Overview
The bohemian Schlegel sisters are two independent women negotiating the seemingly unbridgeable gulfs that class, money, and gender throw in their paths at the dawn of the 20th century. As they chart their course through a rapidly changing London, they encounter the Wilcoxes, who are wealthy capitalists, and the Basts, who struggle to make ends meet. Howards End is a play about three very different families whose lives intertwine in a world speeding towards cataclysm.
Casting & Production
Casting
HENRY WILCOX — a man of business, age 50
CHARLES WILCOX — his first son, age 25
PAUL WILCOX — his second son, age 21
EVIE WILCOX — his daughter, age 18
DOLLY WILCOX — Charles’ wife, age 20
MARGARET SCHLEGEL — a woman of independent means, age 29
HELEN SCHLEGEL — her sister, age 21
LEONARD BAST — a clerk, age 20
JACKY BAST — Leonard’s fiancée then his wife, age 33
Setting
Time
1908 to 1910.
Place
Howards End and a series of other houses, flats and landscapes in London and the surrounding countryside.
Reviews
“A concise and lively stage play…Post is very successful in making us realize that Forster could see a lot of what would befall humanity a hundred years later…Howards End is so full of timeless truths for living.”
—Chicago Tribune
“A thoughtful evening of exquisitely staged storytelling…This adaptation is not unlike a corset made with spandex providing new flexibility to traditionally restrictive material.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
“Post’s faithful theatrical adaptation is truly eloquent…This is a beautiful, carefully constructed play…The script is sure to become the definitive stage treatment of Forster’s novel.”
—Chicago Theatre & Concert Review
