''That Good Night'' is a play by NJ Crisp, written with the intention of it being performed by

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...

and his son

Marc Sinden Marcus Andrew Sinden (born 9 May 1954) is an English actor and film & theatre director and producer. Sinden has worked in film and theatre (mainly in London's West End) as both actor and producer and directed the documentary series ''Great We ...

playing the central characters of the father and son. However Marc, who in 1991 had starred in Crisps' psychological thriller ''

Dangerous Obsession ''Dangerous Obsession'' is a psychological thriller written by N. J. Crisp which premièred at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley on 9 November 1987. A film, very loosely based on Crisp's play, was filmed in 1999 as '' Darkness Falls'', starring Ray ...

'', decided to produce it instead and so it became his first play as a

Theatrical Producer A theatrical producer is a person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The producer is responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backing, and hire ...

. The title is taken from the

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meaning ...

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Und ...

: ''"Do not go gentle into that good night,
''Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
''Rage, rage against the dying of the light."''

Original cast

It opened at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford on 2 April 1996 with the following cast (in order of appearance): *

Lucy Fleming Eve Lucinda "Lucy" Fleming (born 15 May 1947) is a British actress. Biography Early life and ancestry Fleming was born in Nettlebed, England. She is the second daughter of actress Celia Johnson and writer Peter Fleming (brother of James Bon ...

as ''Anna'' * Patrick Ryecart as ''Michael'' * Julie-Kate Olivier as ''Debbie'' *

as ''Ralph'' *

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and '' Chariots of F ...

as ''The Visitor''

Plot

Ralph is a successful screenwriter, charming, cantankerous, rude and a bully; in his time an avid womaniser and completely selfish. Now in his seventies and terminally ill, he has two final missions: to be reconciled to his long-abandoned son Michael and secretly to ensure he is not a burden to his younger, devoted and second wife Anna as he goes "into that good night". But when Michael arrives at the beautiful Tuscan villa for their first meeting in many years, Ralph wrecks all hope of reconciliation when he picks and loses a fight with Michael's beautiful girlfriend, Debbie. Later, alone, Ralph receives 'The Visitor' whose services he has hired to provide a painless ending, as he goes into 'That Good Night'. But The Visitor plays a devastating trick, causing Ralph to consider the damaged potential that life still holds for him.

Critical reception

Directed by Edward Hall (his first commercial tour), set designed by Michael Pavalka and lighting by Robert Bryan, critics at the time regarded the play as Crisps' finest work and both the production and performances received ecstatic reviews:

Production

The tour of the play coincided with Sinden's other son, actor

Jeremy Sinden Jeremy Mahony Sinden (14 June 1950 – 29 May 1996) was an English actor who specialised in playing eccentric military men and overgrown schoolboys.Times Obituary 31 May 1996 Early life Sinden was born in London into a theatrical family; ...

, becoming ill and dying of cancer on the 29 May 1996. The proposed West End transfer was cancelled.

Film

The film version, which

and

Jo Gilbert Joanne Lesley Gilbert (7 June 1955 – 15 September 2018) was an English film producer and casting director based in Holywood, near Belfast, Northern Ireland, and ran Real Holywood Productions. Career Producing At the time of her death, Jo G ...

are co-producing, was shot in Portugal starring Sir John Hurt and

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in '' The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in '' ...

and was released in 2017.{{Cite web, url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5271794/, title = That Good Night, website =

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

, date = 3 November 2020

References

1996 plays Plays by N. J. Crisp