THE BORAGE PIGEON AFFAIR
by James Saunders
Directed by Bill McLaughlin
Cast:
Howard Benbrook, Ann Bevan, Barbara Butters, Carla Field, Keith Godman, Michael Green, Richard Halberstadt, John Holloway, Laurence Irvin, Mary Jones, Laurence Philips, Gillian Redhead, John Robb, Garth Spiers, Elizabeth Storer, Julian Tayler, Roger De Toney, Sebastian Verghese, Tony Worth, Philip Wright
THE AUTHOR
James Saunders (1925–2004) was one of the most distinctive British dramatists to emerge in the late 1950s and became particularly closely associated with The Questors. His early work combined theatrical experiment, philosophical enquiry and an acute ear for the ambiguities of language, leading to his recognition as a British exponent of the Theatre of the Absurd.
His Festival contributions were Ends and Echoes (1960), Next Time I’ll Sing to You (1962), The Pedagogue and Who Was Hilary Maconochie? (1963), The Borage Pigeon Affair (1969), Hans Kohlhaas (1972) and The Island (1975).
Next Time I’ll Sing to You transferred to the West End and New York and won him an Evening Standard award.
The Questors continued presenting and reviving Saunders’s work for more than forty years.
James Saunders Interview (Questopics 1966)
Peter Whelan and Larry Irvin remember James Saunders
In Fond Memory of James Saunders
James Saunders' Plays at The Questors
James Saunders on WIKIPEDIA
THE PLAY
Of THE BORAGE PIGEON AFFAIR James Saunders said:
"It is a sort of farce and a kind of happening—possibly. But pigeons come into the story—if you can call it a story—and other birds as well—in fact, some of the prettiest birds in Questors. Borage, of course, is a town, somewhere in England, or elsewhere. The play's action is a day in the life of the town—a surprising and eventful day, as it turns out.
Director Bill McLaughlin said that the script had a life of its own "We never know what it's going to do next—in fact, it's rather taken over from us. It could be completely out of control by the time we open—and with a bit of luck it will be. It will probably surprise me on the first night as much as the audience!"
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
PRESS REACTION
Widely regarded as the Festival's outstanding success, The Borage Pigeon Affair was praised for its wit, theatrical inventiveness and topical satire. Garry O'Connor, writing in the Financial Times, admired Saunders' originality despite reservations about its caricatured characters, while Michael Billington, in The Times, applauded its theatrical flair but felt the satire sometimes outweighed dramatic realism. The Stage and the Thames Valley Times were among its most enthusiastic supporters.
QUESTORS ARCHIVES
THE BORAGE PIGEON AFFAIR
James Saunders (1925–2004) was one of the most distinctive British dramatists to emerge in the late 1950s and became particularly closely associated with The Questors. His early work combined theatrical experiment, philosophical enquiry and an acute ear for the ambiguities of language, leading to his recognition as a British exponent of the Theatre of the Absurd.