''Eighty in the Shade'' is a 1958 play by the British writer

Clemence Dane Clemence Dane CBE is the pseudonym of Winifred Ashton (21 February 1888 – 28 March 1965), an English novelist and playwright. Life and career After completing her education, Dane went to Switzerland to work as a French tutor, but returned ...

. It was her final play and was written as a vehicle for her friend

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her ...

who plays a famous stage actress celebrating fifty years on the stage while confronting family problems. It premiered at the

Theatre Royal, Newcastle The Theatre Royal is a historic theatre, a Grade I listed building situated on Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. History The theatre was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green as part of Richard Grainger's grand design for the ce ...

before transferring to the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's West End where it ran for 179 performances between 8 January and 13 June 1959. As well as Thorndike the cast included

Lewis Casson Sir Lewis Thomas Casson MC (26 October 187516 May 1969) was an English actor and theatre director, and the husband of actress Dame Sybil Thorndike.Devlin, DianaCasson, Sir Lewis Thomas (1875–1969) ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biograph ...

Robert Flemyng Benjamin Arthur Flemyng (3 January 1912 – 22 May 1995), known professionally as Robert Flemyng, was a British actor. The son of a doctor, and originally intended for a medical career, Flemyng learned his stagecraft in provincial repertory th ...

Mary Peach Mary Peach (born 20 October 1934) is a South African-born British film and television actress, who was married to the screenwriter and director Jimmy Sangster until his death in 2011. Biography Peach was born in Durban. After being nominated ...

and Valerie Taylor.Wearing p.622-23

References

Bibliography

* Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1958 plays West End plays Plays by Clemence Dane {{1950s-play-stub