Six Degrees of Separation

A major revival of John Guare's play Six Degrees of Separation in London directed by David Grindley.

When Ouisa and Flan Kittredge let an injured young man into their home in the middle of the night, they open the door on a new and enticing world. But is it really what it seems? John Guare's witty play scratches beneath the surface of a world obsessed with money and fame – how can anyone be sure that people are who they say they are?

Six Degrees of Separation was inspired by the real life story of a flamboyant con artist who convinced wealthy residents in Manhattan that he was the son of actor Sidney Poitier, the play is a captivating study of society's pretensions exposed by one man's self-confidence and imagination.

The cast for Six Degrees of Separation in London features Obi Abili as 'Paul', Anthony Head as 'Ouisa Kittredge' and Lesley Manville as 'Flan Kittredge' along with Zoe Boyle, Sarah Goldberg, Michael Goldsmith, Ilan Goodman, Stephen Greif, John Moraitis, Kevin Kiely, Luke Neal, Steven Pacey, Ian Redford, Sara Stewart, Paul Stocker and Kevin Trainor. The production is directed by David Grindley with designs by Jonathan Fensom, lighting by Jason Taylor and sound by Gregory Clarke.

Please Note: This production contains nudity. The age recommendation is 14+ (at the discretion of the parent/guardian)

Six Degrees of Separation was originally seen on Broadway in 1990 when it played for nearly 500 performances. It was presented in London two years later in 1992 at the Royal Court Theatre with Stockard Channing, Paul Shelley and Adrian Lester before transferring to the Comedy Theatre and winning the Laurence Olivier Award for 'Best Play'. In 1993 it was adapted as a film starring Stockard Channing - reprising her stage role - along with Donald Sutherland and Will Smith. This new production will be the first major London revival of the play in almost 18 years.

"Having been picked up on the street by a preppy gay guy, Paul demands lessons in elocution and social niceties. Soon, pretending to be the Harvard-educated son of Sidney Poitier, he proceeds to charm the socks and wallets off a string of wealthy Upper East Siders... The trouble is, this revival leaves you feeling slightly cheated yourself, as if there's something tricksy about the play per se. Guare's storytelling keeps changing tack - with flashbacks - in a manner that feels flashy. And the rich socialites' petulant kids, who Paul claims were classmates, are annoyingly sketchy cameos... And yet, the play's titular concept - the idea that we're all connected to everyone else via half-a-dozen (or fewer) social links - does cut startlingly through class strata and racial divides." The Independent on Sunday

"John Guare's play, based on the true story of a charismatic youth who inveigles his way into the lives of a smart Manhattan couple by pretending to be the son of Sidney Poitier, was made into a 1993 film starring Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland. Shorn of these two engaging stars and Jerry Goldsmith's stylish score, David Gindley's stage production is, alas, a strangely laborious affair... It is, however, Obi Abili, in the pivotal role of the society conman, who proves the play's undoing: he simply hasn't the 'elegance' about him that the couple talk about, and this makes it hard to understand how he could pull off such an audacious deception." The Sunday Telegraph

"Based on a true story, and a big hit when it first opened, John Guare's smart comedy satirises New York society as greedy, obsessed with celebrity culture and ignorant of the true value of art... In these days of social-networking sites, the paradox that we are all connected, but are becoming increasingly isolated, is even more pertinent now than it was in 1990. Unfortunately, both the play and David Grindley's hurried production talk of the emotional chasm that lies beneath the glittering surface, but never let one feel it." The Sunday Times

Six Degrees of Separation in London at the Old Vic Theatre previewed from 7 January 2010, opened on 19 January 2010 and closes on 3 April 2010.