The play opens ahead of the previously announced The Lemon Table, in the company’s Autumn season. The images included show Ian Kelsey (Jack) and Nicola Sloane (Liz) in rehearsals.
September in the Rain opens on 17 September, with previews from 16 September, and runs until 9 October.
Creative duo Gareth Machin and Sebastian Warrack said: “It’s an utter joy to fill our stage once again and welcome audiences back to share in the thrill of live performance.
“Theatres are made to share stories, and we can’t wait to share our Autumn season, opening with John Godber’s moving and funny play September in the Rain; coupled with the world première of Julian Barnes’ The Lemon Table – a wry observation on aging – ahead of a national tour.”
The performance is directed by Gareth Machin and designed by Toots Butcher. The lighting designer is Johanna Town and sound designer is Andrea J Cox. The casting director for September in the Rain is Gabrielle Dawes CDG.
A spokesperson for the event describes the plot: “1950. Blackpool. Newly-wed Yorkshire couple, Jack and Liz have crossed the Pennines for their first trip to the seaside mecca. Beneath an uncertain September sky, they holiday in a world of stripy deckchairs, sandy sandwiches and stroppy donkeys. As the Wurlitzer organ plays they sway together on the dance floor of the Tower Ballroom.
“For thirty years, come rain or shine, they never miss their annual week-long holiday on the Blackpool sands. Three decades of boarding houses, talent contests and fish and chips on the prom. Moving backwards and forward through time, a married life unfolds through squabbles, children, laughter and tears against the backdrop of the heyday of the British seaside.”
John Godber is a writer and director. His credits as a playwright include Scary Bikers, Bouncers, Up ‘n’ Under (Olivier Award for Best New Comedy), April in Paris, Teechers, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Cramp, Happy Jack, September in the Rain, Salt of the Earth, Passion Killers, Happy Families, Up ‘n’ Under ll, Gym and Tonic, Dracula, Lucky Sods, Hooray for Hollywood, Weekend Breaks, It Started With a Kiss, Unleashed, Thick As a Brick, Big Trouble in the Little Bedroom, Seasons in the Sun, On a Night Like This, Our House, Departures, Men of the World, Reunion, Screaming Blue Murder, Black Ties and Tales, Perfect Pitch, Going Dutch, Christmas Crackers and Crown Prince. Film writing credits include My Kingdom for a Horse (starring Sean Bean).
Gareth Machin Director Gareth is the Artistic Director of Wiltshire Creative. Previously, he was studio associate at the National Theatre, artistic director of Southwark Playhouse and associate director at Bristol Old Vic. For the company, his work includes Making Massinger, Robin Hood, Her Naked Skin, Moonfleet, Little Robin Redbreast, Worst Wedding Ever, The Night Before Christmas, A Little of What You Fancy, Hedda Gabler, Can’t Buy Me Love, The Magna Carta Plays, Little Shop of Horrors, Separate Tables, Bedroom Farce, London Calling, The Recruiting Officer, A Man of No Importance, Dangerous Corner, The Spire and Epsom Downs. His other directing credits include Fanta Orange (Finborough Theatre), Three More Sleepless Nights (National Theatre), The Canterville Ghost, Gaffer!, The Canterbury Tales, The Chimes, The Archbishop’s Ceiling (Southwark Playhouse), The Real Thing (Royal Theatre, Northampton), Macbeth (Creation Theatre), The Wizard of Oz (Hall for Cornwall), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Look Back in Anger, Betrayal, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, The Beggar’s Opera, Molly Sweeney, Up the Feeder Down the ‘Mouth and Back Again, Sea Life, Croak Croak Croak, A Tender Prayer, Anatomy of a Madman, Bitter With a Twist, Krapp’s Last Tape and Spring Awakening (Bristol Old Vic). As a playwright, his work includes The Tailor of Gloucester, Moonfleet, Little Robin Redbreast, The Night Before Christmas (Salisbury Playhouse), Pinocchio, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom Thumb and Other Giant Stories and The Canterbury Tales (Dukes Playhouse, Lancaster).
The Salisbury Playhouse team said: “September in the Rain is kindly supported by Christopher & Frances Wain, long-standing Members of Salisbury Playhouse.”
More information about the Salisbury Playhouse can be found at https://www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk/
