''Donkeys' Years'' is a play by English playwright Michael Frayn that premiered at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

, London, in 1976. The play is a West End

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

, a genre that Frayn parodied five years later in his play within a play "Nothing On" from '' Noises Off''. In ''Donkeys' Years'' six former students spend the weekend at their old university college for their 25th year reunion. The wife of the Master of the college becomes locked within its walls for the night, supplying the material for a classic bedroom farce. A Government minister is placed in a series of embarrassing positions. The play won the 1976 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. The play featured Penelope Keith, who subsequently won the 1976 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance. The play was revived in 2006 at the Comedy Theatre.

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