The Dresser

1 hr. 54 min.

Audio Plays, Radio Productions & Literary Readings

Language Russian

Author Ronald Harwood

Narrator theater actors

Description

He knows the texts of the roles by heart, but never says them in front of an audience. He plays an important part—not on stage, but backstage. He is the great laborer of the theater and his invisible piece: the unseen support and the unremarkable inspirer. He is the costume manager.
January 1942. A theater in a small English provincial town. This evening “King Lear” is to be performed here, but the performer of the lead role and head of the troupe, the old actor Sir John, is seriously ill. Will he be able to go on stage? Will he be able, together with his character, to take this great path of learning once again—from blindness and illusion to insight and death? And help the star can only his longtime friend and companion—the costume manager Norman. But then a young actress gets involved, nearly ruining the duo that has formed over years between the actor and his costume manager. The performance will still happen, but the play’s denouement will turn out to be completely unexpected.