Thursday, 28^th February – Saturday, 1^st March, 2008
At The Third Floor Arts Centre

‘All the usual ingredients, all the familiar themes..identity trauma, terror and desire…’

CCADS

Presents

Terry Johnson’s

HITCHCOCK BLONDE

box office 023 9268 8070

What was the dark secret that caused the great Alfred Hitchcock to obsess over beautiful blondes in jeopardy? At a villa in the Greek isles, a British professor and his beautiful young assistant sift through the clues (and the reels of disintegrating celluloid). As the cinematic mystery cuts back and forth between 1919 on a London soundstage and 1959 during the filming of that unforgettable shower scene, illusion and reality collide with shocking results…

Award-winning Portsmouth theatre company CCADS are proud to present one of the first regional productions of Terry Johnson’s acclaimed play, first seen at London’s Royal Court Theatre. Containing as many twists and turns as one of Hitchcock’s own movies, this stunning new production combines live action with dazzling film sequences to create an unmissable theatrical experience.

CCADS Artistic Director John-Paul McCrohon aims to transport audiences into another environment from the moment that they enter the Third Floor Arts Centre, creating the impression of a film set within the auditorium and casting the audience, who will be sat at varying angles in and around the action, as eavesdroppers on the events that transpire, underscoring one of the play’s main themes of the blurred line between fantasy and reality.

Video Designer Tony Neal has created some of the most impressive filmed sequences ever seen on stage in Portsmouth. In addition to the sections of the ‘lost’ Hitchcock film from 1919 filmed at the allegedly haunted Wymering Manor, live actors interact with video footage and even, in the production’s own memorable ‘shower scene’, become one with it. All this will be projected onto a custom-made cinema screen that will further draw the audiences back into Hitchcock’s cinematic world …

The cast of 5 comprises some of the best known local theatre faces in Portsmouth, including three News Guide award winners. Tony Dart plays the great Alfred Hitchcock himself with Natalie Frank as the enigmatic Blonde of the title. The modern day section features Phil Cottrill and Francesca McCrohon, last seen opposite each other in 2006’s ‘Closer’, as Alex and Nicola. The quintet is rounded off by another McCrohon, professional actor Peter, in a key cameo as the Blonde’s husband.

The play, which brilliantly combines the distinctive styles of Johnson (‘Dead Funny’, ‘Hysteria’) and Hitchcock and takes obsession as its other major theme, is by turns thrilling, dramatic, witty and tragic – it can be equally enjoyed and appreciated by Hitchcock enthusiasts and those who have never seen one of his films.

It runs at The Third Floor Arts Centre above Portsmouth’s Central Library in Guildhall Square for three performances only from Thursday 28^th February to Saturday 1^st March at 7.30 pm nightly.

Tickets are £8, with concessions at £7, with a special ‘Buy One Get One Free’ offer on opening night – BOOK NOW on 02392 688070.

Warning : This play contains adult content and nudity ; it is advised to be suitable for those aged 15 and over.