Wednesday 8th and Monday 13th November at 7:30pm at The Players Theatre

Barefoot In The Park by Neil Simon - Directed by Colin Lee

Neil Simon's 'Barefoot in the Park' is a comedy set in Greenwich Village, New York, in the early to mid-1960s. The Broadway play starred Robert Redford, who reprised his role in the 1967 film alongside Jane Fonda.

Corie and Paul Bratter are a newly married couple who have just moved into a tiny, slightly down-at-heel top-floor apartment with a leaky skylight, a bedroom barely larger than a closet, and no bath. The furniture hasn’t yet arrived. Over four days, we see the couple learning to live together while Corie plays matchmaker to her mother, trying to set her up with the ageing, eccentric playboy who lives in the attic above their apartment. 

Writer Neil Simon (The Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys, The Goodbye Girl) is the master of extracting humour by teaming opposites. The simple premise becomes laugh-out-loud fun with loads of great lines and quips.

Cast of Characters (6 Players - 4 male, 2 female (although the delivery person could be either male or female)

• Corie Bratter (Lead role, 20s to early 30s, newly married to Paul) - a young, slightly kooky free spirit who sees the world through the rosiest rose-coloured glasses and wishes her new husband would loosen up a little. Go 'Barefoot in the Park'.
• Paul Bratter (Lead role, mid-20s to mid-30s, married to Corie) - a much more down-to-earth, buttoned-up, rather stiff lawyer trying to carve a career. He's worried about the apartment's shortcomings, while his wife sees those same shortcomings as quirky features.
• Mrs Ethel Banks (Supporting role, 40s - 50s, Corie's mother) - Loves that her daughter has married, showering the couple with gifts. She is healthy but takes 'pink pills for her stomach and is a bit straight like her son-in-law.
• Victor Velasco (Supporting role, 50s - 60s) - Still thinks and dresses younger than he is, a bit of a playboy, a bit fancy, but has worldly charm. This character is the catalyst of conflict.
• Telephone installer (Smaller supporting role, any age) - The telephone man who installs the landline telephone in the apartment. The climb up the stairs almost kills him. He thinks Corie is rather odd and tries to get out of the apartment as quickly as possible.
• Delivery person (Smaller support, any age, male or female) - middle-aged or just unfit. The stair climb is almost too much as well.

Performance dates 5th - 9th March 2024

For more details contact auditions@thameplayers.co.uk