DUET By Otho Eskin

April 18th - May 11th, 2024

Theatre at the Tabard, London UK

TEAM
Playwright: Otho Eskin (he/him)
Director: Ludovica Villar-Hauser (she/her)
Cast: Wendy Morgan (she/her), Cynthia Straus (she/her), and Nick Waring (he/him)
Lighting Designer: Carly Altberg (she/her)
Sound Designer: Kristina Kapilin (she/her)
Costume Designer: Alice McNicholas (she/her)
Set and Props Designer: Hazel Owen (she/her)
Period Movement Coach: Janice Orlandi (she/her)
Dialect Designer (Eleonora and Sarah): Amy Stoller (she/her)
Hair and Makeup Consultant: Jade Clark (she/her)

Producers: Parity Productions, Authentic Voices, Sarah Berger, Cahoots Theatre Company, and Denise Silvey
Original Key Art: Christopher Lione (he/him)
Poster Design: Theatre at the Tabard
PR, Social Media + Copywriting: Nicki Probets (she/her)

Wendy Morgan (Sarah Bernhardt, she/her)

Wendy’s 48-year international career includes: Movies - YANKS (most promising newcomer award-Evening Standard)/ EDIE/MRS LOWRY & SON/84 CHARING X RD/THE MIRROR CRACK’D/ THE REVEREND & MRS SIMPSON/ MERCY(writer/director). TV includes THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN/DOCTORS. Theatre includes NT: YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU/STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE/ PHEDRE. For Sir Peter Hall: ANIMAL FARM/CORIOLANUS/YONADAB/BACCHAE/MARTINE (nominations for best actress Olivier/Evening Standard) HENRY IV PT1&2

CREATIVE TEAM

Otho Eskin (Playwright, he/him) Otho Eskin’s plays include: Act of God, Murder as a Fine Art, Duet, Julie, Final Analysis, and Season in Hell, among others, which have been profes- sionally produced in Washington, New York and in Europe. In addition, Otho Eskin published his first thriller, The Reflect- ing Pool, to great reviews and book club interest in 2020. It was selected as an Amazon Editors’ Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller and Suspense. The Reflecting Pool follows Marko Zorn—a Washington D.C. homicide detective who has a strong ethical compass but refuses to play by the rules. Book two of the Marko Zorn series, Head Shot, is now available now in paper- back and book three, Firetrap, was released on January 16th, 2024, to great reviews and was named another Amazon Editors’ Pick.

Before he turned to writing fiction and plays, Eskin served in the U.S. Army and in the United States Foreign Service in Washington and in Syria, Yugoslavia, Iceland and Berlin (then the capital of the German Democratic Republic) as a lawyer and diplo- mat. He was Vice-Chairman of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, participated in the negotiations on the International Space Station, was principal U.S. negotiator of several international agreements on seabed mining and was the U.S. representative to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. He speaks French, German, and Serbo-Croatian. He was a frequent speaker at conferences and has testified before the U.S. Congress.

Kristina Kapilin (Sound Designer, she/her) is a multi-discliplinary artist and sound designer based in London. Her sound design credits include TRADE (The Pleasance, London and UK tour), BUT WHEN? (The Hat Factory), I CAN’T HEAR YOU (Theatre 503), HASBIAN (The Pleasance, London), FLIGHTPATH (Brockley Jack Studio Theatre), OUTSIDE (The Pleasance, London), FEVER PITCH (The Hope Theatre) and TIER THREE SISTERS (The Hope Theatre).

Hazel Owen (Set and Props Designer, she/her) is is a multidisciplinary designer working across production design, art direction and costume design for Theatre & Film, Commercial, Music Video, Events and Stills. She strives to push boundaries to make unique statements within design that are engaging and inspire emotion, focusing on material-led design. Her most recent works include Art Direction for ‘5lbs of Pressure’, a Lionsgate Feature, and IFC Films ‘Stopmotion.’ She is based in London.

