The Play That Killed Me, premièring at The Lowry in September
Marlene Dietrich & Hector MacGregor (centre) with director Alfred
Hitchcock on the set of 'Stage Fright.' 1950 Warner Brothers." Photo: mptvimages.com
Thu 23 September & Sat 2 & Sun 3 October
As part of its commitment to supporting up-and-coming talent The Lowry is proud to present the world première of The Play That Killed Me, the first production in an exclusive new series of plays entitled NeverBeenSeen. The NeverBeenSeen series sees The Lowry work directly with up-and-coming theatre companies to develop exciting new work.
The Play That Killed Me, written by Justin MacGregor, is an affecting tale of hope, sacrifice and the bonds of love and friendship that see people through the most agonizing of situations.
Inspired by the writer’s grandfather Hector MacGregor, who starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright, The Play That Killed Me tells the story of two actors, Hector and Charles, who stage plays for the troops in Africa during World War II.
With morale at a dangerous low, they decide to put one on at the front to help inspire the troops despite promises to their wives they would not do anything foolhardy.
The history of The Play That Killed Me
By Justin MacGregor
My parents, Barry and Iris, met at the Royal Shakespeare Company during Much Ado About Nothing, proving that, for me at least, the play was indeed about something. Before them, my grandfather Hector was also an actor, who did a lot of theatre and appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright just before he died. And before him, my great-grandmother, Helen, and great-grandfather, Frances, were also actors.
But for many years, I did not really know much more than that.
I also knew that my grandfathers served during World War II and my mother’s father Ron was shot down over Berlin near the end of the war. Hector lived through his service, but died from diseases that he caught in North Africa during the war. So I grew up without them and only later in life began to ask questions.
It was only during a conversation with my father shortly after the Millennium celebrations that I heard the story of Hector’s service in North Africa, how he put on plays for the troops in Mombasa and Nairobi, how ill he became while doing so, and how lucky he was to make it back at all.
That was when I heard the stories that would become part of The Play That Killed Me.
I did not write much about them at first. Other duties and projects emerged along the way but Hector’s story was always in the back of my mind, especially as I came to realize that my mother’s uncles, Lewis and Ken, would have seen the plays put on by Hector during the war, some twenty years before my parents met. A small world indeed. The question that always daunted me was: how to tell this story?
Finally, in late 2009, I woke up with a start and the opening of the play was clear as day. Hector would recount the story to the audience: he would be his own narrator.
Now, all that’s left is actually putting it on!
The production is the first for Come As You Arts North West at The Lowry.
Posted on Wednesday, 01 September 2010 under Theatre Press