18^th, 19^th & 20^th November 2010

Directed by Liz Lewis

Good Things is an enchanting romantic comedy that follows the life of Susan Love as she comes to terms with issues familiar to us all. Only, in her case, they all come at the same time! Family problems, in the twin forms of a hormonal teenager and a father rapidly going senile, only add to the fact that she's facing the big "five - O" in the wake of her long-standing husband having traded her in for a younger model. She finds some normality in working in the local charity shop, where the dapper Frazer takes her under his wing whilst manageress Marjorie fusses and worries about her pricing policies. Susan, refusing to be out-done by her ex, and helped by Frazer, embarks on various doomed attempts to find "Mr Right". She tries everything - speed dating, Cupid's Internet connection, classified ads - all to no avail. But, this being Cinderella, we know that Mr Right is out there somewhere, so with the help of the obligatory magic slipper…

Bordering on farce in places, with twists and misunderstandings aplenty, this play gives us the human sides of these characters while keeping us laughing. The Times's 5-star review ended with the observation that "...the artful way Liz Lochhead takes us there in her delightful new play is as funny, as touching, and yet as emotionally true as anything this supremely humane writer has yet produced.”

CAST
 

Liz Lochhead is an award winning playwright and poet. Her plays include the marvellously titled Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off, and a rather wonderful Dracula (maybe another year!). Her interest in "horror" writing extends to writings and plays about Frankenstein, The Brothers Grimm, and "a sequence of poems" for Bram Stoker.
In complete contrast, Good Things is a romantic comedy.  She probably needed a change! It was written in 2006, and follows the travails of 49 year old Susan Love as she searches for love and fulfilment following the break up of her marriage. Set in the charity shop where she works part-time, us, we follow her attempts to reinvent herself through speed dating and other devices. In this "Cinderella" for the forty-somethings, Susan does find her Prince Charming, and - Yes! - there is a magic slipper!