Welcome to Breaking Light Productions’ presentation of Gentlemen Never Tell in association with the MCTP!

A comedic spinoff of the ongoing Hawking story, we follow Mrs. Hawking’s other nephew, Justin, as he trots the globe having romantic adventures in the spirit of P.G. Wodehouse. While on a business trip to Venice during Masquerade, dashing bisexual rake Justin Hawking is there to make deals and make love, not necessarily in that order. But behind the masks of the ball is more intrigue than he bargained for, and Justin must interrupt his dalliances long enough to stick up for those without his privilege to float through life.

Friday, January 21st and Saturday, January 22nd — 7:30pm
Sunday, January 23rd — 2pm

There will be one ten-minute intermission. Please keep your mask on while in the theater.

Scenes

Act 1, scene 1 – Nathaniel Hawking’s study, present

Act 1, scene 2 – the entrance to the Broadwater’s house, four years ago

Act 1, scene 3 – the Broadwater’s atrium, later that day

Act 1, scene 4 – the Broadwater atrium, later that night

Act 1, scene 5 – Justin’s room, the next day

Act 1, scene 6 – the Broadwater’s tea room, later that day

Act 1, scene 7 – the hallway outside the Broadwater’s tea room, contiguous

Act 1, scene 8 – Nathaniel Hawking’s study, present

Intermission

Act 2, scene 1 – the Broadwater’s ballroom, four years ago

Act 2, scene 2 – the Broadwater’s tea room, contiguous

Act 2, scene 3 – Cassius’s room, the next morning

Act 2, scene 4 – Mrs. Broadwater’s room, later that evening

Act 2, scene 5 – the Broadwater’s tea room, the next day

Act 2, scene 6 – the entrance to the Broadwater’s house, later that day

Act 2, scene 7 – Act 1, scene 8 – Nathaniel Hawking’s study, present

Cast

MR. JUSTIN HAWKING, a charming globetrotting rake – Eric Cheung
MR. PETER MORGAN, his straight man of a valet – Pieter Wallace
MISS ROSALINE PEMBROKE, a fellow bon vivant traveler – Naomi Floro
MISS CORA LITTLE, plucky maid companion to Annabel – Elizabeth Ross
The Honorable MR. CASSIUS EVANS, a socialite and Justin’s old flame – Andy LeBlanc
THEO PRYCE, Lord Cornin, the doltish groom-to-be – Andrew Prentice
The Honorable MISS ANNABEL BROADWATER , the embittered bride-to-be – Arielle Kaplan
MRS. EMMELINE BROADWATER, Annabel’s guardian aunt – Jenn Benfield
MR. MARTIN QUINCY, Mrs. Broadwater’s butler – Jason Tilton
MR. NATHANIEL HAWKING, Justin’s younger brother – Christian Krenek

Crew

Written by Phoebe Roberts and Bernie Gabin
Directed by Phoebe Roberts
Technical direction by Berne Gabin
Stage managed by Cari Keebaugh
Sound Design by Neil Marsh
Sound Engineering by Jason Keuhl, Nick Silverman, and Jason LaRocca
Photography by Dan Fox
Mask design by Circe Rowan

About Gentlemen Never Tell

You’ll notice that our play opens with one fond brother asking another, “I’ve heard you’ve had a hard year. Can I tell you a funny story to cheer you up?”

This is, we assure you, no accident. 

If you’ve been following the Hawking saga so far, you know we’re up to a fairly dark point in the tale. We’ve always been determined to let the story hit whatever peaks and valleys made it the most compelling, but when it came time to write the next new show… we found we wanted to do as Justin did. Tell you a funny story, in hope of making you smile a bit. 

So we decided to do our very first spinoff, to take the characters and world of Mrs. Hawking and explore a different corner of it– to see if it could stand up to a very different kind of story, with a very different tone. GENTLEMEN NEVER TELL takes its inspiration from classic romances and comedies of manners, in the vein of Shakespeare, Noel Coward, and particularly P.G. Wodehouse. It stars Justin Hawking, the elder brother of one of our three leads Nathaniel, who you may remember all the way back from his debut in part III: BASE INSTRUMENTS. The character was charming and funny, and we loved him so much we’ve been waiting for a chance to bring him back. 

It also gave us a chance to do what we at Team Hawking love to do, approach our classic genres with love, but also with some fresh perspective. Comedies of manners have always been about satirizing the social order, but we wanted to take that one step further. You’ll notice, despite their posh breeding and their fancy ways, everybody in this story is chafing against the restrictions and expectations of society. We wanted to make their wheeling and bucking humorous, but we also wanted to use it layer some meaning into the comedy.

Because even when people are in tough spots, they figure it out. Just as Team Hawking did, putting together a show in the middle of a pandemic. Just as we all do. 

For more adventures in Victorian London…

… please visit our website and watch the first installment of the Hawking series, Mrs. Hawking Part 1.

Stay tuned for future Hawking capers!

Special Thanks

We at Breaking Light Productions would like to thank everyone at MCTP for their support!

Also thanks to the Apollinaire Theater in Chelsea, MA!

Follow the story of Mrs. Hawking  

On the web: www.mrshawking.com
On Facebook: 
www.facebook.com/ladyschampionoflondon
On Instagram: 
@mrshawkingweb
On TV Tropes: Mrs Hawking (Theatre)
 

This has been a Breaking Light Production