19 to 26 February 2005

in the Theatre Upstairs

The Prisoner of Second Avenue

by Neil Simon

directed by Alex Epps

"I am not going to the zoo. I've been there every day for a month. When I walk by, the monkeys nudge each other and say, "He's here again...."

A devoted middle-aged couple find themselves trapped in an increasingly fast-paced, corporate-led, New York City in the 1970's, where slowly they begin to crack under the strain of urban life. Mel thought his job and life were secure until, in one week, he lost his job and his apartment was robbed. Despite the love and care of his wife Edna, Mel's loss of dignity and sense of humiliation is more than he can bear, sending him (hilariously) into a nervous breakdown. Will Mel and Edna sink beneath the strain of modern life or will they rise above it? Neil Simon's hit comedy has all his trademark wit, hilarious one-liners and wry observations about the changing values of society.

Review