Product Description
By George Orwell Adapted and performed by Phelim Drew Directed by Michael Toumey Approx. 70 minutes - no interval This fascinating stage adaptation of George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London sees Phelim Drew bring to life the characters who made up Orwell’s company in his self-imposed life as a tramp at the end of the 1920s. A man drifting through life, in early 1930s Paris, teaching English and generally soaking up the rich underbelly of Parisian life, finds himself falling helplessly short and discovering a very different view of life, looking up from below. With a keen understanding of social inequality and a wry sense of humour, he vividly recounts his experiences while down and out. Going from a sepia tinted view of poverty in Paris to the more black and white existence in and around London, through characters from a darkly funny Circus to the inhabitants of a Beckettian landscape. DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON by George Orwell, Adapted by Phelim Drew is a show that tells the story of a man, living in Paris, and determined to make a living as a writer. All does not go well however and the adventures, he is forced by his circumstances to recount, are the beginnings of a life in poverty. At times funny and entertaining, from meeting a host of wonderful characters to slaving in Hotel and restaurant kitchens and finally to tramp the streets of London it also peppered with the poignant realities of being “At last, genuinely, down and out”. Based on when George Orwell in the late 1920’s went “underground” and worked as a dishwasher in various restaurants in Paris and spent time on the road as a tramp in the London environs ,culminating 15 years later in the publication of “1984". “Phelim Drew gives an excellent performance” ***** Irish Mail On Sunday “Drew dominates the stage” ….Emer O Kelly “Drew’s performance is superb, his monologue is vivid and colourful… Emphatic and evocative this poetic reimaging is a truly enjoyable performance.” (**** The Public Reviews)