STEPHEN KIN G ’ S MISERY By William Goldman DIRECTED BY DAN BAIN N EDUCATIOPACK PRINCIPAL SPONSOR SEASON SPONSOR CORE FUNDER STEPHEN KIN G ’ S MISERY B y W i l l i a m G o l d m a n DIRECTED BY DAN BAIN CONTENTS 3. Cast and Creatives 4. About the Play 5. Characters 6. Themes 7. The Writer 8. The Director’s Vision 9. Production Technologies - Set Design 10. Production Technologies - Special Effects 11. Production Technologies - Costume Design 12. Production Technologies - Sound Design 13. Production Technologies - Lighting Design 14. Rehearsal Room Diaries 16. Ask an Actor 17. Reflecting on the Play 20. Audience Reactions 2 CAST AND CREATIVES CAST Annie Wilkes ...............Lara Macgregor Paul Sheldon .......... Gavin Rutherford Buster .......................Adam Brookfield PRODUCTION TEAM Director .................................................................... Dan Bain Set Designer .........................................................Harold Moot Costume Designer ............................................ Hayley Douglas Lighting Designer/Head Technician ...................Giles Tanner Sound Designer/Composer ...................................Andy Manning Stage Manager ........................................................... Jo Bunce Assistant Stage Manager .................................... Rachel Pugh Operator ..................................................................Matt Short Construction & Premises Manager ....................Bryce Goddard Workshop Supervisor ..............................................Henri Kerr Set Construction .......Richard Daem, Robert Hood, Nigel Kerr Acting Costume Manager .....................................Deborah Moor Costume Construction ........ Hayley Douglas, Louise Galloway Properties Manager ......................................... Christy Lassen Properties Construction ......Wendy Burton, Julian Southgate Production Manager....................................Flore Charbonnier 3 ABOUT THE PLAY When romance novelist Paul Sheldon wakes from a car crash somewhere in rural Colorado, he finds the kind smile of Annie Wilkes beaming down at him. She is his number one fan. Having rescued Paul from the accident that’s left him with broken legs, Annie is now nursing Paul back to health. The storm that led to Paul’s accident has caused road closures and power cuts, but Annie has promised to get him to hospital and to call his agent as soon as she can. But if that’s the truth... then why is his bedroom door locked? As Paul tests the boundaries of his confinement, he pulls a thread which rapidly unravels Annie’s lies. We see just how far a super fan will go to hold onto their hero. ADAPTED FROM A NOVEL AND A FILM Known across the world for his hit novels such as It, The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, Stephen King is the master of psychological horror- thriller novels. Misery was written in 1987 by Stephen King and went on to become one of his best sellers and was later made into a Hollywood film in 1990. William Goldman, who adapted the script for the film, also adapted the book for the theatre. The debut performance of his play premiered in 2012. As a genre It is rare that we see a psychological thriller performed in live theatre. DISCUSS What do you think the challenges would be in adapting a psychological thriller for the stage? HAVE A GO In groups think about a scary story or movie you know that you could adapt into a stage play. How would you go about this? What would be the biggest challenges you would face and what could you do to overcome these? 4 THE CHARACTERS PAUL SHELDON Paul Sheldon is the main protagonist of Misery. He is the author of the Misery Chastain novel series and is imprisoned by Annie Wilkes (his self-described “number one fan”) after a devastating car crash. Paul is subject to (and terrified of) Annie’s fits of rage and physical abuse including the breaking of both of his legs. ANNIE WILKES Annie Wilkes is a former nurse and the main antagonist of Misery. She is the perfect example of a mentally unstable obsessed fan, who kidnaps her favourite writer and holds him hostage. A reclusive individual who lives by herself, she is obsessed with the Misery Chastain novels by Paul Sheldon and has difficulty distinguishing between them and reality. BUSTER Buster is the local sheriff investigating the disappearance of Paul Sheldon. He visits Annie three times and is shot by her on his final visit when he hears Paul making noise. DISCUSS: For most of the show there are only two actors on stage. What is the effect of having such a small cast? What do you think would be a challenge being one of the main actors in this show? This show is hugely focused on the relationship dynamic between Paul and Annie. DISCUSS: Working in pairs consider the relationship between Paul and Annie and discuss how you think their relationship changes throughout the