''Epitaph for George Dillon'' is an early John Osborne

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 * P ...

, one of two he wrote in collaboration with Anthony Creighton (the other is '' Personal Enemy''). It was written before ''

Look Back in Anger ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...

'', 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 ...

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

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 Un ...

shortly afterwards and garnered three

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 ce ...

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 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 ''

'', 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 non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

on 11 February 1958, in a production by

William Gaskill William "Bill" Gaskill (24 June 1930 – 4 February 2016) was a British theatre director who was "instrumental in creating a new sense of realism in the theatre". Described as "a champion of new writing", he was also noted for his productions of B ...

, with the following cast (in order of appearance): *

Wendy Craig Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms ''Not in Front of the Children'', '' ...And Mother Makes Three'', '' ...And Mother Makes Five'' and ''Butterflies''. ...

... Josie Elliot *

Yvonne Mitchell Yvonne Mitchell (born Yvonne Frances Joseph; 7 July 1915 – 24 March 1979) was an English actress and author. After beginning her acting career in theatre, Mitchell progressed to films in the late 1940s. Her roles include Julia in the 1954 BBC ...

... Ruth Gray * Alison Leggatt ... Mrs. Elliot *

Avril Elgar Avril Elgar Williams (1 April 1932 – 17 September 2021) was an English stage, radio and television actress. Early life and career Elgar was born in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. She trained at the London Old Vic Theatre School ...

... Norah Elliot *

Toke Townley John Antony Townley (6 November 1912 – 27 September 1984), known professionally as Toke Townley, was an English actor. Biography Townley was born on 6 November 1912 at Great Dunmow, Essex; his father was a vicar. His first name, "John", was c ...

... Percy Elliot *

Robert Stephens Sir Robert Graham Stephens (14 July 193112 November 1995) was a leading English actor in the early years of Britain's Royal National Theatre. He was one of the most respected actors of his generation and was at one time regarded as the natu ...

... George Dillon *

Philip Locke Roy James "Philip" Locke (29 March 192819 April 2004) was an English actor who had roles in film and television. He is perhaps best known for his part in the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' as Largo's personal assistant and chief henchman, Var ...

... Geoffrey Colwyn-Stuart * Paul Bailey ... Mr Webb *

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and '' Chariots of F ...

... Barney Evans ;Critical reception In ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'',

Kenneth Tynan Kenneth Peacock Tynan (2 April 1927 – 26 July 1980) was an English theatre critic and writer. Making his initial impact as a critic at ''The Observer'', he praised Osborne's ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956), and encouraged the emerging wave of ...

called it "Powerful, honest and transfixing"; while in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'',

Harold Hobson Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author. Early life and education Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley near Rotherham then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield Gramm ...

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

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

nominations - Best play; best direction (

) and best actor (

). ;Original Broadway cast *

... Josie Elliot *Felix Deebank ... Barney Evans *

... Norah Elliot *

Frank Finlay Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English stage, film and television actor, Oscar-nominated for a supporting role as Iago in Laurence Olivier's 1965 film adaptation of ''Othello''. In 1983, Finlay was directed by Ital ...

... Percy Elliot *

Eileen Herlie Eileen Herlie (March 8, 1918 – October 8, 2008) was a Scottish-American actress. Personal life Eileen Herlie was born Eileen Isobel Herlihy to an Irish Catholic father, Patrick Herlihy, and a Scottish Protestant mother, Isobel Cowden, ...

... Ruth Gray * Alison Leggatt ... Mrs. Elliot *

... George Dillon *James Valentine... Geoffrey Colwyn-Stuart * David Vaughan ... Mr Webb

2005 London revival

A successful West End revival of the play ran at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

from 27 September 2005 until 14 January 2006, directed by Peter Gill and starring

Joseph Fiennes Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor of film, stage, and television. Journalist Zoe Williams observed that "he seemed to be the go-to actor for English cultural history". Fiennes is particu ...

, Francesca Annis and

Anne Reid Anne Reid, MBE (born 28 May 1935) is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000); and her role ...

. It also featured

Geoffrey Hutchings Geoffrey Hutchings (8 June 1939 – 1 July 2010) was an English stage, film and television actor. Early life and career Hutchings was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England. After attending Hardye's School, he studied French and Physical Educati ...

, Zoe Tapper,

Dorothy Atkinson Dorothy Caroline Atkinson (born 1966) is an English actress and singer. She has appeared in several plays by playwright Alan Ayckbourn and in films by Mike Leigh, including ''Topsy-Turvy'', ''All or Nothing'', and ''Mr. Turner'', which premiere ...

Stephen Greif Stephen John Greif (; 26 August 1944 – 23 December 2022) was an English actor known for his roles as Travis in ''Blake's 7'', Harry Fenning in three series of ''Citizen Smith'', Signor Donato in ''Casanova'' and Commander John Shepherd in '' ...

Hugh Simon Hugh Simon is a British actor, best known for his portrayal of the character Malcolm Wynn-Jones in the television series '' Spooks''. His other TV credits include '' Shackleton'', '' Attachments'', '' Cold Feet'', ''North Square'', '' Big Bad W ...

and

Alex Dunbar Alex Dunbar (born 23 April 1990) is a retired Scotland international rugby union player. His regular playing position was Centre. Rugby Union career Amateur career Born in Dumfries and a former pupil of Lockerbie Academy, Dunbar graduated in ...

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 Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

in the title role; and in 1994, another version starring Michael Maloney.

Online Reviews

Guardian

The Stage

Variety

Anni Bruno

References

External links

* {{John Osborne 1958 plays Plays by John Osborne Broadway plays