Prize play
Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize winning play “The Skin- of Our Teeth” opens at the Mill Theatre, Wise Street, on March 20 with a 10-day season. Directed by Martin Phelan this is the fourth production by Riccarton Players since the beginning of the year. Written on the eve of the United States’ entrance into World War Two, “The Skin of Our Teeth” is a comic parody of human history with a strong allegorical message that is delivered in a witty and apposite manner. The play depicts the events of home life set against the vast dimensions of time and
place. Prehistoric creatures, mythic characters, and > global catastrophes lend a comic touch while bringing .q a poignant message to a nuclear age. j • “The Skin of Our Teeth” > was intended to ridicule the theatrical conventions in vogue during the 19405, and draws its inspiration from -j “Finnegan’s Wake” by ' James Joyce. Wilder makes use of both abstract and conventional settings. The most popular of all I Wilder’s plays, “The Skin of Our Teeth” was an out- » standing success when initially toured throughout New Zealand by Laurence Olivier and Vivian Leigh.
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Bibliographic details
Press, 13 March 1985, Page 20
Word Count
190Prize play Press, 13 March 1985, Page 20
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