''The Common Pursuit'' is a
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
Simon Gray
Simon James Holliday Gray (21 October 1936 – 7 August 2008) was an English playwright and memoirist who also had a career as a university lecturer in English literature at Queen Mary, University of London, for 20 years. While teaching at Que ...
which follows the lives of six characters who first meet as undergraduates at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
when they are involved in setting up a literary magazine called ''The Common Pursuit''. The title is an allusion to
F. R. Leavis
Frank Raymond "F. R." Leavis (14 July 1895 – 14 April 1978) was an English literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for much of his career at Downing College, Cambridge, and later at the University of York.
Leavis ra ...
's 1952 collection of essays ''Scrutiny: The Common Pursuit''.
Characters
*Stuart Thorne
*Marigold Watson
*Martin Musgrove
*Humphry Taylor
*Nick Finchling
*Peter Whetworth
Synopsis
The characters of ''The Common Pursuit'' first meet in Stuart Thorne's rooms in Cambridge, at the first meeting of a literary magazine Stuart is starting called ''The Common Pursuit''. He and Marigold are very much in love, Nick is determined to become a theatre critic, Humphry wants to be a philosophy professor, Martin is set on a career in publishing and Peter only seems interested in chasing women. The play then follows their various lives and careers over the next 20 years, and their struggles to remain faithful to their ambitions and the things they love.
Productions
''The Common Pursuit'' was first performed at the
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London. on July 3, 1984, directed by
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...
, with the following cast:
*Stuart Thorne -
Nicholas le Prevost
Nicholas Le Prevost (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor.
Early life
Le Prevost was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at Shaftesbury Grammar School, Shaftesbury, Dorset from 1957 to 1961 and at Kingswood School, Bath from 1961 to 1964. A ...
*Marigold Watson - Nina Thomas
*Martin Musgrove -
Ian Ogilvy
Ian Raymond Ogilvy (born 30 September 1943) is an English actor, playwright, and novelist.
Early life
Ogilvy was born in Woking, Surrey, England, to Francis Fairfield Ogilvy, brother of advertising executive David Ogilvy, and actress Aileen ...
*Humphry Taylor -
Clive Francis
Clive Francis (born 26 June 1946) is a British stage, television and film actor.
Early life
Francis was born in Eastbourne, Sussex. He is the son of actors Raymond Francis and his second wife Margaret Towner.
His father played Detective Chief ...
*Nick Finchling -
Robert East
*Peter Whetworth -
Simon Williams
Simon Gray kept a diary of the original production which was published as ''An Unnatural Pursuit and other pieces'' by
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...
in 1985. The play was first performed in London's
West End on April 7, 1988, with
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...
,
John Sessions
John Marshall (11 January 1953 – 2 November 2020), better known by the stage name John Sessions, was a British actor and comedian. He was known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', as a panellist o ...
, Sarah Berger, Paul Mooney,
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
and
John Gordon Sinclair
John Gordon Sinclair (born Gordon John Sinclair; 4 February 1962) is a Scottish actor, voice actor, singer, and novelist. He is best known for portraying Gregory in the 1981 film '' Gregory's Girl''. There was a Gordon Sinclair already register ...
, directed by Simon Gray. In July, the cast changed to
James Wilby
James Jonathon Wilby (born 20 February 1958) is an English actor.
Early life and education
Wilby was born in Rangoon, Burma to a corporate executive father. He was educated at Terrington Hall School, North Yorkshire and Sedbergh School in Cu ...
,
Patrick Barlow
Evan George Patrick Barlow (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor, comedian and playwright. His comedic alter ego, ''Desmond Olivier Dingle'', is the founder, artistic director and chief executive of the two-man National Theatre of Brent, whi ...
and
Jason Carter with Sarah Berger, Paul Mooney and John Gordon Sinclair.
Between the 1984 and 1988 London productions, Gray directed the American premiere of ''The Common Pursuit'' at the Promenade Theatre, Off-Broadway. It opened on October 19, 1986, won positive notices, ran for 352 performances, and won both the 1987
Lucille Lortel Award
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...
for Outstanding Play, and the 1987
Outer Critics Circle
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...
for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. The original cast included:
*Stuart Thorne -
Kristoffer Tabori
Kristoffer Tabori (also known as K.T. Donaldson, born Christopher Donald Siegel; August 4, 1952) is an American actor and television director.
Early life
Tabori was born in Malibu, California, the son of American film director Don Siegel and Sw ...
*Marigold Watson -
Judy Geeson
Judith Amanda Geeson (born 10 September 1948) is an English film, stage, and television actress. She began her career primarily working on British television series, with a leading role on '' The Newcomers'' from 1965 to 1967, before making he ...
*Martin Musgrove - Michael Countryman
*Humphry Taylor -
Peter Friedman
Peter Friedman (born April 24, 1949) is an American stage, film, and television actor.
Life and career
Born in New York City, Friedman graduated from Hofstra University[Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...]
*Peter Whetworth -
Dylan Baker
Dylan Baker (born October 7, 1959) is an American actor. He gained recognition for his roles in the films such as ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), ''Happiness'' (1998), '' Thirteen Days'' (2000), ''Road to Perdition'' (2002), ''Spider-M ...
Television
Simon Gray adapted ''The Common Pursuit'' for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. It was directed by
.
*Gray, Simon. ''Simon Gray: Plays 4''. London, Faber and Faber, 2010.
*Gray, Simon. ''An Unnatural Pursuit and other pieces''. London, Faber and Faber, 1985.