Road (play)
{{short description|Play by Jim Cartwright}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2010}}
{{Infobox play
| name = Road
| image =
| image_size =
| writer = Jim Cartwright
| characters =
| subject = Thatcher's Britain, Unemployment
| genre =
| setting = 1980s, A town in Northern England
| premiere = 1986
| place = Royal Court Theatre Upstairs
London, England
| orig_lang = English
}}
Road is the first play written by Jim Cartwright, and was first produced in 1986 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, directed by Simon Curtis.{{cite book |last= Cartwright |first=Jim |date= 1986 |title= Road |publisher= Methuen |isbn=978-0413145505 |author-link=Jim Cartwright }}
The play explores the lives of the people in a deprived, working class area of Lancashire during the government of Margaret Thatcher, a time of high unemployment in the north of England. Despite its explicit nature, it was considered extremely effective in portraying the desperation of people's lives at this time, as well as containing a great deal of humour. Set on a road on a busy night, the audience delve into the houses on the street and the characters' lives.
The play is often performed on a promenade, allowing the audience to follow the narrator (Scullery) along the road and visit different sets and the different homes of the characters.
The play has won a number of awards and was voted the 36th best play of the 20th century in a poll by the Royal National Theatre.[https://web.archive.org/web/20130129192504/http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk:80/discover-more/platforms/nt2000-one-hundred-plays-of-the-century Archive webpage by the National Theatre of the NT2000 One Hundred Plays of the Century]
Notable productions
- After the initial performance at the Royal Court Theatre "Upstairs", with Edward Tudor-Pole as Scullery, the play moved "Downstairs" in 1987 with Ian Dury as the narrator.{{cite book|first= Richard |last= Balls |year= 2000|title= Sex & Drugs & Rock'N'Roll: The Life of Ian Dury |edition= 1st |publisher= Omnibus Press.|location= London |pages= 264–6 |isbn= 0-7119-8644-4}}
- Road was produced in New York by Lincoln Center Theater at La MaMa in 1988, with a cast including Joan Cusack and Kevin Bacon.{{cite news |last= Rich|first= Frank|date= July 29, 1988 |title= Review/Theater; A 'Road' to Lives That Go Nowhere |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/29/theater/review-theater-a-road-to-lives-that-go-nowhere.html|work= The New York Times |access-date=7 February 2019 }}
- In 1989 the theatre company 7:84 performed a production of the play, directed by David Hayman.
- In 1994 the play was produced by Out of Joint theatre and directed by Max Stafford-Clark. The production toured the UK and performed at the Leicester Haymarket and the Royal Court.
- In 1995 Jim Cartwright directed a production at the Royal Exchange, Manchester with Bernard Wrigley and Matthew Dunster.
- In 1998 the play was performed by the players at Collegiate School, Bristol.
- In 2008 the play was revived at Bolton's Octagon Theatre, in a production directed by Noreen Kershaw and featuring Jim Cartwright's son James Cartwright as one of the actors.{{cite web |last1=Chadderton |first1=David |title=Road |url=https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/roadoct-rev |website=British Theatre Guide |access-date=16 February 2021}}
- The play was revived at the Royal Court in 2017, directed by John Tiffany.{{cite news |last= Allfree |first= Claire |date= 29 July 2017 |title= Road is a hard, occasionally transcendent evening and also a gauntlet to modern playwrights – Royal Court, review |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/road-royal-court-review-hard-occasionally-transcendent-evening/|work= The Daily Telegraph |access-date=7 February 2019 }}
Film adaptation
Road was later directed by renowned director Alan Clarke for the BBC2 anthology series ScreenPlay. It starred many young actors who later became well-known, including Jane Horrocks, David Thewlis, Moya Brady and Lesley Sharp.
References
{{reflist}}