Wednesday, September 16 to Saturday, September 19

Multi-award winning Wick Theatre Company bring The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard, directed by Dan Dryer, to the stage this autumn.

Spokeswoman Susanne Crosby said: “An Academy Award Winner with Olivier and Tony Awards added to his accolades, Tom Stoppard was knighted in 1997 and is probably still best known for his play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead about two of the minor characters from Hamlet, but has also penned the scripts for Brazil, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Shakespeare in Love: it’s clear to see his fascination with love and relationships, duty and the right thing to do, as well as his clarity in writing and deep humour.

“Semi autobiographical, The Real Thing is a melting pot of these themes that so intrigued Stoppard: love and reality, and the idea of a play within a play. At the start Max and Charlotte are in a marriage on the verge of collapse, yet in the next scene Charlotte is married to Henry and Max is married to Annie: we realise that Max and Charlotte are actors in a play written by Henry. But there is a complication: Henry and Annie are having an affair. Which of them, if any, have found the real thing? And walking the tightrope of secrets and affairs, how will the story unfold with revelations that won’t stay hidden?”

Director Dan Dryer said “I read and loved Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and was hooked on Stoppard's brilliance with words and concepts: his brilliant take on bringing to the fore minor characters in a story of their own.

“I was intrigued by The Real Thing not only as a moving study of love but also for the theatricality of a play within a play. What is real?”

Following on from Dan's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, he wanted to do another play about relationships and the gap between outward appearance and inner reality. Dan directs his real-life wife Emily in the role of Annie: “Tom Stoppard’s plays are still being revived to new accolades in the West End now, and this is our tribute to him since he died late last year. This is clever, thoughtful and emotional: classic theatre, with class.”

The Real Thing runs from Wednesday, September 16 to Saturday, September 19 at 7.30 each evening at The Barn Theatre, 24 Southwick Street, Southwick, BN42 2TE. Book through Ticket Source through the Wick Theatre website: www.wicktheatre.co.uk or Ticket Source 0333 666 3366. The cast: Glenn Chubb is Max; Daisy Proud is Charlotte; Guy Steddon is Henry; Emily Dennett is Annie; Sophie Hosier is Debbie; Matt Arnold is Brodie; and Nathan Ojo is Billy.