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Butley
Butley originally appeared in 1976 with the cast made up of Allen Bates (Butley), Jessica Tandy, Richard O'Callaghan (Joey Keyston), Susan Engle (Anne Butley), Michael Byrne, Georgina Hale, Simon Rouse, John Savident, and Oliver Maguire. The American Film Theatre was a praiseworthy effort to present classic modern plays to a wide audience. The series petered out when it became clear that there was in fact not enough of an audience to make the venture viable. This left us with a group of films, or rather filmed plays, of varying quality but always interesting. "Butley" was one of the best. The problem with Simon Gray's very engaging play is that the characters are people that hardly anyone would want to meet. They are all deeply flawed and a quite unlikable bunch. So, we tend to have no sympathy for them what-so-ever. And Gray, intentionally or not, does not allow the viewer to connect emotionally with his characters. He instead wants us to watch as Ben Butley's life slowly disintegrates before our eyes. Despite the enforced detachment, it still remains a fascinating process, thanks to Pinter's precise direction, Gray's very sharp dialogue and Alan Bates delivering an astonishingly virtuoso performance.It's one of those extremely rare performances in which the actor becomes completely engulfed by the character. It's a sight to behold; almost scary at times. This alone makes "Butley" an unforgettable experience. After years of oblivion, the series is finally and thankfully being released.
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Show Biography - Butley
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 Two-time Tony Award-winner Nathan Lane will perform the title role in Butley, a dark comedy about a brilliant, self-destructive literary professor whose wife and lover both desert him, all in the same day. When Ben Butley's estranged wife Anne announces her intention to marry a mutual friend, and his live-in lover and office mate Joey moves out to join another man, Butley is even more out of sorts than usual. Irascible, manic, infuriating, and above all witty, Butley is one of contemporary theatre's greatest tragicomic roles. Lane was also the winner of both the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle Awards.
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For more information , enjoy the official homepage of Butley
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