Alexi Kaye Campbell’s ‘The Pride’ Continues Revival at The Wallis

Tony Sokol

Attitudes about sex may change after a half century, but love triangles will forever be adored on the stage. The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts’ revival of British playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell’s “The Pride” is running through Gay Pride Month, and the Beverly Hills theatre is decked out in celebration. “The Pride” premiered in the intimate Lovelace Studio Theater on June 8 and opened on June 14. It runs through July 9.

“The Pride” is set in closeted 1958 London and in 2008. Neal Bledsoe plays Philip, who is married to Sylvia, played by Jessica Collins, but has a secret crush on Oliver, played by Augustus Prew. 50 years later, we meet Oliver, whose casual sex addiction threatens his relationship with his boyfriend Philip. Oliver goes to his friend Sylvia for advice. Matthew Wilkas plays The Man. The characters share names, but mirror each other as each are caught in the unique drama of their times.

The play’s humor has been compared to Oscar Wilde. “The Pride” won the Laurence Olivier Award, the Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright and the John Whiting Award for Best New Play when it premiered at London’s Royal Court in 2009. “The Pride” made its New York debut at MCC Theatre in 2010. Richard Wilson directed the 2011 revival at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Jamie Lloyd directed a revival in London’s West End prior to a 2013 national tour.

Greece born Alexi Kaye Campbell won the Critic’s Circle Prize for Most Promising Playwright and the John Whiting Award for Best New Play when “The Pride” premiered at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in November 2008. the Writers Guild Awards nominated his second play, “Apologia,” for Best Play. He also wrote the plays “The Faith Machine,” “Bracken Moor” and “Sunset at the Villa Thalia.” Campbell wrote the screenplay to the indie film “Woman in Gold,” which was directed by Simon Curtis and starred Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds.

“The Pride” is directed by Artist-in-Residence Michael Arden, who revived Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along” as his staged introduction at The Wallis. He directed “Spring Awakening” at Deaf West Theatre. It won Ovation and Outer Critics Circle Awards. Arden will next direct a revival of the musical “Once on This Island.” It is scheduled to open on Broadway this fall.

Toronto born Neal Bledsoe was featured on the Amazon series “The Man in the High Castle” and NBC’s “Mysteries of Laura.” He appeared in the films “Revolutionary Road,” “Sex and the City 2,” “Junction,”
“Police State” and “Highrise.”

Jessica Collins is best known for her role in the Navy SEAL thriller “Zero Dark Thirty.” She starred opposite John Lithgow’s King Lear at New York City’s The Public Theater. Collins starred in the AMC TV series “Rubicon” and ABC’s “The Nine.” She had a season long arc on JJ Abrams’ NBC series, “Revolution.”

British actor Augustus Prew is best known as Prince Alfonso on the Shotime series “The Borgias.” He starred as the “Pure Genius” on Jason Katims’ CBS series medical drama of the same name. He also appeared on “NCIS,” “Major Crimes,” and the British series “24Seven,” “The Time of Your Life,” “Silent Witness,” “MI-5,” and “Spooks.” He made his film debut in “About a Boy,” and was also featured in “High-Rise,” “Kick-Ass 2,” and “Copperhead.” He can now be seen in a recurring role in the limited event series “Prison Break.”

New York based actor writer Matthew Wilkas wrote the series “New York is Dead,” which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival in April. He played Flash Thompson in the Broadway production of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” before he took on the role of Peter Parker, also known as Spider-man. He appeared on the TV series “Looking,” “Ugly Betty,” “All My Children,” and “Law and Order.” He was featured in the Universal monster reboot “The Mummy” and “Top Five,” which was directed by Chris Rock.

“The Pride” runs at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts June 8 through July 9.