Pretty Boy
Having rejected one called O Baghdad! a spoof of Big Brother, with people
like George Bush and Saddam Hussein as the housemates, Hugh received another
script by new writer Sam Hall called Pretty Boy. This one being more practical
to produce (and with only two endings to rehearse instead of O Baghdad's nine,
depending on who the audience voted out) Hugh decided to direct it.
The plot sees Hollywood heart throb Jake Mamora wake up in a hospital next
to an artist who, due to a bandage around the top part of her head, can not
see who he is next to. Three years later, she is a big success with a gallery
opening, and he goes back to the hospital to track her down.
The play has two outcomes: the "real" ending where she has no interest
in him and the "Hollywood" ending where the guy gets the girl and
they live happily ever after.
The play was first performed for three nights at The White Bear, with the following
cast
| Jake Mamora: | Dan Styles |
| The Girl: | Kate Paxton |
| Inge (Jake's supermodel girlfriend) / Gillian (the gallery owner) | Sally Gardner |
| Dr Brandon / Art critic / Teddy (Jake's agent) | Guy Mandozzi |
| Nurse Helena Jarvis | Jo Engwhistle |
Due to the plays success, it was given a three week run at the same venue,
later in the year. The second cast was:
| Jake Mamora: | Steven Butterton |
| The Girl: | Cathy McManaman |
| Inge (Jake's supermodel girlfriend) / Gillian (the gallery owner) | Sally Gardner |
| Dr Brandon / First Art Critic | Mark Landau |
| Teddy / Hospital Cleaner | Darren Delme |
| Nurse Helena Jarvis / Second Art Critic | Sylvia St John |
The advantages of the longer run (some of which were probably also due to having
had people see it first time) were: better rehearsal facilities, some-one other
than Hugh to operate the lights and sounds, the re-introduction one of the
art critics (there were three in Sam's original draft), the introduction of
a janitor character for the audience to see the play through the eyes of, a
proper set rather than having to work around another play's set and the further
exploration of all characters, including the cast spending an exhausting day
touring the Tate Modern completely in character.
Logo © Derrick Davidson
Content © 2006 Hugh Allison