The Author : Harvey Fierstein is probably better known to British audiences as
an actor ("Independence Day", Robin Williams' brother in "Mrs Doubtfire").
As an author, he is best known for "Torch Song Trilogy" , 3 linked plays about
the life of a gay man, also made into a film with Fierstein in the lead role.
The Play : "On Tidy Endings" is the third part of a further trilogy of plays "Safe Sex".
Following the death of Collin from AIDS, his ex-wife Marion and his lover Arthur meet, supposedly to sign documents. Over the period of the play they become aware of each others need - and right - to grieve. Warm and funny sharing of memories of their common lover are interspersed with deeply moving moments; Arthur reliving Collin's dying, and the realisation that the spectre of AIDS will haunt one of them for ever.
Why did I choose it? One of the first plays I was involved with in amateur dramatics was "Widows and Children First" (from "Torch Song Trilogy") with an American Little Theater group. I have had a love of Fierstein's work since then, and this play has always simmered at the back of my mind, saying "one day".Although his plays have a definite gay theme, they make one aware that we are connected by common emotions and feelings, rather than divided by sexual preference. It is not an easy play to cast, needing sensitive handling, and it had to wait until I felt I had found actors capable of doing it justice. I hope we succeeded.
Carol Hennessy