Last updated October 23, 2008   

Humble Boy

by Charlotte Jones

directed by Harriet Nixon

Auditions: February 9, 10; callsbacks Feb. 11, 2009
Performances: May 1, 2, 8, 9, 10(m), 14, 15, 16, 2009

Humble Boy is a gentle, funny and thought-provoking play about about broken vows, failed homes - and the joys of bee-keeping.

Thirty-five year-old astrophysicist Felix Humble is called home from Cambridge by the death of his father; there, he faces his difficult and demanding mother, who is confronting challenges of her own.

The 2001 Royal Theatre production won the UK's Critics' Circle Theatre Award for best new play, and the

Rich with humanity and the search for love and acceptance, Humble Boy is by turns sad, funny and beautiful, set in a Cotswold country garden at the height of summer.

Some profanity. Suitable for mature teens and adults.

What the reviewers said:

" ... wonderfully whimsical and pointed dialogue, sometimes deliberately wounding, more often ironically oblique. The humor is airily offbeat, the science not over insistent, and the nomenclatural symbolism adds cheeky spice." - John Simon, New York

Cast of characters

• Felix Humble: Male, 30s. A theoretical astrophysicist with a pronounced stutter, rattled nerves and very bad fashion sense. He is constantly searching for a unified theory to explain everything.
• Flora Humble: Female, early 50s. Felix’s mother; a recently widowed former Playboy bunny, the quintessential queen bee. She feels trapped in her humdrum village existence and stings with a wicked wit.
• Mercy Lott: Female, 50s. A kind-hearted woman who only wants to please, a spinster. She circles orbit around Flora while harboring a secret crush on Flora’s lover, George Pye.
• Jim: Male, 60’s. A gardener, gentle and sweet; Felix’s sage.
• George Pye: Male, late 50’s to 60’s. A ‘not so subtle’ man with a strong presence. He owns all the latest gadgets and relishes in winning the affection of a beautiful woman like Flora.
• Rosie Pye: Female, 30s’. A single mother and former lover of Felix. She shares her father’s straightforwardness but with down-to-earth maturity.

For information about auditions, contact humbledirector@gmail.com

Director

An ACT-or since childhood, Harriet Nixon has directed The Santaland Diaries for ACT and is currently directing the 2008 production of Fawlty Towers. Her onstage roles have included leads in Hello, Dolly, Fuddy Meers, Hedda Gabler, Pirates of Penzance, and Educating Rita. She lives in Corvallis with her husband Dan.

Web links

• String theory information (The Elegant Universe)
• Tales from the Hive (bees)