Court Theatre welcomes Heroes to Stage
The Court Theatre brings HEROES, Tom Stoppard’s moving international hit to Christchurch from August 2 -30.
Stoppard’s Olivier Award-winning translation of Gerald Sibleyras’ Le Vent Des Peupliers (The Wind in the Poplars) is a
sparkling gentle comedy set in France 1959. World War I veterans Henri, Phillipe and Gustave pass their time on the
terrace of their military nursing home musing over their peculiar circumstances.
Henri (Grant Tilly), a romantic with a gammy leg, enjoys taking his daily walk past the young ladies of the nearby town.
Phillipe (Geoffrey Heath) harbours paranoid fears about the hospital’s head nun, while Gustave (John Bach) seems to
prefer the company of a stone dog to his two compatriots. When the privacy of their terrace is threatened, these three
‘heroes’ hatch a daring plan to leave – embarking on a journey both whimsical and touching.
Director Ross Gumbley says: “This play is both comic and poignant. Such a wonderfully crafted play that, as Stoppard
says, is ‘not only about human mortality but the universal desire to escape the confines of ones life.’”
Gumbley describes HEROES as an intensely character-driven “soufflé of a play” and his cast ideal to deliver Stoppard’s
ingenious dialogue. “Having actors the calibre of Grant Tilly (returning to The Court and recipient of the 2007 Chapman
Tripp Actor of the Year award for his performance in Home Land), John Bach, (a New Zealand acting icon most recently
appearing in The Forge’s Year of the Rat); and Geoffrey Heath (a mainstay of The Court Theatre stage, last seen in The
History Boys) simply makes directing this play all the more exciting”.
HEROES has won significant critical acclaim and received the 2006 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. The Daily Times
hailed it as “achingly funny, and piercingly sad”, while the London Evening Standard called the comedy “a direct
theatrical hit”. Don’t miss a whimsical, touching play featuring three of New Zealand’s greatest acting talents.
ends