It's all about building theatre audiences in Eastbourne...

This time they turn their attention to John Godber’s Men of the World, running at the Devonshire Park Theatre from Tuesday to Saturday, July 18-22. The play follows three northern coach drivers, Stick, Larry and Frank, as they prepare for a mystery trip to Scarborough. They soon start to take a trip down memory lane and recount memorable coach trips from their past.

As Phil says, the show is bursting with compassion, nostalgia and humour – a look at the small and often overlooked moments of magic in our lives as just three actors play a more than a hundred different of characters. Phil and Ben are promising an unforgettable, hilarious and moving trip from one of the country's most popular playwrights.

Between them, the three plays will have been a mini-season for Eastbourne for Phil and Ben, picking up on their Harrogate productions last year where they did Gaslight, Men of the World and Abigail’s Party. With Abigail’s Party out on tour this year they couldn't get back to it and so instead slipped in Alan Ayckbourn's Absent Friends: “We like to think of it as a mini rep,” Ben says. “I think it's the first time that we've had three productions in a season in Eastbourne and that is great. There is no question that theatres have to work putting on theatre because of changing fashions but Chris at the venue is very supportive as a theatre manager, and it's really about the three of us working together to make it happen.”

Phil added: “To make rep work for an independent producer you really have to work with a theatre which is a friendly and responsive and just helps you make it affordable.” Chris at Eastbourne certainly does that, says Ben: “Also (success) is very dependent on the title but the point is that the Devonshire Park is a playhouse, genuinely a playhouse. A lot of things there are one-nighters and tribute bands and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that but the great thing is that the Devonshire Park really does have a commitment to theatre.”

And Phil and Ben believe they are offering something special with the Godber: “It is just three actors and the three of them create the magic with their bare hands. It's about three bus drivers remembering their trips over the years on their final run down to the Rhine valley. They play hundreds of characters and obviously there are lots of japes along the way but it's a very, very solid script and is still very relevant,” Phil says. “Godber is so accessible and I am all for accessibility in the theatre. There is a space for everything in the theatre but you've got to give something that will draw people in for their initial experience. You just can't throw Hedda Gabler at them. You've got to make something accessible but the point is that Godber makes it accessible but then he makes some fantastic points. It is not just flimflam. Godber writes brilliant characters and he puts them in everyday situations. He creates these characters but then he writes brilliant dialogue.”

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