Sandra Szaron (Stage Manager, she/her) Recent credits include: Technical Stage Manager The Lady or the Tiger (Tabard), CSM/Show Caller Beauty and the Beast (Beck Theatre, Hayes), Stage Manager About Bill and Next Door’s Baby (both Tabard), Stage Manager The Trial of Josie K (Unicorn Theatre), CSM/Show Caller Cinderella (Beck Theatre, Hayes), Company Stage Manager Silence (Donmar Warehouse), Technical Stage Manager Dead Ringers Live! (Barbican Theatre)

Cynthia Straus (Eleonora Duse, she/her)

Cynthia’s passion for acting began at age nine working with children’s theatre troupe, Lilliput II. Adult stage roles include Cynthia’s critically acclaimed portrayal of “Angel Eyes,” in Joyce Carol Oates’s I STAND BEFORE YOU NAKED, “Emma” in Harold Pinter’s BETRAYAL, THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, and her portrayal of “Eleonora Duse” in Otho Eskin’s DUET for prior production at El Museo Cultural, Santa Fe New Mexico. Onscreen watch for Cynthia in such films as SWING VOTE, HAMLET 2, LOVE N’ DANCING, NAKED FEAR, and ILLEGAL. Cynthia trained with Larry Moss, Patsy Rodenburg and at The Neighbor- hood Playhouse in New York.

Ludovica Villar-Hauser (Director, she/her) is Founder and Artistic Director of Parity Productions. At Parity, her directing credits include the world premieres of Charlie's Waiting by Mêlisa Annis, Mirrors by Azure D. Osborne-Lee, Stop-Motion by Liz Kerin, and the award-winning She Calls Me Firefly by Teresa Lotz. Prior to Parity, Ludovica directed many critically acclaimed plays in the U.S. and U.K., including Final Analysis ((Signature Theatre); The Countess (Lamb’s Theatre); Leaves of Glass (Peter Jay Sharpe Theater); As It Is in Heaven (The Cherry Lane); The Brightness of Heaven (The Cherry Lane); This Will All Be Yours (The Barrow Group Theatre); and Long Day’s Journey Into Night) in London’s West End (The Arts Theatre). In the New York theatre industry, Ludovica was one of the few women to own and operate her own theatre, The Greenwich Street Theatre, which she ran for 17 years. Ludovica served on the Board of the League of Professional Theatre Women from 2009-2018, is currently the Producer of the League's Oral History Project at the NYPL for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, and  was co-President of the LPTW from July 2022-July 2023.

Alice McNicholas (Costume Designer, she/her) is an Offie-nominated Costume Designer, designing mainly for Musical Theatre and Dance based performance, but also for a wide variety of opera and plays. She trained in Performance Design at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and graduated in July 2021.

Denise Silvey (Producer, she/her) is Artistic Director of The Mousetrap and has directed it around the world. Producer credits include: Wodehouse in Wonderland (National Tour), Bloody Difficult Women (Riverside Studios/Edinburgh), Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk (Feature films), MUSIK (Edinburgh/West End with Pet Shop Boys), The Dame, Dead Sheep, Audience with Jimmy Saville, The Roundabout Twitstorm, Deny Deny Deny and Twilight Song (Park Theatre & National Tours). Full biography: cahootstheatrecompany.com.

Nick Waring (The Man, he/him)

Films: QUEEN OF THE DESERT director Werner Herzog, THE ASYLUM, WHERE HANDS TOUCH director Ama Assante, WHEN SATURDAY COMES. TV includes: LONDON’S BURNING, MARS 2, VICTORIA, RANSOM, GUILTOLIGY, GENIUS (Albert Einstein), CASUALTY, THE BILL, HOLBY CITY, DETECTORISTS, SEX ON TRIAL, DOCTORS, ELLING- TON, FATHER BROWN, CALL THE MIDWIFE, HOTEL MIAMI (MGM), and SUSPECT (ITV & Disney). Awards: Lawrence Olivier Student Drama Award, Ian Charles- ton Award (Nomination, THE SEAGULL), the Northern Civics Award (THE BUSINESS OF MURDER).

Carly Altberg (Lighting Designer, she/her) is a Canadian lighting and set designer for Theatre and Concerts with an MFA from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. As a Londonder, some recent credits include: Captial Jingle Bell Ball (Pixmob), The Juno Show (National Tour), Amma (Tara Theatre) more can be found on her website: carlyaltbergdesign.com. Instagram: @carlyaltbergdesign.

