October 2001 – The Heiress

  • Playwright – Henry James
  • Location – Harrogate Theatre Main Stage
  • Director – Ian Rattee

Cast

  • Maria – Gill McVey
  • Dr Austen Sloper – Alan Harwood
  • Mrs Lavinia Penniman – Audrey Shaw
  • Catherine – Catherine Noland
  • Mrs Elizabeth Almond – Judith Simpson
  • Marian Almond – Vicky Day
  • Arthur Townsend – John Noland
  • Morris Townsend – Lawrence Conyers
  • Mrs Montgomery – Jenny Humphreys

Catherine Sloper is a shy, ungainly woman who does not easily fit into the social whirl of fashionable 1850s New York. She is a source of anguish to her father, who has tried and failed to turn her into an accomplished, elegant young lady.

In turn, Catherine has spent her life trying desperately to please the father she loves, yet seems to elicit only his disapproval.

Into this world comes Morris Townsend, a handsome but penniless young man who sweeps Catherine off her feet in a whirl of romance. But is it her good and gentle heart that he desires or her substantial inheritance?

This is a great romantic drama, based on Henry James’ novel “Washington Square”.