MARRIAGE BUREAU: The true story of Britain’s first dating agency
Starting Tuesday 31st January, CTW is debuting a brand-new play, MARRIAGE BUREAU, by Essex-based TV and radio dramatist and author Richard Kurti, based on the book of the same name written by Mary Oliver, the young entrepreneur behind Britain’s first dating agency.
Marriage Bureau runs from 31st January to 4th February 2023 at the Old Court Theatre in Chelmsford.
A TalkBack Q&A with Richard Kurti, the cast and crew will take place after the performance on Friday 3rd February (last few tickets remaining!) and Richard will also be attending the opening night on the 31st, followed by drinks in the Old Court Theatre bar.
More details and tickets are available via https://ctw.org.uk/marriage-bureau/ or click on the Ticketsource link below to go direct to the purchase page.
Aided by her business partner Heather Jenner, the 25-year-old pair opened Britain’s first Marriage Bureau in Bond Street on 17th April 1939. Mary wrote her memoirs of the Bureau’s early years in 1942, detailing its inception, their many clients and stumbling blocks along the way. Her detailed, first-person account veers from fondness for her clients to hilarious, snippy criticism; but sadly, most likely through wartime paper rationing, the book was never republished and disappeared into obscurity.
Kurti (Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal for Sky TV, I, Robot, The Martian Chronicles and Mahabharata Now for Radio 4) stumbled upon the book in 2016 as part of research for another project and was inspired by Mary’s witty and acerbic account of match-making in wartime London. Despite the decades between them, she and the Tinder generation clearly had a lot in common and Kurti resolved to make her voice heard by the 21st century. The book was republished, with new material from Richard in 2021.
Chelmsford Theatre Workshop is no stranger to staging new plays by upcoming and established writers – But how did Marriage Bureau find its way to Chelmsford?
Marriage Bureau’s director, Helen Quigley, has been involved with CTW for nearly twenty years, so when submissions opened for the 2022-2023 season, Helen had one play in mind: “I’ve worked with Richard on several radio dramas for the BBC and Audible, so when he asked if I’d narrate the audiobook, I got to know Mary and her clients very well. From there, it was clear to me that the Old Court should be the play’s first home. CTW’s Marriage Bureau will be the first “workshopped” version of the play and the amateur theatre premiere.”
Richard says, “Helen’s reading of the audiobook was so spot on, it was clear she had an instinctive understanding of the source material, so when she suggested directing the premiere of the stage play at CTW, I was delighted. CTW is overflowing with talent and experience, and the passion they bring to their productions is evident in their successful and ambitious shows. Mary and Heather would be delighted to be in such good hands!”
CTW 