An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)

Set right after World War II, a naive teenage girl joins a shabby theatre troupe in Liverpool. During a winter production of Peter Pan, the play quickly turns into a dark metaphor for youth... See full summary »

Director:

Mike Newell

Writers:

Beryl Bainbridge (novel), Charles Wood

Stars:

Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Georgina Cates

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Rickman	...	P.L. O'Hara
Hugh Grant	...	Meredith Potter
Georgina Cates	...	Stella
Alun Armstrong	...	Uncle Vernon
Peter Firth	...	Bunny
Prunella Scales	...	Rose
Rita Tushingham	...	Aunt Lily
Alan Cox	...	Geoffrey
Edward Petherbridge	...	St. Ives
Nicola Pagett	...	Dotty Blundell
Carol Drinkwater	...	Dawn Allenby
Clive Merrison	...	Desmond Fairchild
Gerard McSorley	...	George
Ruth McCabe	...	Grace Bird
James Frain	...	John Harbour

Storyline

Set right after World War II, a naive teenage girl joins a shabby theatre troupe in Liverpool. During a winter production of Peter Pan, the play quickly turns into a dark metaphor for youth as she becomes drawn into a web of sexual politics and intrigue.

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Plot Keywords:

theatre | girl | theatre troupe | peter pan | teenage girl | 

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Taglines:

In a world of make believe Stella is about to discover the difference between true love... and real life.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and some language

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aventure en coulisses

Filming Locations:

Bewley's Oriental Cafe - 78-79 Grafton Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$258,195 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), British Screen Productions, Portman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alan Rickman was reportedly upset to find out that Georgina Cates had lied about her age (she was in her early 20's but stated she was only, indeed, 16) in order to land the role of Stella. He had gone out of his way to be extremely gentle around her during their intimate scenes because of her perceived age.

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Goofs

When O'Hara is running down the wharf in 1947, there is a modern car carrier (ship) in the background.

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Quotes

Meredith Potter: Does everybody know everybody? Well, if you don't, you will. And you all know me, or what they say about me, and all of that is true. So the thing is, it's a heavy season, and you're all going to have to work very very hard. But you're all the very best people we could find... for the money.

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Connections

Referenced in Skins: Sketch (2008)

User Reviews

Depressing Themes Overcome by Great Storytelling

"An Awfully Big Adventure" is a story of a naive 16 year old girl, wonderfully played by Georgiana Cates, and her interaction with the members of a bottom-of-the-line stock company in 1947 Liverpool. The Liverpool actors are lead by an incredibly nasty, chain-smoking homosexual director, played by Hugh Grant in what may have been the best performance of his career. Their star, "Perhaps the best Captain Hook ever," is played by Alan Rickman in yet another stellar performance. This is a consistently entertaining but very, very cynical coming of age story. Thus, it may not be for all tastes. Nevertheless, I recommended it highly, 8 out of 10.