OVERVIEW
PEOPLE
MEDIA

One Night Only
From: The correspondence of Gustave Flaubert and George Sand, adapted by Peter Eyre from the translations of Francis Steegmuller and Barbara Bray

Gustave And George

BY .

DIRECTED BY RICHARD BEECHAM.

24 March 2024

Overview

You forget there’s something higher than art – wisdom. And art, at its greatest, is nothing but the expression of wisdom.

George Sand was “the Mother of French Literature”; Gustave Flaubert a complex literary genius. When Flaubert’s avid reading of ancient history led him to pen the novel Salammbô in 1863, the epic story was unexpectedly met with a lukewarm reception. To show her support, Sand came to Flaubert’s defence with an enthusiastic article for a Parisian newspaper. Flaubert wrote to thank Sand for her kindness and what began was not a love affair, but a deep and eager friendship and one of the great epistolary masterpieces of modern times.

Adapted for the stage by Peter Eyre, Gustave & George is a compelling and poignant meditation on the nature of art and friendship starring Alan Cox and BAFTA winner Dame Siân Phillips. The show was previously performed by Eyre and Irene Worth in New York, London and Melbourne under the original title Chère Maître.

 

People

Siân Phillips
George Sand
Siân won a BAFTA for her role in the BBC’s 1976 adaptation of I, Claudius. She has performed the titular roles in Ibsen's Hedda Gabler and George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to drama. She was recently seen at JST in Richard Beecham's 5-star production of Beckett’s Rockaby & Footfalls.
Alan Cox
Gustave Flaubert
Alan Cox previously appeared at Jermyn Street Theatre as Leopold Bloom in Ulysses, Heisenberg in Farm Hall and Godfrey Daybrook in Love All. He recently starred in Uncle Vanya at the Hampstead Theatre and is known for his role as Dr Watson in the Barry Levinson production Young Sherlock Holmes.
Richard Beecham
Richard Beecham
Director
Richard returns to Jermyn Street Theatre after his critically-acclaimed production of Samuel Beckett’s Footfalls & Rockaby starring Sian Phillips. Gustave & George will mark his fourth collaboration with Sian Phillips. Other recent productions include Duet for One at the Orange Tree Theatre.


Media

“[A] genteel, literary experience”
The Guardian