A fast-moving two-hander which uses the classic Hungarian folk tale of the reclusive wife-slayer as the starting point for a comic exploration of men, women and marriage.
He's a poet living in her flat. She's to marry an accountant who offers security. He launches into the story of Bluebeard, a cautionary tale once used to teach young girls to honor and obey their husbands. She just wants to plan her wedding. He persists. She becomes more and more involved in the tale of the innocent maiden who marries Bluebeard for his riches only to find herself unable to stay away from the small locked door with its terrible secret - the one place he has forbidden her to go. The play weaves story, music and song together as it moves beyond the bounds of the folk tale to probe the nature of love, then and now.
"Surviving Bluebeard ends in a series of small, honest and unexpected gestures of complete caring and vulnerability that will take your breath away. It is the perfect combination of superb performance in the service of outstanding material." Colin Maclean Edmonton Sun
"Imaginative, daring and provocative, this is a highly charged little masterpiece." Venue Magazine
Surviving Bluebeard is for adult audiences. It contains moments of discrete nudity. These moments are far from being salacious and are integral to the meaning of the piece. But these moments make the play unsuitable for most under 16s.
We play a version for older school-students in which we keep covered up
