The grass is greener in an 'April in Paris'
Apr. 16—Bet and Al live are in a rut.
They live a quiet, ordinary life in their small Yorkshire home until Bet wins a "Romantic Breaks" magazine contest.
The prize is a Parisian holiday.
Al has never left England. Bet has never been as far away as London.
Their first trip abroad exerts a profound impact on the way they look at the world around them, and not always for the better.
Staged by West End Productions, "April in Paris" opens on Friday, April 21, running on weekends through May 7.
"She drags the reluctant Al along with her," said director Colleen Neary McClure. "They sample life outside England for the first time.
"They're small-minded and they've lived a very sheltered life in England."
Yorkshireman and playwright John Godber wrote the play in 1992, at the height of the British recession during the reign of Margaret Thatcher.
"It was when unemployment in Hull was high and the husband is unemployed," McClure said. "People were scouring magazines for competitions for trips to Euro Disney and Paris."
"They get a perspective on life and the whole point is the grass is greener on the other side."
The pair sort out French cuisine, wrestle with their phrasebook, and fend off would-be muggers on the Métro.
"They never really known how to pronouce the words," McClure said. "They don't know what they're ordering with the food; it's some pretty dodgy food."
"It's very like (playwright Harold) Pinter in many ways," she added. "It's very musical, very simple language."
"April in Paris" stars Jessica Osbourne and Dan Ware.
The Plays and Players Yearbook of 1993 named Godber the third most performed playwright in Britain after William Shakespeare and Alan Ayckbourn.
'April in Paris'
by John Godber, West End Productions
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 23; repeats through May 7
WHERE: North Fourth Art Center, 4904 Fourth St. NW
HOW MUCH: $23 general; $22 students/seniors/military/SAG, plus fees, online at westendproductions.org. At the door: $25 general; $24 students/seniors/military/SAG.
