A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
A couple are struggling to cope with caring for their disabled child. Brian is a harassed teacher who works at an unruly British comprehensive and is defiantly unsentimental about their situation. Sheila on the other hand is a resilient mother who desperately clings to the hope that one day her daughter will overcome her medical condition.Finding it easier to confide in the audience than each other, they replay key episodes in their life story like practiced marital rituals.Nothing is off limits for Brian’s mockery including his doting, decent wife who plays along to keep her husband happy. But as they are pushed to the limits of emotional trauma, it becomes a self-defeating means of deflecting the heart-ache within.
POST SHOW Q&A
With the Director Thu 27 October FREE. Book via Box Office: 0141 429 0022.CAST INCLUDES: Miriam Margolyes, Miles Jupp, Joseph Chance, Sarah Tansey and Olivia Darnley.DATES
19 October - 12 November 2011
Previews 19-20.10.11
Audio Described 27.10.11
Signed 02.11.11
Captioned 03.11.11
Wheelchair Access
Guide Dogs welcome
Induction Loop
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS AN ARCHIVE ENTRY. THIS SHOW IS NO LONGER ON SALE.
HISTORIC PLAY
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg was premiered at the Citizens Theatre in 1967, directed by Michael Blakemore. It was a major success, transferring to London’s West End and then Broadway. A Tony Award winner, it was famously revived in 2001 as both a stage and television play starring Eddie Izzard, Victoria Hamilton and Prunella Scales. More than 40 years on, it returns to its original home.
Read our compendium of facts on the original production.
From our blog:
by Dominic Hill
Memories of Opening Night 1967
by Peter Nichols
SCHOOLS WORKSHOPS
(available on request)
Contact Louise Brown by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or phone 0141 418 6273.
DOWNLOAD
A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG Schools’ Resource Pack.pdf
Mon 7 November
Free but ticketed
PRESS
“If Ricky Gervais wants a few tips on what constitutes real artistic taboo- breaking, he should perhaps consider attending Phillip Breen’s revival of Peter Nichols’ dangerously black comedy.”
The Herald ★★★★
“Miriam Margolyes’ cameo as Bri’s twin-set clad mum Grace is a masterclass in suburban grotesquery”
The Herald ★★★★
“fascinating, witty and thought-provoking…Breen’s production is an indictment, a shocking exposé of our treatment of the disabled in the past.”
WhatsOnStage.com ★★★★
“If the casting of Margolyes is a stroke of genius, though, it’s only the first of many in a flawless and sometimes brilliant production. Miles Jupp and Sarah Tansey, as Brian and Sheila, are both superb and heartbreaking”
The Scotsman ★★★★★
“In 1967…After its premiere in Glasgow, it went on to be a West End hit, gallows humour and all…The play still feels unsettlingly frank in its depiction of carers under stress. Bri and Sheila, the parents, use the driest of black humour as a coping mechanism. That they are the ones doing the work allows them to give voice to dark desires that, even in today’s world of taboo-busting comedians, still seem a daring inclusion in the play.”
The Guardian ★★★★
“Classy staging…supple, fluent direction…Jupp and Tansey will break your heart at times…Gripping stuff.”
The Times ★★★★
“harrowing, yet mesmerising…the thought provoking Sixties classic has lost none of its power. Or its power to shock, as it plumbs great emotional depths while still managing to be incredibly funny.”
STV
“universally excellent cast…Sarah Tansey’s in control, yet teetering, Sheila contrasting wonderfully with Jupp’s bumbling and clever schoolteacher”
Sunday Herald
“Even after 44 years, Peter Nichols’ script still sparkles with its cutting observations of social unease around disability, and its sharp satire of simplistic solutions to impossible situations.”
The Stage
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Cast & Creative Team
WRITER Peter Nichols DIRECTOR Phillip Breen DESIGNER Max Jones LIGHTING DESIGNER Tina MacHugh CHOREOGRAPHER Vivien TaylorPhilip Breen has previously directed The Shadow of a Gunman and The Caretaker at the Citizens - both to critical acclaim - and recently directed a touring production of The Hard Man.