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Langham play about choices

Langham Theatre presents Alan Bennett's People on Jan. 15
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Elizabeth Whitmarsh

If you were in danger of losing your home, and had to make a decision about saving it. Would you sell off your belongings? Turn your home into a business? Or allow a production company to shoot a movie using your home as the backdrop?

People, a play by Alan Bennett, is a comedy surrounding Dorothy, an aging widow who, in an effort to save her grand manor, allows a film to be shot in her home for a fee.

As the day unfolds and the scenes are shot, it becomes clear the film is a porn flick.

“Dorothy is in her 70s and has been a recluse for the past 40 years in a crumbling, decaying mansion,” said director Tony Cain.

“It’s written, to some extent, from the viewpoint of Alan Bennett’s philosophy on the direction England is going politically.”

The underlying tone being that all things have a price.

Rehearsals are underway and the cast and crew have been working hard. “It’s a complex play with many technical challenges,” said Cain referring to transforming Dorothy’s fading mansion into a brilliantly decorated salon before the audience’s eyes.

The subject matter – a porno – may have made production tricky. “There is some nudity but nothing outrageous,” said Cain. “It’s all done with an element of taste.”

The production runs Jan. 15 to 31.  Tickets are $21 with special pricing for seniors and students.

For more information, please go online to langhamtheatre.ca.