Geoff
06-05-2004, 10:03
The University of Sheffield is to stage the world premiere of Sex for Sale, a controversial 1950s melodrama by Eddie Kaplan, on13 May 2004.
The play was banned by the Lord Chamberlain in 1951 due to its controversial subject matter of sex, prostitution, murder, politics and the Mafia. It is now being brought back to life under the direction of Professor Dominic Shellard, of the Department of English Literature at the University of Sheffield.
Sex for Sale uses a love story between a prostitute and a young soldier, to portray the lives of prostitutes in the 1950s and their struggle to survive under the tyranny of their pimps. Although the story was written in the 1950s it deals with contemporary subject matter, including political sex scandals.
A group of second year English Literature students will be performing the play at the Drama Workshop, at 7.30pm on 13th and 14th May and 10am on 17th May. They have rehearsed and staged the play in the same way it would have been conducted in the 1950s, giving the production an authentic feel and allowing the cast to gain a greater understanding of 1950s theatre.
Clare Welsh, who appears in the play says, “The first thing we did was to block the play, which is where you decide on your positions on stage and practice the physical elements of the part. This was really unusual for us as the modern practice is to start with the characterisation of the part, then learn the lines and finally block it on stage. We also worked to the time constraints that would have been part of a1950s production and have worked on a very tight timescale, with fewer rehearsals than is usual for a modern production.”
The play will be performed for the public on 13 and 14 May, before being aired as part of a one-day film festival investigating unlicensed plays on 17 May. The festival will be held at the University of Sheffield and, like Sex for Sale, is being funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board as part of its Theatre Archive Project with the University of Sheffield.
Professor Shellard, director of Sex for Sale and Director of the AHRB University of Sheffield Theatre Archive says, “The students have worked really hard on this project and we are proud to be able to stage the world premiere of this play in Sheffield. Bringing this fascinating work back into the public domain has been a pleasure and I hope these will be the first performances of many.”
Tickets can be bought from the English Department on 0114 222 8480 or by contacting Sara Jones on 07976 790550.
The play was banned by the Lord Chamberlain in 1951 due to its controversial subject matter of sex, prostitution, murder, politics and the Mafia. It is now being brought back to life under the direction of Professor Dominic Shellard, of the Department of English Literature at the University of Sheffield.
Sex for Sale uses a love story between a prostitute and a young soldier, to portray the lives of prostitutes in the 1950s and their struggle to survive under the tyranny of their pimps. Although the story was written in the 1950s it deals with contemporary subject matter, including political sex scandals.
A group of second year English Literature students will be performing the play at the Drama Workshop, at 7.30pm on 13th and 14th May and 10am on 17th May. They have rehearsed and staged the play in the same way it would have been conducted in the 1950s, giving the production an authentic feel and allowing the cast to gain a greater understanding of 1950s theatre.
Clare Welsh, who appears in the play says, “The first thing we did was to block the play, which is where you decide on your positions on stage and practice the physical elements of the part. This was really unusual for us as the modern practice is to start with the characterisation of the part, then learn the lines and finally block it on stage. We also worked to the time constraints that would have been part of a1950s production and have worked on a very tight timescale, with fewer rehearsals than is usual for a modern production.”
The play will be performed for the public on 13 and 14 May, before being aired as part of a one-day film festival investigating unlicensed plays on 17 May. The festival will be held at the University of Sheffield and, like Sex for Sale, is being funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board as part of its Theatre Archive Project with the University of Sheffield.
Professor Shellard, director of Sex for Sale and Director of the AHRB University of Sheffield Theatre Archive says, “The students have worked really hard on this project and we are proud to be able to stage the world premiere of this play in Sheffield. Bringing this fascinating work back into the public domain has been a pleasure and I hope these will be the first performances of many.”
Tickets can be bought from the English Department on 0114 222 8480 or by contacting Sara Jones on 07976 790550.