One for the Road

By Willy Russell
Directed by Clive Elkington.
Presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Ltd.

Synopsis

This wickedly observant comedy by the author of Educating Rita finds Dennis Cain on the eve of his thirty-fifth birthday, making a last-ditch attempt to break away from the confines of his middle-class, housing estate existence, where the wave of puerile vandalism that has inflicted, it seems mysteriously, all but the Cain's gardens. The 'Parnes Kids' are blamed for gnome decapitations, painted garden vegetables, Radox filled fountains and a Venus de Milo with arms stuck on it.

Reaching breaking point at his birthday party he packs a rucksack to make his escape but everyone wants to accompany him and he sinks down in front of the television, defeated. But there's always next year ... and the year after.

Cast

Dennis Cain - Max Puplett
Max is proud to be working with LivelyWood Pictures on 'One for the Road' after starring in 'One Man, Two Guvnors'. Max attended The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts in New York City for three years, studying a whole host of techniques, but mainly focusing on the Meisner technique. Since his return to England, he has done numerous amounts of short films and plays both in London and Berkshire. "I find something fascinating about the quiet man in the background who has no desire to be the center of attention." - Christian Bale.

Pauline Cain - Rebecca Wire
Previous credits include: The Flint Street Nativity, Lady Windermere's Fan, Kindertransport , The Thrill of Love, Laughter in the Dark, Into The Woods, Black Coffee, Blather, The Sound of Music, The Liar, Anyone for Breakfast?, Much Ado About Nothing, Talking Heads, Evita, The Birthday Party, Witness for the Prosecution, Marat/Sade, Carousel, Daisy Pulls it Off, School for Scandal, The Importance of Being Earnest, Pirates of Penzance, Hobson's Choice, Stepping Out, Private Lives, Absurd Person Singular, And Then There Were None (twice!) and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Roger Fuller - Michael Beakhouse
Michael spent the first few years of theatre in a succession of bit-parts, flitting coyly and briefly across the stage but leaving an indelible impression upon those who beheld him. Following a four-year spiritual retreat (prompted by accidentally watching "My Dinner With Andre" under the mistaken impression that it was a Gordon Ramsay TV special), he returned to the stage in the hopes of becoming the next Andre Gregory, or failing that, Andre the Giant. Recent credits include Stanley in "One Man, Two Guvnors", Dakin in "The History Boys", and Paul in "Barefoot in the Park". He also studied drama at LAMDA for a brief spell, but he's terribly self-effacing and doesn't like to brag about that.

Jane Fuller - Nadia Strilciw
Nadia has been acting since the age of 12 whilst attending La4 theatre school on a Saturday morning. That is where she found her passion for acting in 'Whistle down the wind' and 'Around the world in 80 days'. She went on to participate in many Shakespeare productions in South Hill Park gardens including; 'Much ado about nothing', 'Romeo and Juliet' and ' A Midsummer Nights dream'. Nadia attended Dartington college of arts in 2005 where she studied Contemporary Theatre with Visual Arts practices. She then promptly returned to Berkshire and South Hill Park where she has enjoyed participating in 'An actors nightmare', 'The Waiting Game', and more recently, 'One man two guvnors'. Nadia is delighted to be back in the Studio Theatre performing 'One for the Road'.

Creative Team

Clive Elkington, Director/Producer
Clive set LivelyWood Pictures up in 2011 with the aim to make short films. That slowly developed into producing theatre, events and promotional videos. Since then LWP has produced four theatrical productions, over 150 videos, and even a documentary that screened at Cannes Film Festivals' Short Film Corner in 2015. LivelyWood Pictures has become a Media Production Company in every sense of the term. The tagline 'Productivity at its liveliest' says it all. This is Clive's first directorial role in a Theatre production though (aside from organising events!), but hopefully this won't show! More information on LivelyWood Pictures can be found at www.livelywoodpictures.co.uk where you can also sign up to our mailing list.