Running a café in a small town in France, sounds like something we would all dream of doing. But what happens when the day to day grind wears you down? When you start to feel depressed, edgy, miserable and nervous? The answer may be to swap lives with someone else for a while but…. perhaps the grass is not always greener.

Following the sell-out successes of "We’ll Always Have Paris" and "A Night in Provence", award winning director Nicola Bond has once again assembled an impressive team of actors to bring the charming French comedy CAFÉ BROSSE to life at Harbour Theatre for their first season for 2014. Written by the prolific British playwright Jean McConnell, this will be Harbour Theatre’s final production in the iconic Port Cineaste building before they move to new premises.

George (played by Alan Morris) and Seraphine (Kirstie Francis) run the Café BROSSE in a small French town. Seraphine is fed up with the drudgery of her daily life and feels that George does not appreciate her. Yvette (played by Fleur Wylie), who is George’s mistress hankers for a comfortable housewife’s existence. Enter Aramis (Marcus McGavock), the man about town who suggests that perhaps the two women should swap lives for a while.

Raymond (Peter Scarrott), a regular customer at Café Brosse, feels that George is not handling the situation as well as he should be and provides George some of his own very unusual advice when on top of everything else George’s Aunt Marie (Ann Speicher) decides to make an unexpected visit.

Of course, what French town does not have a couple of tourists who struggle to make themselves understood? Enter two young people (played by Verity Wells and Scott Wilson) who, apparently, from what anyone can understand, are travelling from Iceland and who’s car has unfortunately for them, broken down and will take some time to repair. In the meantime they seem to be buying an lot of brooms and brushes for which the town is famous.

"Jean McConnell’s plays are very humourous and insightful" says director Nicola Bond, "and of course, the best humour always comes from everyday life. The script is played true to the French way of life and the actors are doing a marvellous job with their French accents ably assisted by our French dialect coach Pascale Benkiraine."

Nicola continues "Ironically, our first play in the Port Cineaste building was Deckchairs written by Jean McConnell. It seems appropriate that we should be producing one of her plays as the final show in this wonderful building before it is demolished."