Marriage Bureau
The true story of Britain’s first dating agency
PERFORMANCES
7:45 pm, Tuesday 31 January – Saturday 4 February 2023
The Old Court Theatre, Springfield Road, Chelmsford CM2 6JT.
There will be a Talkback Q&A with Richard Kurti and the cast and crew after the performance on Friday 3rd February.
ABOUT
“Girls sit at home waiting for ‘Mr Right’, a nostalgic fantasy invented by their parents. There has to be a better way.” Mary Oliver, 1939.
That better way was found in April 1939 when Mary Oliver and Heather Jenner took the business of dating into their own hands and set up the country’s first ever Marriage Bureau in London’s fashionable Bond Street.
This brand new comedy drama is based on that remarkable true story. Adapted from the memoirs of its founder Mary Oliver by TV and radio writer Richard Kurti, its successes, failures and clients are brought to life via this stage version of Mary’s witty and honest account.
Richard Kurti discusses the original Marriage Bureau book on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour with presenter Emma Barnett.
DIRECTOR: Helen Quigley
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Tom Bass
CAST
MARY OLIVER: Corinne Woodgate
HEATHER JENNER: Abigail Hunt
MRS BOYCE / MIDWIFE: Rachel Curren
INSPECTOR WALLACE / PURSER / HADDEN: Paul Warner
POSTMAN / LACEY / CAMERAMAN: Oliver Burns
KRAUSE / BARNWELL / SERGEANT: Chris Hudson
MILLICENT / PATRICIA / REVELLER: Claire Lloyd
SHAFER / HODGES / DEWLAP: Andrew Raymond
MISS BIRD / LUCY / JOURNALIST: Leanne Young
SYNOPSIS
Fleeing an arranged marriage in India, Mary Oliver throws her past life into the ocean winds on the ship home – And meets Heather Jenner, her future business partner.
Fed up with the limited mechanisms for meeting the opposite sex in the 1930s, Mary and Heather decide there has to be a better way. They come up with a system that allows them to match people together—likes, dislikes, core beliefs and values—and use that information to make introductions between complete strangers all looking to find love.
Unfortunately, their landlady is convinced it’s a cover for a brothel, polite society shuns their efforts, war in Europe is looming and managing the clients is like herding cats.
Well-behaved women seldom make history, and Mary and Heather refuse to give up, no matter what the obstacles.
Poster photography © Tom Moore Studios, NY. Poster design and VFX by Pete Hambling
Photos: ohthedrama.co.uk
CTW 