Thespians Anonymous will be performing three short plays at this November's
Festival of English Language Theatre in Finland (FELT IF). Organised by The
Finn-Brit Players, FELT IF was last held in 2004, and proved extremely
popular. This year, there will be two chances to see each play, as the
Festival is spread over two evenings and a day. All plays will be between 30
and 60 minutes long, and include contributions from The Finn-Brit Players
and The Really Small Theatre Company.

Thespians Anonymous are an integral part of the vibrant English-language
theatre scene in Helsinki, and have participated in the 2003 and 2004 FELT
IFs to great acclaim. The Festival provides us with the opportunity to
showcase small-scale dramas, experiment with different styles, genres and
playwrights, and enjoy the excitement of co-operating with fellow amateur
theatrical societies.

Dates: November 6-8 2008
Location: Caisa Cultural Centre

For ticket booking and more information, please see
http://www.finnbritplayers.com/feltif/

Plays

The Dark Lady of the Sonnets by Bernard Shaw

Set on the terrace of Queen Elizabeth's palace in the late 16th century, The Dark Lady of the Sonnets humanises both the mysterious figure of the Dark Lady and the man who wrote so passionately about her. Impudent but eloquent Master William Shakespear of Stratford sneaks into the palace to meet his mistress on a Midsummer Night, little expecting a cheerful Beefeater with a poetic soul, a Cloaked Lady with a fiery temper, and a Dark Lady sworn to finish with him forever...

Sonnet 127

In the old age black was not counted fair,
Or if it were, it bore not beauty's name;
But now is black beauty's successive heir,
And beauty slander'd with a bastard shame:

For since each hand hath put on Nature's power,
Fairing the foul with Art's false borrowed face,
Sweet beauty hath no name, no holy bower,
But is profan'd, if not lives in disgrace.
Therefore my mistress' eyes are raven black,

Her eyes so suited, and they mourners seem
At such who, not born fair, no beauty lack,
Sland'ring creation with a false esteem:
Yet so they mourn becoming of their woe,
That every tongue says beauty should look so.

Cast
The Beefeater: Matti Sillanpää
Will Shakespear: Sedeer El-Showk
The Dark Lady: Marja-Liisa Helenius
The Cloaked Lady: Joanna Hongisto

Directed by Rebecca Mills

Showtimes

18:00 Thursday 6 November
18:25 Saturday 8 November

Approximate duration 30 minutes

Once Upon a Time in a Plague Year

Plague-ridden Tudor-era London, many of whose inhabitants have fled for the country side. A rich merchant, Sir Anthony, is lying on his deathbed, and a small group of loyal friends have decided stay by his side to the end. They include a famous plague doctor, his female assistant, a fiery-tempered young servant, who has his eyes set on the latter, and an elderly puritan lady. Will the doctor’s remedies for pestilence be enough, when they are joined by a strange beggar from the north, and other even less expected and welcome visitors? Could they, perhaps, even prove too effective?
Once Upon a Time in a Plague Year is freely based on two scenes in Dialogue Against the Fever Pestilence (1564), a collection of “Merry tales — pills to purge melancholy at plague time”, by William Bullein, an Elizabethan physician, whose other known works are medical treatises. It aims to bring the Mediaeval tradition of morality play alive on stage, and make it entertaining for a modern audience.

Written by William Bullein

Adapted and directed by Alpo Honkapohja

Cast

Roger: Aapo Rautiainen
The First Old Lady: Anna Rämö
The Second Old Lady: Katja Tiilikka
The Beggar: Pawel Blaszczyk
Doctor Burcot: Jussi Kajala
Sir Anthony: Ami Ganguli
Chrystina: Tatjana Kurikka (Thu 6 Nov) / Olga Kurikka (Sat 8 Nov)
The Puritan Lady: Lisamaria Markula
Avarus: Ace North
Ambodexter: Jenny Zukerman
Death: Bodil Knuts

Showtimes

19:45 Thursday 6 November
13:55 Saturday 8 November

Approximate duration 55 minutes

The Proposal

*CAUTION: Proposing may be hazardous to your health!*

When a hypochondriac landlord decides to get married, he chooses his neighbor’s daughter as his bride-to-be. However, he does not expect that a marriage proposal can prove to be a very difficult business, especially when there are meadows and dogs involved.

The Proposal is not only a hilarious comedy, it is also an acute social commentary, in which Chekhov exposes the idleness, the absurdity and the utter uselessness of the Russian gentry in the 19th century.

Written by Anton Chekhov

Directed by Anastasia Diatlova

Showtimes

20:20 Friday 7 November
20:30 Saturday 7 November

Approximate duration 40 minutes

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