''Road'' is the first play written by Jim Cartwright, and was first produced in 1986 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 ...

Upstairs, directed by Simon Curtis. The play explores the lives of the people in a deprived, working class area of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

during the government of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, a time of high unemployment in the north of England. Despite its explicit nature, it was considered extremely effective in portraying the desperation of people's lives at this time, as well as containing a great deal of humour. Set on a road on a busy night, the audience delve into the houses on the street and the characters' lives. The play is often performed on a

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...

, allowing the audience to follow the narrator (Scullery) along the road and visit different sets and the different homes of the characters. The play has won a number of awards and was voted the 36th best play of the 20th century in a poll by the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

Notable productions

* After the initial performance at the

"Upstairs", with Edward Tudor-Pole as Scullery, the play moved "Downstairs" in 1987 with

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads ...

as the narrator. * ''Road'' was produced in New York by Lincoln Center Theater at La MaMa in 1988, with a cast including

Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997 ...

and

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller '' JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), t ...

. * In 1989 the theatre company 7:84 performed a production of the play, directed by David Hayman. * In 1994 the play was produced by Out of Joint theatre and directed by

Max Stafford-Clark Maxwell Robert Guthrie Stewart "Max" Stafford-Clark (born 17 March 1941) is a British theatre director. Life and career Stafford-Clark was born in Cambridge, England. the son of David Stafford-Clark, a physician, and Dorothy Crossley (née Old ...

. The production toured the UK and performed at the Leicester Haymarket and the Royal Court. * In 1995 Jim Cartwright directed a production at the

Royal Exchange, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

with Bernard Wrigley and Matthew Dunster. * In 2008 the play was revived at Bolton's Octagon Theatre, in a production directed by Noreen Kershaw and featuring Jim Cartwright's son James Cartwright as one of the actors. * The play was revived at the

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 ...

in 2017, directed by John Tiffany.

Film adaptation

Road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

'' was later made for television by renowned director

Alan Clarke Alan John Clarke (28 October 1935 – 24 July 1990) was an English television and film director, producer and writer. Life and career Clarke was born in Wallasey, Wirral, England. Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, ...

and starred many young actors who later became well-known including

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...

David Thewlis David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter. Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Awa ...

Moya Brady Moya Brady (born 8 September 1962) is an English actress. Her roles include Breda McQueen on the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2018 to 2020. Brady grew up in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. She has appeared in a ...

and Lesley Sharp.

References

External links

* {{Alan Clarke 1986 plays BBC television dramas 1980s debut plays Plays by Jim Cartwright