Speak, Lolita

Synopsis:

‘Speak, Lolita’ – a riff on Nabokov’s memoir, ‘Speak, Memory’, gives us Lolita’s side of the story.

One of the very first ‘metoo’ plays to be written, it takes us on a life-imitating-art-imitating-life journey, where Sue Lyon, the young teenage actor playing Lolita, has not just one ‘Humbert’ with whom to contend, but three – Vladimir Nabokov, Stanley Kubrick and Maurice Girodias – each of whom lay claim to her.

Has Nabokov’s classic – often cited for its extraordinary mastery of the English language – stood the test of time?  Should it ever have been written?  And should Kubrick ever have opened a whole new can of worms by adapting it to the screen?

Lolita herself might just have the answers.

Character Breakdown:

The play is a 4-hander:  2 females, 2 males

LOLITA – 12 – 17 / SUE LYON – 14 / TALLULAH -19 – one actor.

VLADIMIR NABOKOV- 54 – 63 / DR DESMUND U. GRIF -51 / HUMBERT – 36 – 41 – one actor.

VERA NABOKOV – 51 – 60 / MRS RICHARD RUDMAN – 51 / SHELLEY WINTERS – 40 – one actor.

STANLEY KUBRICK – 30 – 34 / MAURICE GIRODIAS – 39 – one actor.

Running-time: 100 minutes.

Production History: Not yet produced.

Excerpt available for download for free.