Return to archive index The Living
by Anthony Clarvoe
Directed by Albi Gorn

The Bills of Mortality

"We learned what holds the world together - in the plague"

Mark Cashman as Dr Edward Harman The first production of our first full season was nothing if not ambitious. The Living had been premiered by the Denver Center Theatre Company a few years earlier. It was an AIDS allegory set at the time of the great plague in London in the 1680s. The allusions were obvious - a population hit by a disease for which there was no apparent cure and no explanation. The result, then as now, was the attribution of the cause to anything and everything up to and including an Act of God. Angus Hepburn as John Graunt

The story is told by John Graunt, a mathematician, who worked out the epidemiology of the plague. In fact, his work on plotting and predicting the course of the plague is recogniped as the first application of statistics to the study of disease. It is a powerful play chronicling the fears and hopes of a cross-section of the population from the Mayor to the Church leaders to the common poor. And it showed people at their best and their worst. Angus Hepburn: Graunt; Whitney Chapman: Sarah

The set was massive (and expensive) - a construction of levels and steps that took weeks to build. It had a wonderful rough-hewn look with interesting angles and was backed with hessian drapes.

The show was a co-production with Logodaedaly, Albi Gorns own company and after we finished the first run at Paramount East, we took the show to the Schoolhouse Theater at Croton Falls. The show was a great success with the audiences and was a stiking opening to our first season.



The Living
by Anthony Clarvoe
directed by Albi Gorn


Cast in order of appearance

Dr. Edward Harman............
Sarah Chandler..................
John Graunt.......................
Elizabeth Finch..................
Man 1................................
Man 2................................
Man 3................................
Sir John Lawrence...............
Lord Brounker.....................
Dr. Goddard........................
Sawyer...............................
Reverend Mills.....................
Reverend Thomas Vincent....
Constable...........................
Jamey................................
Paul...................................
Robert................................
Andrew...............................
Bill.....................................
Bounker's Clerk...................
Lawrence's Clerk.................
A doctor's mask and clothing, ca.1700 Mark Cashman
Whitney Chapman
Angus Hepburn
Nancy Sinclaire
Ari Tomais
Craig Williams
Edward Dowdall
Jeff Scott
Howard Sponseller
Edward Dowdall
Ari Tomais
Craig Williams
Ashton Crosley
Craig Williams
Edward Dowdall
Ari Tomais
Craig Williams
Edward Dowdall
Ari Tomais
Edward Dowdall
Craig Williams

the setting
In and around London
in the 1680s.



Production Crew

Director...............................
Technical Director................
Stage Manager.....................
Set......................................
Lighting...............................
Costumes............................
Sound.................................
Props..................................
Assistant Stage Manager......
Albi Gorn
Howard Sponseller
Leslie Lopez
Joseph Eagan
Bill Diamond
Chris Osborn
Mark Cashman
Barbara Reese
Doug Zimmer

Special thanks to: Kathleen Gould, Cara Caldwell Watson, Sunni Chu and The Yale Dramatic Association, Alex Morrow and Lone Star Graphics for prinitng the programs and posters, N. Dain's Sons Co.

Click here for a short sound clip - Graunt's final speech.

The Living was originally produced by the Denver Center Theatre Company, a division of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts - Donovan Marley, Artistic Director.



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Updated: - 16th Street Graphics Copyright © BAP 1999