The Unexpected Man (French: L'homme du hasard) is a play written in 1995 by Yasmina Reza.[1] The play is set in a train from Paris to Frankfurt, with two people sharing a compartment. One is a famous author, and the other is a woman who admires his work.[2]
A man and a woman sit opposite each other in the detached intimacy of a train compartment on a journey from Paris to Frankfurt. He is a world-famous author, she carries his latest novel in her bag and ponders the dilemma of reading it in front of him. As both the woman and man ponder their situation in the compartment, they bring past events and philosophies up in separate monologues. Finally in the ending of the play, they speak conversationally, and in the last line of the show the woman calls the author by his name, revealing to him that she did indeed know who he was.[3]
Charactersedit
Parsky: A well-known author, travelling to Frankfurt to meet his daughter's significantly older fiancé.
Martha: A middle-aged woman, a fan of Parsky's oeuvre.
Productionsedit
From 15 April 1998 – 9 May 1998, a production of the play ran at the Barbican Pit Centre. A revival ran from 15 June 1998 – 22 August 1998 at West End's Duchess Theatre. Both productions were directed by Matthew Warchus, and starred Eileen Atkins as Martha and Michael Gambon as Paul Parsky.[4]
From 24 October 2000 – 28 January 2001, Christopher Hampton translated it for an Off-Broadway production at the McGinn/Cazale Theater, which ran for 112 shows. The play was once again directed by Warchus, with Atkins reprising her role (here known as The Woman) this time alongside Alan Bates (here referred to as The Man).[5] It received several accolades, including nominations from the Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Play, Best Actress, and Best Actor; Bates won the latter. He was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award, while Atkins was also nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award.[a]
Cesear's Forum, Cleveland's minimalist theatre company, presented the play at Kennedy's Down Under, Playhouse Square in a May/June 2007 production.[6]
^Ng, David (2011-05-02). . Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
^Vaswani, Shivangi (2018-11-23). . Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
^Reza, Yasmina. The Unexpected Man. United States, Dramatists Play Service, 1998.
^"The Unexpected Man (1998)". This is Theatre. 2021-11-01. Retrieved 2023-12-17. This production transfers to London's West End following a sold-out run at the Barbican Pit Theatre. The cast at both the Pit Theatre and the West End's Duchess Theatre featured Michael Gambon as 'Paul Parsky' and Eileen Atkins as 'Martha'. Directed by Matthew Warchus with designs by Mark Thompson, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, music by Gary Yershon, and sound by Mic Pool.
^Isherwood, Charles (2000-10-25). Bart, Peter (ed.). "REVIEWS: The Unexpected Man (2000)". Variety. ISSN 0042-2738. OCLC 810134503. Retrieved 2023-12-18. The alchemy of acting is on remarkable display Off-Broadway at the Promenade Theater, where Eileen Atkins and Alan Bates are deftly and unobtrusively turning Yasmina Reza's compact, cool and clever play The Unexpected Man into an evening of unlimited pleasure.
unexpected, french, homme, hasard, play, written, 1995, yasmina, reza, play, train, from, paris, frankfurt, with, people, sharing, compartment, famous, author, other, woman, admires, work, contents, plot, characters, productions, notes, references, external, l. The Unexpected Man French L homme du hasard is a play written in 1995 by Yasmina Reza 1 The play is set in a train from Paris to Frankfurt with two people sharing a compartment One is a famous author and the other is a woman who admires his work 2 Contents 1 Plot 2 Characters 3 Productions 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksPlot editA man and a woman sit opposite each other in the detached intimacy of a train compartment on a journey from Paris to Frankfurt He is a world famous author she carries his latest novel in her bag and ponders the dilemma of reading it in front of him As both the woman and man ponder their situation in the compartment they bring past events and philosophies up in separate monologues Finally in the ending of the play they speak conversationally and in the last line of the show the woman calls the author by his name revealing to him that she did indeed know who he was 3 Characters editParsky A well known author travelling to Frankfurt to meet his daughter s significantly older fiance Martha A middle aged woman a fan of Parsky s oeuvre Productions editFrom 15 April 1998 9 May 1998 a production of the play ran at the Barbican Pit Centre A revival ran from 15 June 1998 22 August 1998 at West End s Duchess Theatre Both productions were directed by Matthew Warchus and starred Eileen Atkins as Martha and Michael Gambon as Paul Parsky 4 From 24 October 2000 28 January 2001 Christopher Hampton translated it for an Off Broadway production at the McGinn Cazale Theater which ran for 112 shows The play was once again directed by Warchus with Atkins reprising her role here known as The Woman this time alongside Alan Bates here referred to as The Man 5 It received several accolades including nominations from the Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Play Best Actress and Best Actor Bates won the latter He was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award while Atkins was also nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award a Cesear s Forum Cleveland s minimalist theatre company presented the play at Kennedy s Down Under Playhouse Square in a May June 2007 production 6 Notes edit See IOBDB link for full list of awards References edit Ng David 2011 05 02 Playwrights Yasmina Reza and Christopher Hampton discuss God of Carnage Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on 2022 11 28 Retrieved 2023 03 22 Vaswani Shivangi 2018 11 23 Strangers on the Train Indian Express Archived from the original on 2018 11 28 Retrieved 2023 03 22 Reza Yasmina The Unexpected Man United States Dramatists Play Service 1998 The Unexpected Man 1998 This is Theatre 2021 11 01 Retrieved 2023 12 17 This production transfers to London s West End following a sold out run at the Barbican Pit Theatre The cast at both the Pit Theatre and the West End s Duchess Theatre featured Michael Gambon as Paul Parsky and Eileen Atkins as Martha Directed by Matthew Warchus with designs by Mark Thompson lighting by Hugh Vanstone music by Gary Yershon and sound by Mic Pool Isherwood Charles 2000 10 25 Bart Peter ed REVIEWS The Unexpected Man 2000 Variety ISSN 0042 2738 OCLC 810134503 Retrieved 2023 12 18 The alchemy of acting is on remarkable display Off Broadway at the Promenade Theater where Eileen Atkins and Alan Bates are deftly and unobtrusively turning Yasmina Reza s compact cool and clever play The Unexpected Man into an evening of unlimited pleasure https www clevescene com arts capsule reviews of current area theater presentations 1498705External links edit The Unexpected Man at the Internet Off Broadway Database nbsp This article on a play from the 1990s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Unexpected Man amp oldid 1192421376, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
