The Actors Nightmare

Date/Time
Sun 1st October
3:45 pm - 4:15 pm

Location
The Nova Scotia

The Actor’s Nightmare by Christopher Durang

A man finds himself inexplicably backstage one day. When he is confronted by the stage manager, Meg, it becomes apparent that he is the understudy for an actor named Edwin and as “Eddie” apparently broke both his legs, the man must perform in his stead. The man is referred to as “George” throughout the play, despite him feeling that it is not his real name (another actress refers to him as Stanley at one point as well) and cannot remember attending any rehearsals or being an actor at all – he instead believes that he is an accountant. To make matters worse, he is unable to get a straight answer as to what the play is. An actress named Sarah tells him that it is a Noël Coward play (Private Lives) and the other actress, Ellen, tells him that it is a Samuel Becket play called Checkmate (which seems to have elements of the plays Endgame, Happy Days and Waiting for Godot). Literally forced on stage, George attempts to improvise his lines. However, the play inconsistently shifts between scenes from Private Lives, Hamlet, Checkmate, and A Man for All Seasons. Until an executioner arrives.