''Magnificence'' is a 1973

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

by English playwright

Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chur ...

. It premiered 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 non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

and was next performed on the London stage in 2016, at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...

Synopsis

''Magnificence'' has two plotlines. Firstly, five far-left revolutionaries squat an unoccupied house in London. Secondly, a Conservative cabinet MP loses faith in himself. The two plotlines converge in the final scene, where Jed (one of the revolutionaries) accidentally kills both himself and the MP with plastic explosive. The published text of the play takes as its epigraph lines from

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

's '' Die Maßnahme'':

Productions

Premiere

''Magnificence'' premiered at the

on 28 June 1973 with the following cast: * Will -

Michael Kitchen Michael Roy Kitchen (born 31 October 1948) is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in the ITV drama ''Foyle's War'', which comprised eight series betwee ...

* Jed -

Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a Scottish film, television, radio and stage actor. Early life Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson) and Ronald Cranham, a London-born ...

* Mary -

Carole Hayman Carole Hayman is an English writer, broadcaster, actor and director. She was born in Kent, and attended Leeds University and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She has been an actress and theatre director and was an associate director at the Roy ...

* Veronica - Dinah Stabb * Cliff -

Pete Postlethwaite Peter William Postlethwaite, (7 February 1946 – 2 January 2011) was an English character actor. After minor television appearances, including in '' The Professionals'', his first major success arose through the British autobiographical film ...

* Constable - James Aubrey * Slaughter -

Leonard Fenton Leonard Fenton (''né'' Finestein; 29 April 1926 – 29 January 2022) was a British actor, director and painter, best known for his role as Harold Legg, Dr. Harold Legg in ''EastEnders''. Early life Fenton was born Leonard FinesteinGeoffrey Chater Geoffrey Michael Chater Robinson (23 March 1921 – 16 October 2021) was an English film, television and stage actor. He appeared in the crime drama series ''Callan'', ''Foyle's War'' and '' Midsomer Murders''. Biography Geoffrey Michael Chat ...

* Babs -

Robert Eddison Robert Leadam Eddison, OBE (10 June 1908 – 14 December 1991) was an English actor, who despite his lengthy career as a classical stage actor, is probably most widely remembered in the role of the Grail Knight in ''Indiana Jones and the Last C ...

* Old Man/

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

- Nikolaj Ryjtkov It was directed by

Max Stafford-Clark Maxwell Robert Guthrie Stewart "Max" Stafford-Clark (born 17 March 1941) is a British theatre director. Life and career Stafford-Clark was born in Cambridge, England. the son of David Stafford-Clark, a physician, and Dorothy Crossley (née Old ...

, designed by William Dudley and the lighting was by Andy Phillips.

Irving Wardle John Irving Wardle (born 20 July 1929) is an English writer and theatre critic. Biography Wardle was born on 20 July 1929 in Manchester, Lancashire, the son of John Wardle and his wife Nellie (Partington). His father was drama critic on the ''B ...

, writing in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', called it a wonderful piece of theatre.''Brenton: Plays One'' Methuen 1986

2016

''Magnificence'' was performed at the

in 2016, marking its first appearance in London since the premiere. The reviews were favourable, with the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' commenting that "Brenton’s vision of revolutionary zeal is memorably strange". For ''BroadwayWorld'' the play was "both epic and intimate" and the ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' wrote that "the play’s anger about the co-existence of homelessness and empty property still strikes a chord".

References

{{Squatting British plays 1973 plays