Dan Phillips will direct a cast that includes Deena Payne (best known for her TV role as Viv Windsor in "Emmerdale"), CJ De Mois (best known for TV's "Eggheads"), Cole Michaels and Emma Blackman. The producer is Jamie Chapman Dixon, with Ben Newsome as casting director. Sets are by Joe Oliver, with costumes by Andrew Cox and lighting by Matthew Swithinbank.
On Tidy Endings revolves around a gay man and a straight woman who meet to tie up loose ends following the death of the man they both loved from an AIDS related illness. According to press materials, "Unusually, it is a play where we never meet any AIDS sufferers; instead, it looks at the consequences and the people this virus leaves behind."
Safe Sex is the title play from Fierstein's Safe Sex Trilogy, which explores a relationship under strain in the early part of the AIDS crisis and of desire unfulfilled out of fear. It was the playwright's own response to living in the time of AIDS, dealing with his own confusion, anger and frustration, but it also contains humor. In Fierstein's own words, "Look, if I'm gonna bum ya out, I'm gonna make sure ya have a couple a laughs too! Life is funny - and the truer and more painful it is, the funnier it is."
In a press statement, director Phillips commented, "What makes this different from all the other 'AIDS Plays' is that it is not in fact about AIDS. Both plays instead look at who it leaves behind and is, at its heart, a play about dealing with loss whether you are gay or straight. Fierstein has become an institution in the world of the Broadway Musical but I am honored to be able to explore his more intimate and semi-autobiographical work."
The production will benefit The Make A Difference Trust. The MAD Trust raises funds from the British Entertainment community and its audiences to support people living with HIV and AIDS and those in the entertainment industry facing hardship as a result of any long-term medical condition. To book tickets, contact the box office on 020 7240 6283, or visit www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk.
