Next Year? 

Kieran: I think this play will make you laugh! I imagine there will be some heated debate between partners and friends about what they feel is acceptable and unacceptable within a relationship and whether you can be truly in love with more than one person at a time. But most importantly, it will make you laugh!

Sarah: This is such an interesting, unique play following these two loveable characters through this experience together over 25 years.

Seeing how they each develop as people, through a really interesting time in history, seeing how they come together and drift apart at times, watching them learn about each other and themselves in these little 5 yearly pockets.

It’s such an interesting premise for a story. And, of course, it’s a lot of fun!!

It’s genuinely brilliantly written with a great comedic pace and rhythm that’ll keep you laughing while watching George and Doris fall in love.

You’ll leave the theatre feeling like you shared the past 25 years with a couple of your best friends.

Same Time Next Year will be performed at Theatr Clwyd from Tuesday 8 February – Saturday 12 February. Tickets are from £10. Booking available at Theatr Clwyd’s website www.theatrclwyd.com or by calling 01352 344101.

If this tickles your fancy, why not check out the Flexible Subscription Offer, book 3 or more shows and save 15% or 5 or more shows for 20%. Productions available in the offer include Milky Peaks, Same Time Next Year, As You Like It, Sleepy Hollow, Catch Me If You Can, Little Voice, Welsh Of The West End and One Another NDCWales. 

 

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