Play Details
Context
Artistic Director
Dominic Cooke
Dates Performed
Thursday 14th June 2007
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Play Details
Synopsis
An upscale suburban home during a tense Thanksgiving dinner
As Clay and Kelly host their relatives – including brother Cash, mother Carol, and the enigmatic Kalina – their veneer of progressive values crumbles, exposing the hypocrisy and prejudice lurking beneath.
Norris’s razor-sharp dialogue and dark humour create a pressure cooker atmosphere, where a mysterious rash afflicting the couple’s child becomes a potent metaphor for the family’s moral decay. Through a series of increasingly uncomfortable revelations, The Pain and the Itch savagely dissects themes of privilege, liberal guilt, and the gap between ideals and actions. The play serves as a mirror to the audience, forcing a confrontation with the contradictions of modern, upper-middle-class life.
Cast & Creative
Cast
Abdi Gouhad
Cast
Matthew Macfadyen
Cast
Sara Stewart
Cast
Hannah Gunn
Cast
Sharon Kelly
Cast
Angelica Trew
Cast
Peter Sullivan
Cast
Andrea Riseborough
Cast
Amanda Boxer
Designer
Robert Innes Hopkins
Lighting
Hugh Vanstone
Sound