''Butley'' is a play 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 ...

set in the office of an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

lecturer at a university in

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

.Gray, Simon. ''Simon Gray: Plays 1''. London:

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 ...

, 2010. The title character, a T. S. Eliot scholar, is an alcoholic who loses his wife and his close friend and colleague – and possibly male lover – on the same day. The action of the dark comedy takes place over several hours on the same day during which he bullies students, friends and colleagues while falling apart at the seams. The play won the 1971 ''

Evening Standard Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

'' for Best Play.

Characters

*Ben Butley *Joseph Keyston *Miss Heasman *Edna Shaft *Anne Butley *Reg Nuttall *Mr Gardner

Productions

''Butley'' was first performed at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development ...

on 14 July 1971, produced by Michael Codron and 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: *Ben Butley –

Alan Bates Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story '' Whistle Down the Wind'' to the " kitchen sink" dram ...

*Joseph Keyston –

Richard O'Callaghan Richard O'Callaghan (born Richard Brooke, 7 March 1940, London) is an English film, stage and television character actor. He is the son of actors Patricia Hayes and Valentine Brooke, whose stage name was Valentine Rooke. As a boy actor he was ...

*Miss Heasman – Brenda Cavendish *Edna Shaft –

Mary Wimbush Mary Wimbush (19 March 1924 – 31 October 2005) was an English actress whose career spanned 60 years. Active across film, television, theatre and radio, she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1969 film ''Oh! ...

*Anne Butley –

Colette O'Neil Mary Irene Colette Ellis ( McCrossan, 18 November 1935 – 11 July 2021), better known by the stage name Colette O'Neil, was a Scottish actress, noted for her various roles on British television. Life and career O'Neil was a semi-regular cast ...

*Reg Nuttall – Michael Byrne *Mr Gardner – George Fenton Alan Bates won the 1971 ''

'' for Best Actor for his performance. The role of Butley was subsequently taken on by

Alec McCowen Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. Early life McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer ...

and

Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...

in the same production. Bates reprised his performance the following year in a Broadway production directed by

James Hammerstein James Blanchard Hammerstein (March 23, 1931 – January 7, 1999) was an American theatre director and producer. Life and career Hammerstein was the son of interior designer Dorothy Hammerstein (née Blanchard) and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II ...

, set design Eileen Diss, lighting and set design

Neil Peter Jampolis Neil Peter Jampolis was a light designer, set designer, and stage director. He was best known for the light designing he did for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s 1975 production of '' Sherlock Holmes'' for which he won a Tony Award and a Drama ...

, at the

Morosco Theatre The Morosco Theatre was a Broadway theatre near Times Square in New York City from 1917 to 1982. It housed many notable productions and its demolition, along with four adjacent theaters, was controversial. History Located at 217 West 45th Stree ...

, where it ran for 14 previews and 135 performances. The show cast

Hayward Morse Hayward Morse is a British stage and voice actor born in 1947. His career began on CBC television and with numerous stage performances in Canada and the United States. He made his USA television debut in 1959 with Ingrid Bergman in the film ...

(Joseph Keyston), Geraldine Sherman (Miss Heasman), Barbara Lester (Edna Shaft), Holland Taylor (Anne Butley),

Roger Newman Roger Newman (31 August 1940 – 4 March 2010) was a British born-American soap opera actor and writer. He was born in London, and died in New York City. Newman began his career as a child in radio. He moved with his family to Montréal aft ...

(Reg Nuttall), and Christopher Hastings (Mr Gardner). Bates won the ''

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

'' for Best Actor in a Play and the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for Outstanding Performance, and Gray was nominated for the ''

Tony Award for Best Play The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non- musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year ...

''. A successful 2006 limited-run Broadway revival at the Booth Theatre was directed by Nicholas Martin. It starred Nathan Lane and

Dana Ivey Dana Robins Ivey (born August 12, 1941) is an American actress. She is a five-time Tony Award nominee for her work on Broadway, and won the 1997 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her work in both ''Sex and Longing' ...

, who was nominated for the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play. A 2011 London West End production of the play was produced for the Duchess Theatre, directed by

Lindsay Posner Lindsay Steven Posner (born 6 June 1959)"Lindsay Posner ...

with a cast including

Dominic West Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), t ...

, Paul McGann, Penny Downie, Amanda Drew, and

Emma Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is an English actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starting with ''Thor'' in 2011 and most recently in the Disney+ series ''Loki'' in 2021 ...

. The production started at the

Brighton Festival Brighton Festival is a large, annual, curated multi-arts festival in England. It includes music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and family events, and takes place in venues in the city of Brighton and Hove in Engla ...

from 25 May 2011 and in the West End from 1 June 2011. In his introduction to the play, Harold Pinter wrote:

1974 film

A 1974 film adaptation '' Butley'' directed by Pinter starred

, Jessica Tandy,

, Susan Engel, and Michael Byrne.

References

External links

* *
Butley informationSimon Gray website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butley (play) 1971 plays English plays West End plays Broadway plays Academic culture British plays adapted into films