Press Release: Happy Birthday

Metro Theatre Vancouver is excited to present Beverley Cross’s adaptation of the French play Pyjama Pour Six – Happy Birthday. Directed by Kayt Roth, it will be on stage at Metro, Friday February 11th – Sunday the February 27th, 2022. 

Set in the 1980’s, Happy Birthday is theatrical comfort food – light funny, and a great way to beat the post COVID blues. 

Bernard has foolishly asked his mistress, Brigit, to his home on her birthday despite the fact his wife Jacqueline is present. He has also invited his oldest friend, Robert and asks him to pretend Brigit is his mistress. Robert refuses as he is having an affair with Jacqueline, but Bernard cunningly involves him anyway. By chance, a temporary maid engaged for the evening arrives when Jacqueline and Bernard are out and her name is also Brigit. Robert mistakes her for Bernard’s girl friend. Frantic complications in which identities, plots and counter plots and bedrooms are exchanged with ever increasing confusion transpire until an unexpected ending makes everyone happy including the maid who has acquired a mink coat and lots of money.

“ This is not your typical show about men behaving badly – the women are just as dynamic and calculating as their counterparts.” Everyone has their own agenda, leaving many guessing, smiling and wondering how this Birthday could possibly end. ” Kayt Roth, Director.

Cast and Production Team

CAST

JACQUELINE ………………………………………………… Emma Greenhalgh
ROBERT ……………………………………………………….. Josh Zumstein
BERNARD …………………………………………………….. Daryl Hutchings
BRIGIT 1 ……………………………………………………….. Monika Curman
BRIGIT 2 ……………………………………………………….. Isabella Ciccone

PRODUCTION TEAM

DIRECTOR………………………………………. Kayt Roth
PRODUCTION MANAGER ……………….. Heather Stewart
STAGE MANAGER …………………………… Mark MacDonald
SET DESIGNER ……………………………….. Heather Stewart
COSTUME DESIGNER ……………………… Claire Turner
SOUND DESIGNER ………………………….. Kayt Roth
BOARD OPERATOR ………………………… Lavina Schafer
LIGHTING DESIGNER ………………………. Les Erskine
GENERAL MANAGER ………………………. Les Erskine
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR ……………………. Les Erskine
HEAD CARPENTER ………………………….. Robin Richardson
SCENIC PAINTING/SET DECORATION .. Meredith Fraser
PUBLICITY………………………………………. Debra Danny
GRAPHIC DESIGN……………………….…… Barbara LaBounta

Reviews & Being Said

Excellent show, as always
Metro always  puts on great shows
Marvelous
this silliness is just what is needed
loved it – seeing it again
great, so happy you are getting through this pandemic
awesome afternoon
Fantastic
That was fun
Really enjoyed Happy Birthday

So enjoyed the costumes – the Dresses were just perfect for the era

• It was good fun and a good laugh
  We need more joy like this right now.

Directors Talk

Kayt Roth and the cast of Happy Birthdayheld and informal Q&A session immediately after the show on Friday, February 18^th . They covered such topics as:
      • The challenges of mounting a production during a pandemic
      • Learning an accent
      • Older scripts performed in modern times can still be true to intent
There is no additional charge, just stay in your seats or move up a bit closer to the stage. The session will last approximately 20 minutes.

SYNOPSIS

Happy Birthday takes place in 1980, in an English countryside home. Its owners, Bernard and Jacqueline, are hosting a dinner for their good friend Robert, who has come from town for the weekend. It is a fine affair, complete with a temporary maid named Brigit to cook their meal.
    Unbeknownst to Bernard, Jacqueline is having an affair with Robert, and is looking forward to some quality time, while nervous Robert is dubious. Then Bernard asks Robert for a favour. He too has been unfaithful with another woman, also named Brigit, and has invited Brigit 2 for the weekend. To make his plan work, Bernard conscripts his friend into covering for him by claiming the young woman is, in fact, Robert’s girlfriend. Overruling Robert’s protests, Bernard promises that Brigit 2 will arrive while he and Jacqueline are out shopping.
    Robert fails to escape before Brigit 1’s arrival, carrying her maid’s gear and ready to work. But since Bernard never mentioned the maid, Robert mistakes this Brigit to be his friend’s mistress, and fills her in on the details of his life. Sensing an opportunity, Brigit 1 agrees to holding up the ruse – for double the going rate. Robert agrees, then introduces his ‘girlfriend’ to Jacqueline and Bernard. Bernard is aghast (this is not the woman he’s in love with), and Jacqueline enraged (at Robert’s supposed infidelity). Bernard chastises Robert for his mistake, who pleads ignorance to no avail. Now left with little choice, Bernard must now go along with the mistake while trying to find another solution.
    In the meantime, Brigit 1 desperately wants to do her job. Her offers to help in the kitchen or make the bed are spun by the men into a career as an actress to explain her foibles away to Jacqueline. Then while the ladies work in the kitchen, Brigit 2 arrives, throwing herself into Robert’s arms per Bernard’s previous instructions. She is unimpressed when told that she must now pretend to be the maid. Jacqueline finds a receipt for a fur coat, suspecting that Bernard has bought it for Brigit 1. Wanting to spend time with Brigit 2 as it’s her birthday, Bernard coerces Robert into convincing Jacqueline that the young lady should be invited to join them for cocktails, dinner, and dancing. Robert manages this by informing Jacqueline that Brigit 1 is not his lover, but rather his niece.
    After an evening of being foiled, Bernard asks Robert to keep watch so he can sneak into Brigit 2’s bedroom. Jacqueline seizes the opportunity but Robert, not wanting their affair to be discovered, tries to warn Bernard. Later, when she discovers him alone, Brigit 2 enlists Robert’s help in making Bernard jealous, and they fall for one another. So Robert continues to dodge Jacqueline, even after Bernard confesses that he knows about their affair. Meanwhile Brigit 1, still playing her part, is shuffled from room to room to cover everyone else’s tracks, exacting raises whenever the stakes change. Robert and Brigit 2 run off together, Jacqueline and Bernard are back where they started, and Brigit 1 heads for home with a stack of notes and an unexpected gift.