Arts Club presents MISERY

Bound to keep theatregoers on the edge of their seats, Misery follows successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon (Andrew McNee), who is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes (Lucia Frangione). While Annie nurses him back to health, Paul soon realizes that he is not her guest, but her captive. Angered that he has killed off her favourite character, Annie forces Paul to resurrect Misery in a new book—and Paul soon finds himself writing for his freedom…and his life.

 

The stage adaptation of Stephen King’s thriller is by two-time Academy Award winner William Goldman, who penned the 1990 screen version of the book. His most well-known screenplays—spanning a 50-year career in Hollywood—include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay), The Stepford Wives, All the President’s Men (Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay), Dolores Claiborne, and Absolute Power. In addition to Misery, his works for the theatre include Blood, Sweat, and Stanley Poole and A Family Affair, both written with his brother, James Goldman.

 

Artistic Director Emeritus Bill Millerd, who programmed this play as part of his final season, says, “Misery is a show we’ve all been looking forward to for some time. Staging a thriller by the master of the genre is a rare opportunity and we’re excited to bring something quite different with this show. Director Rachel Ditor has given our longtime Properties Master Michael Gall and his team the chance to really show off their talent for special effects.”

 

Ditor adds, “Casting such warm and fearless performers as Lucia Frangione and Andrew McNee adds some humanity to this classic thriller. In them we have people to root for and identify with in a way that makes the most of experiencing this story live.”