CAST & SCENES Mrs. Gascoyne…....…....…....…....…....…....…....…....…....….SANDRA SHIPLEY Joe, her son…....…....…....…....….........…....…....…....…....…CIARAN BOWLING Luther, her son…....…....….............…....…....…....…....…....…....…TOM COINER Minnie, Luther’s wife…....…....…....…....…....…....…....…....….AMY BLACKMAN Mrs. Purdy, a neighbor…....…....…....…....…....…....…....…......….POLLY MCKIE Cabman..........................…....…....…....…....…....…….SETH ANDREW BRIDGES UNDERSTUDIES Understudies never substitute for the listed performers unless a specific announcement is made at the time of the appearance. Joe, Luther - SETH ANDREW BRIDGES; Minnie - KATIE FANNING; Mrs. Purdy, Mrs. Gascoyne - TINA STAFFORD
ACT I (90 minutes) Scene 1: Mrs. Gascoyne’s kitchen. About 2:30pm on a Tuesday in winter. Scene 2: The kitchen of Luther Gascoyne’s new home. Towards 5:00pm, same day. Scene 3: The same evening, around 11:00pm. ACT II (45 minutes) Scene 1: A fortnight later, afternoon. Scene 2: The following morning about 5am.
ABOUT THE DIALECT STRIFE AND SPEECH IN THE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW by Amy Stoller, Dialect Designer & Dramaturg The Daughter-in-Law takes place during the Great Unrest, in the coal-mining district of the Erewash Valley, which straddles the shared border of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire; more specifically in Eastwood, the town where D.H. Lawrence was born and raised. As Act I begins, rising dissatisfaction among coal-miners has resulted in a national strike vote, the walkout to begin in six days’ time. The national tension is mirrored in the personal tension between newlyweds Luther and Minnie. Like “the mesters and the men,” both are from Eastwood, and yet from different worlds. Our play is written largely in an East Midlands dialect known as Ilson (from Ilkeston, a town near Eastwood). It is a language rich in Old English holdovers and a lingering Norse influence from the centuries when this part of England was under the rule of Vikings. It is the language of Lawrence’s father, a barely literate miner, shared by the Gascoynes and Mrs Purdy. In contrast, while Minnie’s accent is local, her language reflects the more standard grammar and vocabulary of Lawrence’s mother, who— like Minnie—was better educated than her husband and cherished middle-class aspirations.