''The Philanthropist'' is a play by Christopher Hampton, written as a response to

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's ''

The Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (french: Le Misanthrope ou l'Atrabilaire amoureux; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris b ...

''. After opening 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, Englan ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in August 1970, the piece, directed by

Robert Kidd The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, transferred to the May Fair Theatre in the West End and ran there for over three years, subsequently going on a regional tour in 1974. In the meantime, the play, directed once again by Kidd, 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 Stree ...

in March 1971, running till May of the same year. Kidd had previously collaborated with Hampton on ''When Did You Last See Your Mother?'' (1964), which had also been staged at the Royal Court Theatre. Described by Hampton as a "bourgeois comedy", the piece is set in an "English University Town". ''The Philanthropist'' demonstrated Hampton's ability "to write witty, subtle and revealing dialogue."

Plot

A ''CurtainUp!'' review gave the following summary:

Productions

The original

production opened in August 1970.BWW News Desk
"'THE PHILANTHROPIST' Opens on Bdwy 4/26"
BroadwayWorld. After five weeks it transferred direct to the May Fair Theatre and remained there until late 1973. ''The Philanthropist'' premiered on

at the

Ethel Barrymore Theatre The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theater at 241 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1928, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the Elizabethan, Mediterranean, and Adam styles ...

on March 15, 1971, following previews from March 11. As in London, the cast featured

Alec McCowen Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. Early life McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dance ...

in the lead role. David Merrick and

Michael Codron Sir Michael Victor Codron (born 8 June 1930) is a British theatre producer, known for his productions of the early work of Harold Pinter, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Simon Gray and Tom Stoppard. He has been honoured with a Laurence Olivi ...

produced. The Broadway production ran for 64 performances, closing on May 15, 1971. ''

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 ...

'' described it as "a good evening of high-class theatrical highjinks that says more than might be seen on the surface".Alexis Soloski
"Broderick on Broadway – a Philanthropist that's enough to turn anyone into a misanthrope"
''Guardian''. The show was nominated for three

Tony Awards 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 c ...

, including the 1971

Tony Award for Best Play The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non- musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year ...

, and McCowen won a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for Outstanding Performance.

directed the production, which featured set design by John Gunter, costumes by Sara Brook, and lighting by Lloyd Burlingame. The first US revival opened at the

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...

on September 27, 1983, playing a limited engagement run until November 20, 1983. The play has been produced regionally many times, including the Bench Theatre Group's 1978 production at the

Havant Arts Centre The Spring Arts & Heritage Centre (known as the Havant Arts Centre until 2009) is an arts centre in Havant, Hampshire, England. Containing a small theatre (135 seats), the arts centre is used for professional and amateur theatre, music of all ki ...

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Cast ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, and in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

in March 2003. A major

revival was staged by

Kenneth Ives Kenneth Ainsworth Ives (26 March 1934 – 6 March 2022) was a British actor turned television director with a number of 1960s and 1970s television credits. As an actor, he appeared in the 1968 film version of '' The Lion in Winter'' as Queen E ...

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c.1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the archit ...

in 1991; with Edward Fox in the lead, it ran from May to October. A further revival was directed by David Grindley at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mi ...

, running from September to October 15, 2005 and starring

Simon Russell Beale Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He is known for his appearances in film, television and theatre, and work on radio, on audiobooks and as a narrator. For his services to drama, he was knighted by Queen Eliza ...

as Philip with

Anna Madeley Anna Madeley (born 1 October 1976) is an English actress. She performed for three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has appeared in three off-West End productions. She has starred in productions on each of the main British televisi ...

as Celia.Loveridge, Lizzie
"The Philanthropist - Curtain Up Review"
''CurtainUp'', September 15, 2005. In 2009, the

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...

produced a revival starring

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. His roles include the Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of the title character in '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), the voice of adult Simba in Disney's ''The Lion King'' (1994) ...

, which opened on April 26 at the American Airlines Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The revival, met with mixed reviews, and closed on June 28, 2009, after 73 performances. This production was directed by David Grindley; sets were by Tim Shortall, lighting was by Rick Fisher, and costumes were by Tobin Ost, with sound design by Gregory Clarke. In 2017 it was revived at London's

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

, directed by

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in ''A Room with a View (1985 ...

, with a cast including

Simon Bird Simon Antony Bird (born 19 August 1984) is an English comedian, actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Will McKenzie in the multi-award-winning E4 comedy series ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008–2010), as well as its two films ...

Matt Berry Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974) is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy series such as '' The IT Crowd'', ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'', ''The Mighty Boosh'', ''Snuff Box'', ''What ...

Charlotte Ritchie Charlotte Anne Ritchie (born 29 August 1989) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Alison in ''Ghosts'', Oregon in Channel 4 comedy '' Fresh Meat'', Hannah in '' Siblings'', Alison in '' Dead Pixels'', Barbara Gilbe ...

, Lily Cole and Tom Rosenthal. A BBC television adaptation, starring

Ronald Pickup Ronald Alfred Pickup (7 June 1940 – 24 February 2021) was an English actor. He was active in television, film, and theatre, beginning with a 1964 appearance in ''Doctor Who''. Theatre critic Michael Billington described him as "a terrific sta ...

as Philip,

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

as Celia and

James Bolam James Christopher Bolam (born 16 June 1935) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Terry Collier in ''The Likely Lads'' and its sequel ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', Jack Ford in ''When the Boat Comes In'', Roy Fi ...

as Don, was screened in October 1975, and is contained in a 6 DVD set of Mirren's work for the BBC.

Characters and casts

''Casts of major productions'' Note: In later versions of the piece, "Elizabeth" replaced the character "Liz".

Awards and nominations

;1970 Theatre Critics Awards *Best New Play (winner) ;1971

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 cer ...

s *Best Play (''nominee'') *Best Actor in Play (McCowen, ''nominee'') *Best Featured Actor in a Play (Zimmermann, ''nominee'') ;1971

s *Outstanding Performance (McCowen, winner) ;2005

Evening Standard Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standar ...

s *Best Actor (Beale, winner) ;2006 Critics' Circle Awards *Best Actor (Beale, winner)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Philanthropist American plays Broadway plays 1970 plays