by Hugh Munro Neely

Kings Players will present Outward Bound a drama by British actor/playwright Sutton Vane, as their next production, opening for three weekends on August 23, 2024 at the Temple Theater, 514 Visalia Street in Hanford. “It’s a very unusual play, sort of a supernatural mystery,” says director Hugh Munro Neely, “very thoughtful but also very funny much of the time. It gets its humor from its quirky characters.”

L-R Dana Shriver, Zeke Andre, Rebecca Jensen and Anthony Wilds

The classic play is over 100 years old. It was so unusual that producers didn’t know what to do with it, and the author had to bankroll the first production himself. But it was a huge hit in London and later in America. It was filmed with Leslie Howard and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in 1930, and again in a modified version, fourteen years later, with John Garfield and Eleanor Parker.

L-R Payton Tuman, Ron Bates, Kirsten “Kay” Matheny

Heading the Kings Players cast is Steven Walker as the cheerful playboy, Tom Prior. Kirsten “Kay” Matheny, recently seen in Kings Players’ “Penny for Your Thoughts,” plays Anne, young wife to Payton Tuman’s Henry. Husband and wife find themselves on a mysterious ocean liner leaving London for parts unknown. Other stalwarts of the Temple Theater stage include Rebecca Jensen, Ron Bates, Zeke Andre, Anthony Wilds, Dana Shriver, and Ali Lorenzo, who round out the nine-member cast.

Payton Tuman and Kirsten “Kay” Matheny

“This is a play for people who like to think,” says Neely, “people who enjoy seeing something different, and rather thought-provoking on our stage. It asks the question, ‘who are these people, why are they here, and where will they be going?’” Join their voyage and enjoy the mystery at any of ten performances, August 23 through September 8. For information and tickets, go to kingsplayers.org, or call 559-584-7241.

If you love local theatre, be sure to check out Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, which features mysteries read by local actors. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and also on podbean.

Check out more theatre reviews & other local entertainment articles in our Arts & Entertainment section. You can also find more theatre coming up on KRL’s Local Theatre event page.