HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Cocktail Party'' is a play by
T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biog ...
. The play was the most popular of Eliot's seven plays in his lifetime, although his 1935 play, ''
Murder in the Cathedral ''Murder in the Cathedral'' is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot, first performed in 1935, that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry II in 1170. Eliot drew heavily on the writin ...
'', is better remembered today. It focuses on a troubled married couple who, through the intervention of a mysterious stranger, settle their problems and move on with their lives. ''The Cocktail Party'' was written while Eliot was a visiting scholar at the
Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...
in
Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of wh ...
in 1948. It was first performed at the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fes ...
in 1949. In 1950 the play had successful runs in London and New York theaters (the
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
production received the 1950
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 ...
for Best Play.) The play starts out seeming to be a light satire of the traditional British
drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...
comedy. As it progresses, however, the work becomes a darker philosophical/psychological treatment of human relations. As in many of Eliot's works, the play uses absurdist elements to expose the isolation of the
human condition The human condition is all of the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed ...
. In another recurring theme of Eliot's plays, the Christian martyrdom of the mistress character is seen as a sacrifice that permits the predominantly secular life of the community to continue. Elements of the play (namely, and perhaps only, Edward's initial concealment of Lavinia's absence) are said to be based on
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars at ...
' play ''
Alcestis Alcestis (; Ancient Greek: Ἄλκηστις, ') or Alceste, was a princess in Greek mythology, known for her love of her husband. Her life story was told by pseudo-Apollodorus in his '' Bibliotheca'', and a version of her death and return fro ...
''. In 1951, in the first Theodore Spencer Memorial Lecture at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
Eliot criticised his own plays in the second half of the lecture, explicitly the plays ''
Murder in the Cathedral ''Murder in the Cathedral'' is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot, first performed in 1935, that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry II in 1170. Eliot drew heavily on the writin ...
'', '' The Family Reunion'', and ''The Cocktail Party''. The lecture was published as "Poetry and Drama" and later included in Eliot's 1957 collection ''On Poetry and Poets''.


Synopsis

Edward Chamberlayne's wife Lavinia has left him, after five years of marriage, just as they are about to host a cocktail party at their London home. To keep up appearances, he pretends that she has gone to see her aunt. Later, he confesses to a mysterious Unidentified Guest that Lavinia has in fact left him. The Unidentified Guest offers to bring Lavinia back, and does so. The Unidentified Guest turns out to be the 'psychiatrist' Sir Henry Harcourt-Reilly. Edward and Lavinia both consult with Reilly at his office. He tells them that they have been deceiving themselves and must face life's realities: their life together, though hollow and superficial, is preferable to life apart. This message is difficult for the play's third main character, Celia, to accept. She, at the psychiatrist's urging, sets out upon the path to sainthood, embracing a life of greater honesty and salvation that leads her to become a
Christian mystic Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
fated to endure martyrdom on the fictional Eastern island of Kinkanja. Following Celia's consultation with the 'psychiatrist', it is revealed that the characters Reilly, Julia and Alex are not, in fact, humans but angelic beings dedicated to the 'transhumanising' of the human soul: two paths lie open to humans: the first being the way of companionable self-deception ('the hearth') embraced by the vast majority - as epitomised in the relationship between Edward and Lavinia, and the second that of the saint, embraced by a gifted — or burdened — few. Two years later, Edward and Lavinia, now better adjusted, host another cocktail party, at which they are told by Alex of Celia's martyrdom, for which they confess feeling a measure of guilt at what they consider the tragic waste of her life, but which Reilly considers a triumph. It is further hinted that Peter Quilpe is another of the rare individuals destined, like Celia, to follow the arduous but fulfilling path to sainthood/enlightenment.


Characters

*Edward Chamberlayne *Lavinia Chamberlayne *Celia Coplestone, with whom Edward has had an affair *Peter Quilpe, who yearns for Celia *Julia Shuttlethwaite *Alexander MacColgie Gibbs *An Unidentified Guest, later identified as Sir Henry Harcourt-Reilly *A Nurse-Secretary (secretary to Sir Henry)


Productions

After its debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 1949 with
Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (194 ...
in the role of the unidentified guest, produced by Henry Sherek and directed by E. Martin Browne, ''The Cocktail Party'' premiered on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
on 21 January 1950 at the
Henry Miller's Theatre The Stephen Sondheim Theatre, formerly Henry Miller's Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 124 West 43rd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Owned by the Durst Organization and managed by the Roundabout Theatre ...
and ran for 409 performances. Produced by
Gilbert Miller } Gilbert Heron Miller (July 3, 1884 – January 3, 1969) was an American theatrical producer. Born in New York City, he was the son of English-born theatrical producer Henry Miller and Bijou Heron, a former child actress. Raised and educated ...
and directed by E. Martin Browne, the production starred Guinness as the mysterious stranger. It received the 1950
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 ...
for Best Play. The play also ran in London with
Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French Without Tears'', in wha ...
as the unidentified guest. A revival opened on 7 October 1968 at the Lyceum Theatre and ran for 44 performances. The Chamberlaynes were played by
Brian Bedford Brian Bedford (16 February 1935 – 13 January 2016) was an English actor. He appeared in film and on stage, and was an actor-director of Shakespeare productions. Bedford was nominated for seven Tony Awards for his theatrical work. He served ...
and
Frances Sternhagen Frances Hussey Sternhagen (born January 13, 1930) is an American actress; she has appeared on- and off-Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.Joy, Car"Frances Sternhagen in Talks to Join Company of Broadway Magnolias" Broadway.com, Nov ...
, with
Sydney Walker Sydney Walker (May 5, 1921 – September 30, 1994) was an American character actor of stage and screen and voice artist, with a career that spanned over five decades. Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Walker developed an interest in ...
as the mysterious stranger.
Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in o ...
returned to the role of the unidentified guest at the
Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...
under his own direction in 1968, taking the production to
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 ...
later in the year. In the spring of 2010, the New York-based Off-Broadway company The Actors Company Theatre (TACT) presented the play.


References


Further reading

*T. S. Eliot, ''The Complete Poems and Plays'' *Grover Smith, ''T.S. Eliot's Poetry and Plays: A Study in Sources and Meaning'' * E. Martin Browne, ''The Making of T.S. Eliot's Plays''.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocktail Party, The 1950 plays Broadway plays Faber and Faber books Plays based on works by Euripides Plays by T. S. Eliot Tony Award-winning plays Works based on Alcestis (play) Modern adaptations of works by Euripides