Kinetic Theatre stages 'Illustrious Invalid' world premiere in Pittsburgh

Kinetic Theatre is going meta with its next production, the world premiere of actor/playwright Simon Bradbury’s “The Illustrious Invalid.”

The comedic romp, inspired by French playwright Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid,” will be staged Thursday through June 26 at City Theatre Mainstage, 1300 Bingham St. in Pittsburgh’s South Side.

Moliere’s 1673 work depicts a rich hypochondriac named Argan who wants to save on medical bills by marrying his daughter off to a young doctor, despite her being in love with another man.

Bradbury’s work travels back to that same year to the final day in the life of the Molière, who, knowing death is near, prepares to put on a performance of his own “Invalid.”

Molière’s wife tries to dissuade him from performing and asks him to sign a document renouncing the then-disreputable acting profession in order to save his soul and have a Christian burial. Priests, doctors and even King Louis XIV also conspire to keep him from the stage.

“It’s almost a backstage comedy, sort of like ‘Noises Off,’” said Kinetic Theatre founder and director Andrew Paul. “It incorporates all of the elements and the character types of a Moliere piece. It’s a true story that Moliere literally was performing ‘The Imaginary Invalid’ on the day he died. He was literally playing a guy who was imagining he was dying, but he was really dying.

“It has dark, tragic overtones, but it’s still hilarious,” he said. “It’s a little weird to have a comedy that ends with a death, but I think we can pull it off.”

A native of England, Bradbury is a classically trained actor who has performed with The Stratford Shakespeare Festival and The Shaw Festival, both in Ontario, Canada. In Pittsburgh, he has performed with Kinetic Theatre and with PICT Classic Theatre, which Paul also co-founded.

Since 201, he also has performed with Cirque du Soleil, including its “The Beatles LOVE” show in Las Vegas.

An impressive feat

Bradbury’s play, inspired by years of classical theater including a role in Molière’s “Tartuffe” at the Stratford festival, received the 2017 Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize, the only new play award given for comedy.

“It manages to combine broad, slapstick humor, detailed historical knowledge, and witty, original dialogue to great comic effect, whilst achieving moments of genuine pathos – an impressive feat of comic writing,” said John Bennett, chair of judges for the prize.

Some of its 17th-century elements should resonate with 21st-century audiences, Paul said.

“One thing I think is very compelling, as we’re living through a pandemic, is that obviously in the 17th century, they had rampant pandemic diseases going too,” Paul said. “Moliere actually died of tuberculosis. And so we feel like this is a good parallel, something audiences living through the pandemic today can latch onto, the idea of living through a plague, or a global pandemic. In a way, that brings the 17th century to us today.

“The Romanian director, Liviu Ciulei, has a great quote: ‘A classic is a classic because it is modern,” he said. “The plays of Shakespeare and Moliere and Chekhov are timeless. They will work for eternity because they capture the essence of the human condition.”

The playwright takes on the role of the playwright in the Kinetic Theatre premiere.

“I told him right off the bat, I’m only doing this play if you’re playing Moliere,” Paul said. “It’s written in his voice. He’s a working-class guy from Manchester and I can’t picture another actor doing this, because it just sounds like him. It’s nice to have the playwright in the room, too, making cuts and trims as necessary to make the play work. He totally understands that it’s the first production and we’re trying to solve it.”

Cast members also include Derdriu Ring as Moliere’s long-suffering servant, La Forest. An Irish-born actress based in Cleveland, Ring is a veteran of many PICT performances and has appeared with the Cleveland Playhouse, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York City.

David Whalen plays La Grange, Le Tournier and King Louis XIV. A Pittsburgh native and Kinetic Theatre associate artist, he has performed with PICT and across the United States and Europe. His film roles include “The Fault in Our Stars,” “Jack Reacher,” “My Bloody Valentine” and “Three Rivers.” Recent television roles include the Showtime miniseries, “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” opposite Russell Crowe and Naomi Watts.

Joanna Strapp plays Molière’s wife, Armande. She appeared with Kinetic Theatre opposite Bradbury and Whalen in “Sherlock’s Last Case.” A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, she is a company member at Antaeus Theatre in Los Angeles. Her film and television credits include “Modern Family,’ “Agent Carter,” “House,” “The United States of Tara” and “1000 Ways to Die.”

Preview performances of “The Illustrious Invalid” will be 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, with opening night set for 8 p.m. Saturday. Curtain time then will be 8 p.m. June 15-18, 20 and 23-25. Matinees will be at 2 p.m. June 19 and 26.

Tickets are $45, or $25 for artists and those 25 and younger. The June 20 performance will be pay-what-you-want.

For tickets and more information, call 412-431-2489 or visit kinetictheatre.org.