Three plays based on George Eliot's classic novel, which can be performed as a trilogy or as standalone pieces.
George Eliot's Middlemarch is peopled with some of literature's most memorable characters. In Geoffrey Beevers' dramatisation, all three interconnected plays can be performed as a trilogy, but each play can also stand on its own, telling the story of Middlemarch from the perspective of a different set of characters: from county, town and countryside.
In Dorothea's Story, set among the big houses of the local aristocracy of Middlemarch, young, intelligent Dorothea is so enamoured of the pedantic Reverend Casaubon that she marries him, much to everyone's disbelief. But her friendship with Casaubon's young cousin Will Ladislaw arouses suspicions in her new husband, who will do anything to thwart their mutual affection.
In The Doctor's Story, set in the town of Middlemarch itself, where everyone wants to know each other's business, idealistic Dr Lydgate arrives in Middlemarch determined to achieve great things. He catches the eye of the Mayor's beautiful, self-centred daughter Rosamond but is torn between ambition and loyalty as he is drawn into an alliance with a corrupt banker.
In the poignant but light-hearted Fred and Mary's Story, set amongst hard-working countryfolk, Fred is trying to please his parents and become a country gentleman, but his childhood sweetheart Mary will have none of it.
The Middlemarch Trilogy premiered at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, in October 2013.
'A delight from beginning to end... one of the most captivating literary dramatisations I've ever encountered, as rich as a Christmas pudding' - Telegraph
'It has an elegance and wit, and, above all, it's eminently digestible' - The Times
'[A] skilful, shrewd and dashing adaptation... a phenomenal achievement' - Observer
'A terrific achievement' - Evening Standard
'As ingenious as it is entertaining' - The Stage
Show moreThree plays based on George Eliot's classic novel, which can be performed as a trilogy or as standalone pieces.
George Eliot's Middlemarch is peopled with some of literature's most memorable characters. In Geoffrey Beevers' dramatisation, all three interconnected plays can be performed as a trilogy, but each play can also stand on its own, telling the story of Middlemarch from the perspective of a different set of characters: from county, town and countryside.
In Dorothea's Story, set among the big houses of the local aristocracy of Middlemarch, young, intelligent Dorothea is so enamoured of the pedantic Reverend Casaubon that she marries him, much to everyone's disbelief. But her friendship with Casaubon's young cousin Will Ladislaw arouses suspicions in her new husband, who will do anything to thwart their mutual affection.
In The Doctor's Story, set in the town of Middlemarch itself, where everyone wants to know each other's business, idealistic Dr Lydgate arrives in Middlemarch determined to achieve great things. He catches the eye of the Mayor's beautiful, self-centred daughter Rosamond but is torn between ambition and loyalty as he is drawn into an alliance with a corrupt banker.
In the poignant but light-hearted Fred and Mary's Story, set amongst hard-working countryfolk, Fred is trying to please his parents and become a country gentleman, but his childhood sweetheart Mary will have none of it.
The Middlemarch Trilogy premiered at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, in October 2013.
'A delight from beginning to end... one of the most captivating literary dramatisations I've ever encountered, as rich as a Christmas pudding' - Telegraph
'It has an elegance and wit, and, above all, it's eminently digestible' - The Times
'[A] skilful, shrewd and dashing adaptation... a phenomenal achievement' - Observer
'A terrific achievement' - Evening Standard
'As ingenious as it is entertaining' - The Stage
Show moreGeorge Eliot was born Mary Anne (known as Marian) Evans in 1819,
near Nuneaton, Warwickshire. She was brought up as an Evangelist,
and received a classical education at local boarding schools. After
the death of her mother in 1836, she moved to Coventry with her
father and became acquainted with free-thinkers Charles and Cara
Bray, which led to her translating Strauss’s Life of Jesus (1846).
After her father’s death in 1849, she moved to London, where she
met George Henry Lewes, who was separated from, but crucially
unable to divorce, his wife. Moving to Germany with him in 1854,
she lived as his common-law wife for twenty-four years. Under his
encouragement she began writing fiction under her nom de plume: the
successful serial Scenes of Clerical Life (1858); the best-selling
Adam Bede (1859); followed by a number of poems and further highly
praised works such as The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner
(1861), Middlemarch (1871–2) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Lewes’s
death in 1878 saw the effective end of her writing career. A few
short months into her marriage to a man twenty years her junior,
she died in December 1880.
After studying History at Oxford University, Geoffrey Beevers
trained as an actor at LAMDA. In the theatre he has worked at the
RSC, the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe and the West End,
and has made over two hundred television appearances including The
Jewel in the Crown, A Very British Coup and Dr Who; countless radio
broadcasts including many book readings; and films from
Victor/Victoria to Miss Potter.
He also writes and directs. At the Orange Tree Theatre he has
directed many plays, including his own, and several by Václav
Havel. He has also directed in repertory theatres and drama
schools. His writing work includes about a dozen plays produced in
the theatre and on radio. His latest publications include an audio
CD Unintelligent Design (2011), and a novel The Forgotten Fields
(2014).
He has long had a particular love for George Eliot’s work. He has
previously adapted Adam Bede for the stage (Time Out Award) and
also Silas Marner. One of his plays for Radio 4 was A Proper Woman,
a drama-documentary about George Eliot’s marriage.
'A delight from beginning to end... one of the most captivating
literary dramatisations I've ever encountered, as rich as a
Christmas pudding'
*Telegraph*
'It has an elegance and wit, and, above all, it's eminently
digestible'
*The Times*
'[A] skilful, shrewd and dashing adaptation... a phenomenal
achievement'
*Observer*
'A terrific achievement'
*Evening Standard*
'As ingenious as it is entertaining'
*The Stage*
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