Neil Simon is the funny man behind Rumors, a hilarious play that opens at Capitol Theatre in Tamworth on August 18 and runs through to August 27.
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Presented by the Tamworth Dramatic Society and directed by Ben Mettam, this ensemble piece stars a hugely talented local cast including Daniel Gillett, Ellie Sampson, Sean McInnes, Jessi Le Brocq, Geoff Butler, Kitty Humble, Ben Sutton, Chelsea Roulstone, Joe Tandy and Cara Bastian
Neil Simon is widely regarded as one of the most successful, prolific and performed playwrights in the world. He has written more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly adaptations of his plays.
Born on July 4, 1927 in New York City, he is celebrating 90 years in 2017.
Neil Simon began writing comedy for radio and television in the 1940s. Then he turned his talents to the stage.
He enjoyed his first major hit with Barefoot in the Park in 1963, and later scored Tony Awards for The Odd Couple (1965), Biloxi Blues (1985) and Lost in Yonkers (1991).
Simon also became a successful screenwriter, and in 1983 he became the first living playwright to have a Broadway theatre named in his honor.
Using rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks he presents serious subjects in a way that makes audiences laugh – if only to avoid weeping.
Simon creates every day, apparently simple conflicts with his stories, which become comical premises for problems which need be solved.
Rumors tells the story of four wealthy couples that gather at the town house of the deputy mayor of New York and his wife to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.
When they arrive, they discover there are no servants, the hostess is missing, and the host has been shot.
All hope of dignity is abandoned in their frantic attempts to uncover the truth and to prevent a scandal, with hilarious consequences for their actions.
As the confusion and miscommunication mounts, the evening spins off into classic farcical hilarity.