After an unfortunate year, Civic Theatre's 2020 season is set to finish with a bang as two of Newcastle's favourite sons feature in a production of Being Sellers.
Based on the life of Peter Sellers, the production debuted at the Playhouse in 1998, securing playwright Carl Caulfield a CONDA Award for Best Actor.
Directed by Caulfield's brother-in-law, Jonathan Biggins, the show toured to Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and went on to productions in London and New York.
Caulfield's Stray Dogs Theatre Company is often asked to reprise the show for Newcastle audiences. He and Stray Dogs producer, Felicity Biggins, decided the 40th anniversary of Sellers's untimely death at age 54 seemed a fitting occasion.
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Sellers was renowned for his ability to transform into his characters, including Inspector Clouseau from The Pink Panther movies; Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove, in which he played three roles, and his much-lauded work in The Goons. Actors reportedly found him hard to work with because they couldn't stop laughing.
Carl Caulfield said he was a fan of The Goons but was also drawn to Sellers' great talent for mimicry
"As a playwright, I was keen to explore this chameleon aspect of his personality - this ability to lose himself entirely in his fictional roles," Caulfield said. "I hope this recent production will remind us of Sellers' unique talent and introduce him to a new audience."
Returning to direct the 2020 show, Jonathan Biggins said it was interesting to see how they approached the show 22 years on.
"Carl is able to give a more honest and deeper performance because he has the extra life experience," Biggins said. "He's now older than Sellers was when he died, so I think that's been very illuminating."
Being Sellers is at the Playhouse for five performances from Wednesday to Saturday.
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