Once In A Lifetime

There's no business like showbusiness....!

Comedian Harry Enfield makes his theatrical stage debut alongside fellow comedian Kevin Bishop in the Young Vic's new production of silent-movie-era satire Once In A Lifetime. Helmed by five-time Olivier Award-winning director Richard Jones, this blackly comical examination of Hollywood's transition from silent movies to "talkies" was last seen in the West End in 2005, and previously in 1979, with the role of movie mogul Herman Glogauer played by veteran actor David Suchet, now with Enfield set to take on the part.

What is it about?

Set in 1930, one year after the movie industry was rocked to its core by the release of Al Jolson's talkie "The Jazz Singer", three New York vaudevilleans recognise the need for actors to take elocution lessons in order for their careers to continue. Heading to Hollywood, they are faced with a sprawling city filled to the brim with demanding studio moguls, sceptical gossip columnists, dim-witted starlets and stressed out screenwriters, who are now faced with a bigger challenge of adding dialogue to the mix!

Attempting to open up their own elocution school for both successful and aspiring actors alike, the trio must contend with this series of challenging characters, as well as proving their worth in the most cut-throat industry in the world. And with the dawn of the Hollywood Studio System beckoning, can they become the next big thing in Tinseltown - or will their dreams crash and burn?