With his dubious air and an acquired taste for smoking, gambling, port and women, it’s difficult to consider Cis Farringdon is only fourteen. And that’s because he isn’t. Agatha his mother cropped five years from her real age and his when she married the amiable Posket.
Well, when I found out the new dad was a magistrate, I was scared. I said to myself, “If I don’t mind my Ps and Qs, the Guv’nor – from force of habit – will fine me all my pocket-money.”
The impending arrival of Cis’ godfather sends Agatha incognito to the Hô-tel des Princes to warn him of her deception. But it’s also where her son has sweet-talked his otherwise staid stepfather into joining him for a binge. High-spirited merry-making leads to a police raid and a night of outrageous mishaps as the trapped guests make desperate attempts to conceal themselves from the law and from each other. Indignities intensify at court the next day where Posket, the police magistrate, must preside.
John Lithgow takes the title role of The Magistrate in this fast, furious, and brilliantly plotted farce set in Victorian London. He is joined by Nancy Carroll, returning to the National Theatre following her Olivier award-winning performance in After the Dance.
The Magistrate will be broadcast to cinemas across the UK and around the world on Thu 17 January at 7pm
Booking From: Sunday, 2nd December 2012
Booking Until: Sunday, 10th February 2013
Running Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
Important Information:
Audio-Described performances Fri 4 Jan at 7.30pm, Sat 5 Jan at 2pm (Touch Tour at 12.30pm)
Captioned performances Thu 10 Jan at 7.30pm, Tue 22 Jan at 7.30pm
Olivier Theatre
South Bank
London
SE1 9PX
Wednesday 5th December 2012
