Janet Munsil
playwright, director, teacher, instigator
DRAMA
85 minutes
2 WOMEN (20s, 70s)
1 MAN (50s)
Canadian Title: Emphysema (A Love Story)
UK title: Smoking with Lulu
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AUTHOR NOTE
Synopsis
"Smoking with Lulu is inspired by the actual meeting between legendary theatre critic Kenneth Tynan and silent movie icon Louise Brooks.
Obsessed by his lifelong erotic fantasies of Brooks' amoral character Lulu in the 1928 film Pandora's Box, Tynan spent three days with the then ageing star to gather material for a New Yorker profile. "The Girl in the Black Helmet" was to launch the actress once again into the limelight after decades of anonymity. Smoking with Lulu is a major play about two of the twentieth century's most glamorous, decadent, and beautiful stars." (from Oberon Modern Plays edition)
Press
"One of the year's best plays." Dominic Cavendish, DAILY TELEGRAPH
"A brilliant mix of Hollywood nostalgia and real-life despair and decay." Sheridan Morley, INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
Theatre Top 10 of 1997 - GLOBE & MAIL
" A play that never lets the audience go. Munsil has drawn very accurate portraits of those who desperately wish to maintain the heightened existence celebrity offers..." Kate Taylor, GLOBE & MAIL
"This is a fascinating play: a serious and stylish work." UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO QUARTERLY
"The Canadian Playwright Janet Munsil has created one of those genuine and generous pices of drama with unpretentious eloquence for actors, refreshing fantasy for directors and designers, and memorable with for the audience." THE STAGE
" The hit of this year's playRites. A clever, witty script, the piece trades on sensuality. Munsil teases and entertains." Jon Kaplan, NOW
"A deeply enjoyable evening." THE INDEPENDENT
Script
Purchase Script
UK Edition: Oberon Modern Plays £9.99 GBP
Canadian Edition: Signature Editions $14.95 CAD
Production
History
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1994, as Emphysema, written for the Open Space New Theatre Series (self-produced) Victoria, BC, directed by Tim Crofton.
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1996 Workshop production at the Belfry Theatre Studio, dir. Tim Crofton.
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1997, as Emphysema (a love story) Professional Premiere, Alberta Theatre Projects Pancanadian playRites festival, dir. Micheline Chevrier
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1998 Tarragon Theatre, dir. Diana LeBlanc
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2000 as Smoking with Lulu West Yorkshire Playhouse, dir. David Gilles.
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2001 transfer to Soho Theatre (London)
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2001 Touchstone Theatre, dir. Katrina Dunn
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