''Early Morning'' is a

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

farce by the English dramatist Edward Bond. It was first produced in 1968, opening on 31 March 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 ...

, directed 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 ...

. The play takes place in a contorted version of the court of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

who is portrayed as a lesbian. Her two sons are made

conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined ''Uterus, in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher in ...

. This made the play extremely scandalous, as did a scene in which the character Len eats another person standing in a queue in front of him. Like Bond's earlier play ''Saved'' (1965), it was initially condemned but later came to be viewed positively.

The censor

''Early Morning'' was the final play to be banned by the

Lord Chamberlain's Office The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is concerned with matters such as protocol, state visits, investitures, garden parties, royal weddings and funerals. For example, in April 2005 it organised th ...

when it was refused a license in its entirety in November 1967. The Royal Court then formed a members-only club to stage the play (as they had with Bond's '' Saved''), but their plans were thwarted with the arrival of police at the 1968 first night. A further performance was given under guise of a free dress rehearsal in April. However, in September, stage censorship was abolished altogether with the passing of the

Theatres Act 1968 The Theatres Act 1968 abolished censorship of the stage in the United Kingdom, receiving royal assent on 26 July 1968, after passing both Houses of Parliament.English Stage Company 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 ...

subsequently staged an ‘Edward Bond season’ at the Royal Court in 1969, with ''Saved'', ''

Narrow Road to the Deep North Narrow may refer to: * The Narrow, rock band from South Africa * Narrow banking, proposed banking system that would eliminate bank runs and the need for a deposit insurance * narrow gauge railway, a railway that has a track gauge narrower than th ...

'' and ''Early Morning'', followed by a European tour of the plays.

Original cast

*Albert -

Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is most known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom '' Yes Minister'' and the Cabi ...

*Disraeli -

Malcolm Tierney Malcolm Tierney (25 February 1938 – 18 February 2013) was an English actor who appeared in many film and television roles. Early life Tierney's father, Ernest, was a boilermaker and trained draughtsman, from Warrington, who worked at Blackpoo ...

*Arthur -

Peter Eyre Peter Gervaise Joseph Eyre (born 11 March 1942) is an American-born English actor. Eyre was born in New York City, the son of Dorothy Pelline ( née Acton) and Edward Joseph Eyre, a banker. He was sent to a public school in England at the age ...

*George -

Tom Chadbon Tom Chadbon (born 27 February 1946, in Luton) is an English actor who has spent much of his career appearing on British television. Although principally a character actor, he has occasionally had leading or recurring roles. Chadbon starred in a ...

*Lord Chamberlain - David Anderson *Lord Mennings -

Norman Eshley Norman Eshley (born 30 May 1945) is an English actor best known for his television roles. Biography Eshley attended Bristol Grammar School and worked in a bank, before training as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He played many ...

*Queen Victoria -

Moira Redmond Moira Redmond (14 July 1928 – 16 March 2006) was an English actress. Biography She was born in Bognor Regis, Sussex, England. Her parents were actors and director managers, although she was also cared for by other relatives. Her grandfath ...

*Florence Nightingale -

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

*Len -

Dennis Waterman Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''The Sweeney'', '' Minder'' and '' New Tricks'', singing the theme tunes of th ...

*Joyce - Jane Howell *Jones - Hugh Armstrong *Griss -

Harry Meacher Harry Meacher is a British actor, director and playwright. Biography Harry Meacher grew up in Hainault, near Chigwell, Essex. In his teens he worked with Joan Littlewood in Stratford and with James Cooper in Ilford. He won a scholarship to ...

*Doctor - Gavin Reid *Gladstone - Jack Shepherd *Ned -

Bruce Robinson Bruce Robinson (born 2 May 1946) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote and directed the cult classic ''Withnail and I'' (1987), a film with comic and tragic elements set in London in the late 1960s, which drew on hi ...

*Julian - We May Never Know

Critical reception

Maeve Walsh in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' argues that reviews for the second (post-censorship) performance of ''Early Morning'' were negative, noting that amongst contemporary reviews, the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'' accused the play of "Making an art form of the revolting"; ''City Press'' called it "The most disturbing and grotesque piece I have ever seen"; and ''

The People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ...

'' concluded, "Ugh".

Herbert Kretzmer Herbert Kretzmer (5 October 192514 October 2020) was a South African-born English journalist and lyricist. He was best known as the lyricist for the English-language musical adaptation of ''Les Misérables'' and for his long-time collaboration ...

remarked that the three plays staged in 1969 (''Saved'', ''Early Morning'' and ''Narrow Road to the Deep North'') served as "a reminder that it is possible to become famous for having achieved nothing much at all." However, Kathleen Riley wrote in ''Nigel Hawthorne on Stage'' (2005) that reception after the second performance was "considerably warmer". Ronald Bryden of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' also reported in 1974 that after the 1969 revival of three Bond plays including ''Early Morning'', "the consensus was that a formidable talent had been savagely misjudged." Martin Esslin described it as a "strange, significant, and important play". T. J. Groser called ''Early Morning'' a difficult but "important" play in a 1970 review of a

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

performance. In a 1980 article, academic Frances Rademacher listed it among Bond's major plays. Niloufer Harben asserted in 1988 that "it is an extraordinary achievement. Revolutionary in approach and intention, it opens up new possibilities for the treatment of history.” Jenny S. Spencer wrote in a 1992 book on Bond that the play is "richly textured" and "incorporates the working-class wit of ''Saved''". Jana J. Monji of ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' praised the play as "delightfully nasty" and very "intellectually satisfying".

References

Sources

* Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre.'' Cambridge: Cambridge UP. {{ISBN, 0-521-43437-8. 1968 plays Plays by Edward Bond Cultural depictions of Florence Nightingale Cultural depictions of Queen Victoria Cultural depictions of Benjamin Disraeli Calder Publishing books