play. HAVE A GO: The power constantly shifts between the characters. At times Annie is in complete control (she has the key, she can leave, she has the drugs) however there are moments where Paul gains more control (he decides what happens to Misery and plots to escape on several occasions). Using the table below list as many examples of specific moments where the power shift changes and explain how this is supported by the choices made by the production team and the actors. POWER HELD BY PAUL POWER HELD BY ANNIE 5 THEMES Who owns the work? Who owns the artistry? (Dan Bain, Director) DISCUSS: What do you think are the major themes in Misery?In what ways do these themes relate to today’s society? HAVE A GO: As an audience member what does this play make you think about? Using the theme headings as a starting point explore how the play made you feel about these topics and what choices the production team made to get you thinking this way. OWNERSHIP Audience response What made you feel this? FANDOM Audience response What made you feel this? LONELINESS Audience response What made you feel this? FREEDOM Audience response What made you feel this? TRUST Audience response What made you feel this? 6 THE WRITER Since his teenage years King had been dependent able to. But if he couldn’t, it was a sacrifice King was on alcohol, but things escalated in the late ‘70 s when willing to make. It was, of course, an unfounded fear, he began an almost decade-long battle with cocaine, but it did take time for the skill to come as easily as a battle that only ended when his family gave him it used to for King’s now-sober mind. Slowly, Tabitha an ultimatum – get clean or get out. In his memoir coaxed King into working through his writer’s block in On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, King wrote that the same way she did back in the early ‘70s when he wife Tabitha told him “she and the kids loved me, was just starting his career. In 1973 the couple lived and for that very reason none of them wanted to in a trailer, struggling to make ends meet. Tabitha witness my suicide.” In the depths of addiction King worked at Dunkin’ Donuts while King taught English, bargained two weeks to think about his options and trying to kick-start his career by writing on Tabitha’s the decision he had to make. “What finally decided Olivetti typewriter in the evenings. King managed to me was Annie Wilkes, the psycho nurse in Misery. sell a few stories here and there to men’s magazines Annie was coke, Annie was booze and I decided like Playboy and Penthouse, while Tabitha finished her that I was tired of being Annie’s pet writer. I was so first poetry collection that was subsequently rejected afraid that I wouldn’t be able to work anymore if I by publishers. Neither found substantial success with quit drinking and drugging, but I decided (so far as their writing – until Tabitha found the first three pages I was able to decide anything in my distraught and of what would become Carrie abandoned in their depressed state of mind) that I would trade writing rubbish bin. Rescuing the writing, Tabitha placed the for staying married and watching the kids grow up.” pages back under King’s nose and told him that he Inspiration for Misery came from several sources, but had to keep going. He listened and Carrie became is commonly attributed to fan rejection of his novel a hit, dedicated to Tabitha herself. “This is for Tabby, The Eyes of the Dragon that dared to step away from who got me into it – and then bailed me out of it.” horror and into fantasy. This wasn’t the only factor, With that same determination and faith, Tabitha though, with Evelyn Waugh’s short story The Man Who pushed her husband to carry on after he became Liked Dickens stimulating King’s ideas around literary sober, their efforts resulting in King’s bestselling imprisonment, followed by a dream where Annie novel, 1991’s Needful Things. He hasn’t looked back appeared to King mid-flight talking about naming since. Now 70, King has written over 50 novels; more her pig Misery. Annie grew with characteristics taken than 10 collections of short stories; 5 non-fiction book from real-life nurse and suspected serial killer Genene s as well as a handful of screenplays, graphic novels Jones, but the main inspiration for Annie Wilkes and even a children’s picture book. His most recent was King’s addiction to cocaine. “Misery is a book novel, The Outsider, was published earlier this year. about cocaine. Annie Wilkes is cocaine. She was my Despite his net-worth (over 400 million U.S. dollars), number-one fan,” King stated in a 2014 interview with King’s extraordinary output isn’t about the money. Rolling Stone. In the eight years he spent beholden to He’s happy so long as he has enough to take care of his cocaine, King reportedly only spent three hours a day family, buy a few books and see a movie once a week.