SECOND STAGE - FINAL WEEKEND

The Retreat from Moscow
by William Nicholson
Directed by George Mulford
November 21, 22, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.

Admission $10

Jamie is a thoughtful, understated 30-year-old Londoner with a peace-loving father and a brilliant, dazzling mother, someone used to being noticed for her outspoken opinions and witty perceptions. As a middle-aged woman, she finds people noticing her less and less, and her wit is taking on an angry edge. When her quiet husband says he is leaving her for another woman, she does not take it well. In fact, she unleashes a hurricane of words, emotions, and alarming behavior. Jamie, while loving her and wanting to help, finds it hard to bear her company. The play’s dark subject—critics have called it “devastating”—is offset by the honesty of the writing and the brilliance of the mother’s character. At her most desperate, she never ceases to be amusing, provocative, and thoroughly worth listening to. Tanya Lazar, Ted Ford, and Toby Mulford are the cast of this riveting family drama by William Nicholson, the author of Shadowlands.