Same Time, Next Year heads to Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park

Doris and George meet in 1951, a chance encounter in a Californian motel 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. 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.

One of the world’s most widely staged plays, Same Time, Next Year was originally produced on Broadway in 1975, starring Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda.

It now comes in a new production from London Classic with performers Kieran Buckeridge and Sarah Kempton.

Sarah is promising “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!

“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 five-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.

“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.

“And 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!

“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 five-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.”

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