Janice Orlandi (Movement Coach, she/her) Movement Pedagogy and Period Style Specialist, Certified teacher- Williamson Technique and Period Styles, Period Dance and Physical Dramaturgy, Michael Chekhov Technique, Rasaboxes and Viewpoints, Movement Consultant: RED VELVET , Victorian Period & Melodrama Acting Styles, Lantern Theater Company Philadelphia PA. Movement Director & Period Style Choreographer for: THE OTHER MOZART London St James Theatre, Here Arts Festival NYC, Cherry Lane Theatre Solo Festival. Directing credits include: MOZART & SALIERI and THE BRUTE ; Westside Theatre NYC, EVENING WITH STEPHEN CRANE, Manhattan Rep Best Solo Show Award, Crane House Museum, Asbury Park, BETTE DAVIS AIN’T FOR SISSIES (Five Stars at Edinburgh Fringe Festival), St. James Theatre.

Amy Stoller (Dialect Designer [Eleonora and Sarah]): UK: Notes from the Field (Royal Court); Cheer from Chawton (Bath); Aphra Behn & Nell Gwyn (Edinburgh). New York: Beautiful (Broadway); Mint Theater Company (40+ productions); The Night of the Iguana (La Femme). With/By Anna Deavere Smith: Let Me Down Easy; Love All; Twilight; Fires, others. Film/TV: Zola; Selma; Nurse Jackie, others. League of Professional Theatre Women Ruth Morley Design Award. www.stollersystem.com.

REHEARSAL PHOTOS

Photos by Ali Wright.

ELEONORA DUSE AND SARAH BERNHARDT

Eleonora Duse (left) and Sarah Bernhardt (right.)
Credit: Arwas Archives. Sir William Nicholson. Portrait series. ED Original lithograph 1898.

L-R: Sarah Bernhardt: Study for Lorenzaccio by Alphonse Mucha courtesy of Mucha Foundation © Mucha Trust 2024, Sarah Bernhardt: Standing Study by Alphonse Mucha courtesy of Mucha Foundation © Mucha Trust 2024, Sarah Bernhardt: Study for l’Aiglon by Alphonse Mucha courtesy of Mucha Foundation © Mucha Trust 2024, Poster for ‘La Dame aux Camélias’ by Alphonse Mucha courtesy of Mucha Foundation © Mucha Trust 2024

DUET DESIGN

Costume design for SARAH BERNHARDT (left) and ELEONORA DUSE (right) by Alice McNicholas.

Costume design for THE MAN by Alice McNicholas.

Mood board for DUET set by Hazel Owen.

DUET set design mockup by Hazel Owen.

SPECIAL THANKS

Beatrice Aidin, Gretha Arwas, Madalyn Aslan, Richard and Joanna Balding, Sarah Berger, Robin Bernardi, Chicago Community Foundation, Cornelis Craane, Editions Graphiques Ltd, Paula Ewin, Lisa Feder, Sally Fisher, Tim Goodchild, Caroline Rosemary Hill, Jen Lane Landolt, Beth Lane, League of Professional Theatre Women, Frederica Lippi, Bruce MacIntosh of Metta Theater Taos, New Mexico, Sarah Mucha, Mucha Foundation, Kieran Mulcare, Peter and Renate Nahum, James O’Brien, Julia Pascal, June Rachelson-Ospa, Mose Rainault, Julia Ransom in Memory of Susan J. Ransom, Sarah and Simon Reilly, Michael Russell, Stefan Schneider, Mary Simonini, The Straus Family, Alan Tafoya, Sheree West, Sophia Wheelwright in Memory of Marisa Jordan Hansell.

Thank you to all of our donors and supporters, and to the Parity board.

"December 2019 Reading" December 8th, 2019 at Torn Page. Photos by Ashley Garrett.
CAST
Cythia Straus – Eleonara Duse
Dee Pelletier – Sarah Bernhardt
Oliver Wadsworth – The Man

Pictured (left to right): Pamela Payton-Wright, Laura Esterman, and Robert Emmet Lunney as “The Man.” Photography by Rainer Fehringer.