Picnic on the Battlefield
by Fernando Arrabal
directed by Derek Howard

Friday 9th and Saturday 10th March 2001.

The author, a Spaniard, who has written all his plays and other works in French. The French Title is Pique-nique en Campagne. He was born in 1932, this play was written about 1957/8 and was first performed in 1959. As far as known, he is still living. His plays are all surreal and he writes for the Avante Guarde Theatre. Arrabal is said to describe his plays as 'dramatised nightmares...direct manifestations of my inner world as revealed through my dreams.... The dream is my starting point'. A Spanish composer, who produced a 'Montage' of four of Arrabal's plays, called them 'Panic Theatre'. His plays frequently contained extreme violence with sexual exploitation. Fortunately, there is neither overt nor covert sex in this play and the only violence (and then quite minor) comes at the very end.

Cast - Marguerite Maclellan - Madam Tépan, Steve Rouse - Zépo, Mike Thorne - Zapo, Barry Gwilt - Monsieur Tépan, Sam Jefferson and Jonny Evans - Stretcher Bearers.

Zapo and Zépo	Zapo
Zapo and Zépo	Madam Tépan, Zapo and Monsieur Tépan

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