''Epitaph for George Dillon'' is an early

John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter and actor, known for his prose that criticized established social and political norms. The success of his 1956 play ''Look Back in Anger'' tra ...

play, one of two he wrote in collaboration with Anthony Creighton (the other is ''

Personal Enemy ''Personal Enemy'' is a play by John Osborne and Anthony Creighton. It was written in 1954, prior to Osborne's 'big break' with ''Look Back in Anger'' at the Royal Court Theatre in 1956, and first performed in Harrogate in 1955. It was thought th ...

''). It was written before '' Look Back in Anger'', the play which made Osborne's career, but opened a year after at Oxford Experimental Theatre in 1957, and was then produced at

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

's Royal Court theatre, where ''Look Back in Anger'' had debuted. It transferred to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

shortly afterwards and garnered three Tony Award nominations.

Themes

The play tells the story of Kate Elliot's unhappy suburban South London family and the domestic havoc wrought when she decides to adopt George Dillon as a

surrogate A surrogate is a substitute or deputy for another person in a specific role and may refer to: Relationships * Surrogacy, an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a child for another person who will become its parent at bi ...

son. It tackles typical Osborne themes, including religion (and Osborne's hatred thereof), vegetarianism, the casual deception of everyday life and scorn of the theatre. In common with Jimmy Porter in '' Look Back in Anger'', George Dillon is an intelligent man unable to find his place in the world.

London

It opened professionally at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal ...

on 11 February 1958, in a production by William Gaskill, with the following cast (in order of appearance): * Wendy Craig ... Josie Elliot * Yvonne Mitchell ... Ruth Gray * Alison Leggatt ... Mrs. Elliot * Avril Elgar ... Norah Elliot * Toke Townley ... Percy Elliot * Robert Stephens ... George Dillon * Philip Locke ... Geoffrey Colwyn-Stuart * Paul Bailey ... Mr Webb * Nigel Davenport ... Barney Evans ;Critical reception In ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'', Kenneth Tynan called it "Powerful, honest and transfixing"; while in '' The Sunday Times'', Harold Hobson wrote that the play "absorbs and fascinates because it is that rarest of theatrical phenomena, a realistic modern drama which is not bourgeois in its underlying assumptions. It is like a familiar building caught at an angle which suddenly makes it look like something never seen before."

Broadway

It made its debut on Broadway on 4 November 1958 starring Wendy Craig but was a failure and closed on 22 November 1958 after just 23 performances. Another version by new management and separately-financed opened during the same season on 12 January 1959, again starring Craig but was also a commercial failure playing for 48 performances, and closing on 21 February 1959. The first version received three Tony Award nominations - Best play; best direction ( William Gaskill) and best actor ( Robert Stephens). ;Original Broadway cast * Wendy Craig ... Josie Elliot *Felix Deebank ... Barney Evans * Avril Elgar ... Norah Elliot * Frank Finlay ... Percy Elliot * Eileen Herlie ... Ruth Gray * Alison Leggatt ... Mrs. Elliot * Robert Stephens ... George Dillon *James Valentine... Geoffrey Colwyn-Stuart * David Vaughan ... Mr Webb

2005 London revival

A successful

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

revival of the play ran at the Comedy Theatre from 27 September 2005 until 14 January 2006, directed by Peter Gill and starring Joseph Fiennes, Francesca Annis and Anne Reid. It also featured Geoffrey Hutchings,

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, Dorothy Atkinson, Stephen Greif, Hugh Simon and Alex Dunbar.

Adaptations

In 1969,

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

broadcast a production starring John Hurt in the title role; and in 1994, another version starring

Michael Maloney Michael Maloney (born 19 June 1957) is an English actor. Life and career Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series ''Telford's Change''. He made his ...

Themes

London

Broadway

2005 London revival

Adaptations

Online Reviews

References

External links