''Don Juan in Soho'' is a play by the British

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter. Early life Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benjam ...

after Molière (see ''

Dom Juan ''Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre'' ("Don Juan or The Feast of the Stone tatue) is a five-act 1665 comedy by Molière based upon the Spanish legend of Don Juan Tenorio. The aristocrat Dom Juan is a rake who seduces, marries, and abandons Elvir ...

'').

Production history

Original production

Directed by Michael Grandage, it premiered at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London on 6 December 2006, running until 10 February 2007, starring Rhys Ifans as the lordly Don Juan, a priapic lothario cutting a swathe through modern Soho.

Stephen Wight Stephen Wight (born Stephen Gray; 27 February 1980) is an English actor. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in the 2007 production of the play ''Dealer's Choice'', and had a minor role as Ben in the British drama ...

played his sidekick Stan, his "hilarious little Munchkin, keeper of the Blackberry" on which DJ stores a record of his 5,000 conquests; a performance which was to help Wight to win the Evening Standard Theatre Award 2007 for Outstanding Newcomer. Don Juan's wife was played by

Laura Pyper Laura Pyper is a Northern Irish actress, known for portraying Ella Dee in the second season of '' Hex'', Jane Fairfax in '' Emma'' and Lexine Murdoch in the video game '' Dead Space: Extraction''. She also played Lesley Howell in '' The Secret' ...

while David Ryall portrayed his father, Louis. Adam Cork provided techno-Mozartian musical interludes. Of the production, Benedict Nightingale in '' The Times'' wrote "Dont ask me how Ifans' DJ manages urbanely to pick up a posh girl while having fellatio with an un-posh one in a hospital corridor. Let's just say he does — and it's hilarious". There was critical praise for Christopher Oram's settings. "Keep an eye on that famous statue. Like so much in this production, it will astonish you".

West End

A new production opened in the West End theatre at the Wyndham's Theatre on 28 March 2017, following previews from 17 March. It was directed by

and starred David Tennant as Don Juan, Gawn Grainger as Louis and

Adrian Scarborough Adrian Philip Scarborough (born 10 May 1968) is an English actor. He has appeared in films including ''The Madness of King George'' (1994), ''Gosford Park'' (2001), ''Vera Drake'' (2004), ''The History Boys'' (2006), ''The King's Speech'' (2010 ...

as Stan. The production ended its run on 10 June 2017. The production received mixed reviews. Commenting on the performances in his 4 star review for The Guardian, Michael Billington commented "Tennant’s performance that gives the play a disturbing ambivalence...Scarborough is equally good as his potato-faced sidekick". In his 2 star review for The Daily Telegraph, Dominic Cavendish was less favourable, stating "Not even David Tennant in a posing pouch can save this flaccid comedy...A red-light from me, then, for this flaccid affair although, for some, the temptation to ogle Tennant in the flesh will prove too great to resist."

Sources

{{Don Juan Theatre Record 2006 Plays by Patrick Marber 2006 plays Works based on the Don Juan legend