n/a

Malvern: Festival Theatre, England, EUR >>>

2005

Ian Fricker productions

Oberon, London

2005

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drama

Adaptation

3

4

extras

Notes: from the novella by Henry James adapted in collobaration with Adolf Wood

Synopsis: Vevey, Switzerland 1878. Daisy Miller, a charming but uncultivated American girl travelling with her mother, younger brother and a Swiss courier, Eugenio, meets Frederick Winterbourne, an American expatriate, in the garden of an hotel on Lake Geneva. interbourne, who has lived in Europe for many years, is immediately captivated by Daisy, who delights in her power over him and teases him for being too 'stiff'. The Millers have no perception of the complex code that underlies behaviour in European society, and Winterbourne is astonished at the girl's innocence and her mother's unconcern, when Daisy accompanies him alone to the Château de Chillon. He defends her, however, to his patrician aunt, Mrs Costello, who denounces the Millers as 'common'. Some months later in Rome, where he is in pursuit of Mrs Walker, a widow and fellow American who lives in Geneva, and with whom he is infatuated, he meets the Millers again. Daisy has incensed the American colony by being seen constantly with Giovanelli, a third-rate Italian. Mrs Costello, now ensconced in her Rome apartment, tries to persuade Winterbourne not to see Daisy any more, as does Mrs Walker, who had at first taken Daisy under her wing, but now thinks her 'intrigue' has gone too far. Winterbourne refuses to take their advice and tries to warn Mrs Miller that Daisy is in danger of being ostracised. A few days later, against all advice, Daisy goes to the Colosseum with Giovanelli after dark, contracts 'Roman fever' (malaria), and dies. At her funeral Giovanelli tells Winterbourne that Daisy was ' the most beautiful young lady I ever saw, and the most amiable. . ..and the most innocent'. Winterbourne's consolation is Mrs Miller's disclosure that before her death Daisy's thoughts were for him.

Theatre Royal, Winchester

1995

The Cambridge Theatre Co

Samuel French, London

1995

If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

drama

Adaptation

5

5

-

Notes: novel by Edith Wharton

Synopsis: New York, 1903. Through the glamorous whirl of New York's high society, moves the beautiful, elegant and charming Lily Bart, the idol of men and the envy of women. Twenty-nine and unmarried, she is still the most prized house guest, ideally placed to win a husband. But Lily, self-willed and impetuous, is vulnerable. She craves excitement and luxury, but has no money; she seeks true love, yet sees marriage into wealth as her only salvation. How can she retain her principles in a world where everything has its price, and where every whim of the "fast" set she is part of, is gratified regardless of the cost. In seeking security through marriage, Lily is doomed from the start. She has only her loveliness to rely on. The expense of keeping up with her set is too much for her scanty means and she finds herself deeply in debt when her gambling passion overtakes her. dividends. Lily's life spirals downwards. She feels an increasing sense of horror at her inner disintegration, and thinks she is being pursued by the Furies. One final effort to earn a living in a milliner's shop proves too difficult for Lily. She pays one last visit to her friend, Selden, expressing her love for him, and then returns to her dingy lodgings, where she arranges for payment of her debt to Gus Trenor. She does this knowing that she faces unmitigated poverty. She takes an overdose of chloral. Selden arrives the next morning to declare his love for her, but he is too late.