HIM

selections from the play by

E.E. Cummings

directed by Jack Lynch

The Electric Theatre, 7 June, 7:45 pm  £5

to pre-book tickets call: 07913 289 360

How to describe this script, except to say it is considered the first attempt at what we now call absurdist theatre?  Published in 1927, and first performed in 1928, Cummings had this to say about his rarely performed play:

“WARNING” him isn’t a comedy or a tragedy or a farce or a melodrama or a revue or an operetta or a moving picture or any other convenient excuse for ‘going to the theatre’ -- in fact, it’s a PLAY; and because you are here, let it PLAY with you.  Let it dart off and beckon to you from the distance, let it tiptoe back and snap its fingers under your nose, let it sweep up at you from below or pounce down on your from above, let it creep cautiously behind you and tap you on the back of the neck, let it go all around and over and under you and inside you and through you.  Relax, and give this PLAY a chance to strut its stuff -- relax, don’t worry because it’s not like something else -- relax, stop wondering what it’s all ‘about’--like many strange and familiar things, Life included, the PLAY isn’t ‘about’, it simply is.  Don’t try to despise it, let it try to despise you.  Don’t try to enjoy it, let it try to enjoy you.  DON’T TRY TO UNDERSTAND IT, LET IT TRY TO UNDERSTAND YOU.”

The original production was close to 4 1/2 hours long, with 103 characters (employing a cast of 30).  The play is a play within a play within a play.  Sort of...

There are several scenes with two characters, called Him and Me, which ‘surround’ the play.  One could try and describe their scenes as a sort of troubled love story that swings from the sublime to the absurd and everything in between, just like any relationship, eh? 

It is these scenes between Him and Me that we are extracting for this rehearsed reading.  Oh, and the scenes with the 3 Weird Sisters, but we won’t go into that just now.

By the way, LynchPin has not been able to find who controls the performance rights for HIM in the UK.  If you read this and have any useful information, please contact us.  We would be very grateful.  Thank you.

This is another ScripTease event from LynchPin Productions Theatre Company where we expose little-performed and/or new playscripts through rehearsed, performed readings.  It is our hope to expand the concept of Readers Theatre, ‘teasing’ out scripts and exposing audiences to plays they might not otherwise have the chance to experience.  With this we also create a public forum for playwrights to have the opportunity to test new work with actors in front of a live audience.

If you are interested in hosting a ScripTease event, have a suitable venue, would like  a Readers Theatre Workshop, or have a script you’d like to suggest, please contact us.