Man of the moment

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Data
Title: Man of the moment
Original language: English
Author: Alan Ayckbourn
Publishing year: 1988
Premiere: 1988
Place of premiere: Stephen Joseph Theater , Scarborough
people
  • Vic Parks
  • Trudy, his wife
  • Cindy, her seven year old daughter
  • Sharon Giffin, the nanny
  • Ruy, your Spanish gardener
  • Marta, Ruy's wife
  • Kenny Collins, Vic's manager
  • Jill Rillington
  • Douglas Beechey

Man of the Moment is a play by Alan Ayckbourn . It premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theater , Scarborough in May 1988 .

action

Douglas Beechey, a former bank clerk, travels to the Vic Parks villa in Spain for a television documentary. Vic Parks is a famous television star who achieved media success only because he robbed the bank Douglas worked for years ago. The meeting of the two was arranged by Jill Rillington, who wants to make a documentary about their lives. She's hoping for a sensational film about a jealous Mr. Beechey, who can't cope with the fact that the criminal had such a great success after his crime. But it turns out that Douglas is a humble person who has nothing but admiration for Vic Parks. Vic, who appears in children's programs, among other things, is a superficial, arrogant person who treats his employees and his wife Trudy badly. Sharon, the overweight nanny in the parks, is in love with Vic, who only mocks her. Eventually, Sharon wants to kill herself by trying to drown herself in the pool. Trudy and Vic get into an argument because he doesn't want to save the girl. With the intervention of Douglas, Vic falls into the pool, where he drowns. The event is ultimately falsified in Jill's television report. After that, Vic is said to have tried to save Sharon and drowned in the process. The villain of the play is made a hero by the media.

Go to content

Ayckbourn criticizes the sensation-hungry media with the play. In particular, he relates his criticism to television. Jill Rillington, a prototypical reporter and television producer, knows no morals, she is only interested in a good story. The truth doesn't seem to matter as long as the program is successful with the audience. The viewer of the play often only realizes afterwards what reality in the play is and what was only staged by Jill and her film crew.

literature

  • Alan Ayckbourn: Man of the Moment , Samuel French Ltd, 1991. ISBN 0573018332