NT : What's On : Productions : The Heiress
The Heiress
by Ruth and Augustus Goetz (1947)
based on the novel Washington Square by Henry James
Set in fashionable 1850s New York, The Heiress is a subtle tragedy of love and innocence betrayed.
At twenty-two, Catherine Sloper (Eve Best) is neither clever nor beautiful, but to her delight she finds herself courted by the handsome and charming Morris Townsend. Is it her good and gentle heart that he desires, or her inheritance.
For her widowed aunt, Lavinia (Maggie Steed), it is an opportunity to engineer a clandestine romance.
For Doctor Sloper (Alan Howard), keeping his daughter from her lover is a duty, a challenge and an entertainment....
Philip Franks recently directed Private Lives at the National and on tour.
There is an Education Workpack for this production.
photo of Eve Best & Ben Porter by Ivan Kyncl
Lyttelton Theatre and on tour
Cast credits:
: Arthur Townsend
: Catherine Sloper
: Dr Sloper
: Maria
: Marian Almond
: Morris Townsend
: Mrs Elixabeth Almond
: Mrs Lavinia Penniman
: Mrs Montgomery
: Alan Howard
: Ann Bell
: Ben Porter
: Caroline Faber
: Eve Best
: Liza Sadovy
: Maggie Steed
: Sophie Shaw
: Vincent Penfold
Production credits:
Director: Philip Franks
Designer: Gideon Davey
Lighting
Designer: Simon Mills
Music: Matthew Scott
The Heiress finished on: 4 July 2000
