Oh, the Humanity and Other Good Intentions opens this month

A 2007 piece, Oh, the Humanity and Other Good Intentions tells of eight ordinary people, being ordinary, inadequate, and totally exposed. There’s a coach who’s had a dismal season and an airline spokeswoman trying to say sorry. A man and a woman are searching for true love, whilst two others wonder why the car won’t start.

It is the debut production of End of Moving Walkway, a company founded on the principle that the fringe can and should be as professional and high quality as large-scale venues.

Will Eno’s play offers an account of the absurdity, and the beauty, of life. Five simple stories performed by a cast of nine.

After seeing an industry preview, Sir Trevor Nunn said “I laughed, I cried, I recognised and I celebrated. Oh our humanity indeed. I highly recommend”.

Past productions have tended to opt for multi-rolling, presenting five distinct stories with a cast of three or four actors. Director Paul Lichtenstern instead presents a nine-strong cast, performing together in a shared space. “It’s through seeing the tableau of diverse, exposed, and ordinary people working for each other, interacting with each other, that the beauty of each individual becomes clear”, he says.

The production is transformed for the Tabard run with a set designed by Andy Edwards, and a cast that includes Jonathan Kemp (‘Yes, Prime Minister’ UK Tour, and ‘Peter Pan’ NT) and Claire Lichie (Matthew Dunster’s ‘You Can Still Make a Killing’ Southwark Playhouse, Alecky Blythe’s ‘Cruising’ The Bush, and EastEnders).

August 31, 2014