Present Laughter

Gotham Radio Theatre will bring Present Laughter to life in September with a versatile cast who all play multiple roles. The play has been called a ‘valentine to the maddening, marvelous world of the theater’ and of course to Coward himself, who is the model for the lead role of Garry Essendine. Essendine happens to have committed the mortal sin of a matinee idol; he has aged past 40. As he prepares to travel to Africa for a tour, he has to deal with women who want to seduce him, his long suffering secretary, a crazed new playwright, his estranged wife and his own fear of growing old.

Much like the radio hour serials of a bygone era, Gotham Radio performs classics from theatre, literature and the silver screen in little more than 60 minutes, with live sound and music, and actors playing multiple roles.

Gotham actors portray fictional 1940’s stars of stage, screen and radio that perform the Gotham radio play. These 40’s personalities are long running characters and bring the audience an added entertaining dimension of a ‘show within a show.