Details

In the Latin Quarter of fin de siècle Paris, three young British painters live the Bohemian life, united by their hopeless love for the beautiful model Trilby O'Ferrall. But their love is shared by the sinister Svengali, who believes that his powers of hypnotism can transform the tone-deaf Trilby into the greatest opera singer in the world... A smash hit from its first appearance as a novel in 1894 and as a play a year later, Trilby created the iconic character of Svengali, played on stage in a barnstorming performance by Herbert Beerbohm Tree, and on film by John Barrymore, Donald Wolfit and Alan Badel. The play was one of the first great successes of modern merchandising, lending its name not just to the hat worn by its heroine, but to parties, songs, china figurines, brands of soap, toothpastes and even a city in Florida. A classic Victorian melodrama for Christmas, one of the greatest theatrical sensations of the nineteenth century and the play that introduced the character Svengali to the world, in its first London revival since 1950.

Cast/Performers

Jack Klaff (Svengali)

Creatives/Company

Book by: George du Maurier
Producer: Instand Classics (in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre)
Adapted by(s): Paul Potter, Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Director: David Cottis
Design: Simon Bejer