A memory play 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 * P ...

in which a lead character narrates the events of the play, which are drawn from the character's memory. The term was coined by playwright

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

, describing his work ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

''. In his production notes, Williams says, "Being a 'memory play', ''The Glass Menagerie'' can be presented with unusual freedom of convention." In a widening of the definition, it has been argued that Harold Pinter's plays ''

Old Times ''Old Times'' is a play by the Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in London on 1 June 1971. It starred Colin Blakely, Dorothy Tutin, and Vivien Merchant, and was direct ...

'', '' No Man's Land'' and ''

Betrayal Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. ...

'' are memory plays, where "memory becomes a weapon".

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

's ''

Dancing at Lughnasa ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in County Donegal in Ulster in the north of Ireland in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Eva ...

'' is a late 20th-century example of the genre.

''The Glass Menagerie''

In the script, Williams describes the scene: In his first few lines Tom Wingfield declares: The action of the play is loosely based on Williams' own memories. The narrator, Tom Wingfield, moves in and out of the action, directly addressing the audience at times. The other characters Amanda and Laura also revisit their own memories throughout. Williams' plays ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...

'' and ''

Summer and Smoke ''Summer and Smoke'' is a two-part, thirteen-scene play by Tennessee Williams, completed in 1948. He began working on the play in 1945 as ''Chart of Anatomy'', derived from his short stories "Oriflamme" and the then-work-in-progress "Yellow Bir ...

'' are also referred to as memory plays.

Other examples

Dharamveer Bharti wrote Suraj ka satvan ghoda in 1952. It was adapted on screen by Shyam benegal in 1992 as a film of same name. The 1970s works of Harold Pinter, including '' Landscape'', ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the c ...

'', ''

A Kind of Alaska ''A Kind of Alaska'' is a one-act play written in 1982 by British playwright Harold Pinter. Summary A middle-aged woman named Deborah, who has been in a comatose state for thirty years as a result of contracting "sleepy sickness," encephalitis l ...

'', ''Betrayal'' and ''Old Times'' have been described by Michael Billington and others as memory plays. Characters recite their own versions of past events and there is no clear indication of which, if any, is true. In Friel's ''Dancing at Lughnasa'', "a memory play focusing on the five unmarried Mundy sisters who struggle to maintain the family home ... The memory controlling the play's shape and substance belongs to Michael, the 'love child' of Chris, youngest of the sisters." Critic

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 ...

has argued that Friel invented the modern memory play, citing ''

Philadelphia, Here I Come! ''Philadelphia, Here I Come!'' is a 1964 play by Irish dramatist Brian Friel. Set in the fictional town of Ballybeg, County Donegal, the play launched Friel onto the international stage. Plot ''Philadelphia, Here I Come!'' centres around Gareth ...

'' and '' Faith Healer'' as examples. The play, '' Da'', by

Hugh Leonard Hugh Leonard (9 November 1926 – 12 February 2009) was an Irish dramatist, television writer, and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote nearly 30 full-length plays, 10 one-act plays, three volumes of essay, two autobiograph ...

is another example of a memory play. The term has also been used to describe film, such as

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

's ''

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'' () is a 1962 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and James Stewart. The screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck was adapted from a 1953 short story written by ...

'', described by Scott Eyman as containing "under populated sets" and "archetypal characters". In a 2007 essay entitled "Some Memory Plays Before the 'Memory Play'", academic and director Attilio Favorini identifies Ibsen,

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

, Pirandello and O'Neill as early 20th-century exponents of the memory play, arguing the influence of Freud and Jung on their work.

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book, last=Williams, first=Tennessee, title=The Glass Menagerie, year=1945, publisher=Penguin, isbn=978-0-141-19026-6 Drama genres Memory Theatrical genres