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PLAYS
Donizetti was born into poverty in Bergamo, Italy. He was spotted as a choral talent and received a fine musical education. After writing sacred music he concentrated on opera. He worked constantly and left a legacy of seventy works, many of which play in opera houses today.
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Duncan’s play, The Maestro, with live excerpts from his most popular works, was developed in conjunction with Michael Wells and performed in three venues at the Brighton Festival in May 2022.
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Review by drama critic for L’Eco Di Bergamo
Donizetti was responsible for many plots and brought to life so many characters in his serious and comic operas. The Maestro, by the English writers Duncan Hopper and Mike Wells, performed at Bergamo’s San Andrea Theatre in collaboration with the university theatrical centre, set out to turn the tables by turning his own life into a theatrical piece which included, at various points in the action, some of his most celebrated and moving arias.
The drama and thrust of the story were based on a series of flashbacks as Donizetti himself spoke about his life. The play turned on the return of the Maestro, ill and suffering from an incurable mental illness in a dramatic and painful, journey from Paris to sanctuary in the Palazzo of Baroness Rota Basoni in Bergamo.
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Madness was one of the major themes of this poetic dramatisation. His own final days saw mental decline and suffering. That suffering was also illustrated in the play through arias from the early and latter part of Donizetti’s career, portraying the serious illness he went through. The arias included the suffering of Nemorino (The Elixir of Love) and Lucia in the grip of her madness (Il Dolce Suono). The arias reflected Donizetti’s own life and works.
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The reconstruction of his life in the text was based on a careful and accurate portrayal of the reality of his situation. The cast performed beautifully. Soprano Karen Orchin sang securely and incisively with a lovely tone. The splendid pianist was Simon Grey. Robert Tremayne took the role of Donizetti and Sophie Methuen-Turner was the second female lead. They played strongly, if a little British. All however brought back to life The Triumphs and Tragedy of the Maestro of Bergamo. A splendid production.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LYN ROE
Two Acts. One hour and a half.
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‘Compelling theatre.’ Jeremy Malies, The Scotsman, Edinburgh Festival.
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‘Classy, riveting and smart.’ The Argus, Brighton Festival.
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A new conspiracy theory is at the heart of this play, based around the mystery of the death of Marilyn Monroe. The play starts with her fraught childhood and the shadow of her mother’s insanity which put her daughter into an orphanage. It then follows an early marriage, factory war work where she was spotted as a pin-up girl, entry into the studio film world and elevation to worldwide superstar, and her relationship with the Kennedys. It ends with her gradual decline and downfall.
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Available on enquiry.
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MARILYN THE STAR
Marilyn the Star was specially adapted for the 2020 Brighton Festival and starred Victoria Storm.
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The play opens in the private suite of a resident at the St Saviours Catholic Convalescence Home in Malibu, California, one of the Kennedy Foundation’s many luxury homes for the elderly.
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There is a mystery surrounding who the resident really is, and her life and history unfold over the play’s two acts.
MARILYN THE MUSICAL
The original play about Marilyn Monroe was adapted and performed at the Brighton Fringe Festival to critical acclaim. It was then taken up in cooperation with successful West End producers, Laurence Myers and Tom Kinninmont. Tom adapted the play and the score was from Marilyn’s films.
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The plot featured the character of Billy Wilder as the narrator.
The musical was performed at RADA in London starring Tom Conti.
Original lyrics: Duncan Hopper. Music: Luca Celano.
Available by enquiry.
HELENS SHADOW
Two Acts. One hour and a half.
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‘An intellectual and dazzling treat on the excavation of Troy.’ Lewes magazine.
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Heinrich Schliemann was shipwrecked on the shores of Holland. Adopted by a Dutch merchant’s family, he entered their beaver fur hat business and was posted to Moscow where he made a fortune. He then left to bankroll the Californian gold rush and make another fortune. A rich man, he became fascinated with what was then in the nineteenth century, the Legend of Troy. With his young Greek wife, Helen, he set out to prove that myth was a fact, and he financed and discovered the ancient city of Troy.
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The play illustrates this pioneering excavation which led to the so-called discovery of Helen’s Treasure, necklaces, jewellery and pottery from the period. It shows the intrigue and rivalry between France, Britain and the US to gain ancient works of art and the prestige that went with them.
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References in the play hark back to the ancient Greek world and the prophecies made at the Oracle at Delphi.
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The play was performed at the Pelham House Theatre as part of the Lewes Arts Festival, and at the Brighton Fringe.
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Available on enquiry.
LADY MONTAGU
Two Acts. One hour and a half.
‘A celebration of an early feminist, author and veteran traveller.’ The Argus, Brighton Festival.
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‘A brilliant solo performance by Samantha Brennan.’ Vera Brozzoni, International Critic.
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Lady Montagu lived in the mid-eighteenth century. She was an aristocrat and a highly educated young woman who defied the conventions of her age by marrying for love, not position. She travelled with her husband to the Sultan’s court in Constantinople and wrote home to her friends and court associates, including the prime minister, Horace Walpole, of her observations and travels. She composed and published a number of poetry anthologies. Unlucky in love, she lived in Venice and Lovere in northern Italy before returning home to her family in London.
The play accurately portrays her early life and travels and she reads from her letters and poetry. Lady Montagu’s letters and poetry are recorded in the Penguin classic series.
Lady Montagu was performed at the Brighton Festival and on tour at Tunbridge Wells Theatre and Lewes Pelham House Theatre.
Available on enquiry.
The Chattri
by Duncan Hopper
This is a new play and work in development by Duncan Hopper.
In the First World War, over a million Indian soldiers volunteered to join the fight against Germany for their King and Emperor. Half of that number ended up in policing Mesopotamia, and half were sent to the Western Front. Of those, 300,000 saw combat in major battles. Cambrai was one.
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The casualties were shipped across to four Indian-only hospitals on the south coast of England, the major surgical hospital being at the Brighton Dome, the stables to the royal palace.
We see this journey, and battles and recovery, through the eyes of four Indian medics and the doctor and matron of the hospital where they were treated. The play is based on actual events.
The Chattri is the permanent memorial erected on the Downs outside Brighton. It was where the Hindu, Sikh and Gurkha soldiers were cremated.