David Payne's Churchill Spins Mesmerizing Tales
of a Life Well-Lived by the Two-Time British P.M.

Bird and Baby Productions will present Churchill, a one-man show written, performed, and directed
by David Payne, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 24th, in the A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater in Raleigh

Imagine sitting in a wood-paneled den at the feet of your grandfather. He's sitting in his weathered, leather armchair, drink in one hand, unlit cigar in the other. You are resting comfortably on his faded Persian rug while he spins yarns and shares events from his long life. This is what it feels like to have spent the evening of Friday, March 24th, in the audience for Churchill, a one-man show written, performed, and directed by David Payne, produced by (Bird and Baby Productions, and performed in the A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater in the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh. That we got to sip a glass of Chardonnay while doing so was also a plus.

Now imagine that this is not just any grandfather, but Sir Winston S. Churchill himself. His stories are those of legends, because, well, he himself is a legend. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice -- once while the Second World War was starting and Hitler's Nazi party was on the rise ("There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies and that is fighting without them.") -- and again from 1951 to 1955.

Churchill was a career statesman, a Member of Parliament, First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State, and leader of the country's Conservative Party. He was also an inspiring figure, quick-witted and sharp as a tack. For instance, Lady Astor once announced at a dinner party that if he was her husband, she would likely poison him. His lightning retort, "And if I were your husband, madam, I would drink it!" Oh, the stories! Oh, the history!

The artifice of Churchill is that the audience has been invited to a dinner party at Lady Astor's castle, and Churchill is in attendance as well. We were mesmerized listening to Churchill (played by 80-year old David Payne) deliver a flawless monologue, detailing some highlights of Churchill's life.

David Payne plays Prime Minister Winston Churchill

As Churchill ruminates and meanders through his memories: a childhood at boarding school, his relationship with his family, early adulthood, and into his advanced years, even those unfamiliar with the man will leave wanting to learn more about his extraordinary life. He accepted failures with grace ("Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm"), enjoyed friendships and working relationships from everyone from Lady Astor; Aristotle Onassis; Mark Twain; Charlie Chaplin; Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy; and Queen Elizabeth II -- and learned hard lessons along the way ("If you are going through hell, keep going").

Churchill is history lesson, packed full of perseverance, strength, unbelievable brilliance, sadness, joy and, yes, humor. If we had any criticism, it is that the entire two-hour monologue (with one intermission) was given with Churchill sitting in his chair. It seems a missed opportunity to use either the stage and/or the props to add flavor to the character.

Churchill never sips from his drink or draws on his cigar. He never stands except to leave for intermission. The simplest of acts could add a lot -- replenishing his drink, perhaps, or wandering a bit while lost in thought while telling a story. This would have aligned beautifully with the dinner-party theme. However, these are small criticisms for a very large character; and overall, we enjoyed the evening's history lesson.

Chicks' Picks:

1. Our favorite quote from the evening, "A magnificent ruin, aren't we all."

2. To read more about the amazing Churchill, we recommend Churchill: A Life by Sir Martin Gilbert.

David Payne played Sir Winston S. Churchill on Friday, March 24th, in Raleigh

CHURCHILL (In Person, March 24th), a one-man show written, performed, and directed by David Payne (Bird and Baby Productions in the A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater in the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh). TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iRm8pawDaQ. FULL-SHOW VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrxFqHTPaYA. THE PRESENTER: https://birdandbabyproductions.com/. THE VENUE: https://www.martinmariettacenter.com/, https://www.facebook.com/MMCRaleigh, https://www.instagram.com/mmcraleighnc/, https://twitter.com/MMCRaleigh, and https://www.youtube.com/user/DukeEnergyPAC. DAVID PAYNE (playwright and performer): https://www.davidpaynedrama.com/, https://birdandbabyproductions.com/about-us/about-david-payne/, https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/?speaker=david-payne, https://www.emeryentertainment.com/churchillstarringdavidpayne, https://www.facebook.com/DavidPayneDrama/, https://twitter.com/lion_on_tour, and https://www.youtube.com/c/Davidpaynedramaproductions. SIR WINSTON S. CHURCHILL (British Prime Minister, 1940-45 and 1951-55, nee Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, 1874-1965): https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1953/summary/, https://www.biography.com/political-figures/winston-churchill, https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/winston-churchill, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0161476/, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Winston-Churchill, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill. INFORMATION: 919-996-8700 or pac.info@raleighnc.gov. [RUN HAS CONCLUDED.]

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