''Women Laughing'' is a stage play written by
Michael Wall in 1989. It was first produced for the stage in 1992, just after the author's death. The original version of the play, which was for radio, contained only one act. A second was added for the stage production.
''Women Laughing'' has been performed at the
Royal Exchange Manchester, 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 ...
Upstairs, the
Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including:
Australia
*Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria
*Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales
Canada
*Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...
Watford and was toured in 2000 by
Not The National Theatre.
Plot
While the husbands stand outside on the terrace, drinking and boasting; their wives are inside talking about those husbands (and laughing). In this
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
, Colin and Stephanie have invited Tony and Maddy to lunch in
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Ealing was histor ...
. As the men uneasily try at conversation, the laughter of their wives, which seems so uninhibited in comparison with the men's struggles at communication, is a constant interruption. The women finally join the men, and a confrontation results. The play contains a second act, where these positions are reversed. Colin and Tony are now behaving freely, while the women feel more constrained. The play moves from a garden party to the grounds of a mental hospital.
Themes
The pressures of modern life come out at a garden party. Themes include marriage and mental illness.
References
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*{{cite web, url=http://www.oberonbooks.com/frameset.htm, publisher=oberonbooks.com, title=Oberon Books – The UK's most exciting independent publisher, accessdate=2017-05-07
1989 plays
1992 plays
Plays by Michael Wall