''A Life'' is a bittersweet comedy by Irish playwright

Hugh Leonard Hugh Leonard (9 November 1926 – 12 February 2009) was an Irish dramatist, television writer, and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote nearly 30 full-length plays, 10 one-act plays, three volumes of essay, two autobiograph ...

. The primary character is Desmond Drumm, a highly intelligent but bitterly cynical civil servant who must try to make sense of his life after learning that he has a terminal illness. A major subplot involves Drumm's feeling for Mary (once known as Mibs), the only woman he ever truly loved. Drumm alienated Mary years earlier, and she married a lazy, callow, layabout who represents everything Drumm dislikes in lower-class Irish culture. Drumm was a secondary character in Leonard's earlier

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning play ''Da''.

Productions

The play had premiered at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

, Dublin starring

Cyril Cusack Cyril James Cusack (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish stage and screen actor with a career that spanned more than 70 years. During his lifetime, he was considered one of Ireland's finest thespians, and was renowned for his inte ...

in 1979. The play opened 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 ...

at the

Morosco Theatre The Morosco Theatre was a Broadway theatre near Times Square in New York City from 1917 to 1982. It housed many notable productions and its demolition, along with four adjacent theaters, was controversial. History Located at 217 West 45th Stre ...

on 2 November 1980 and closed on 3 January 1981 after 64 performances and 8 previews."'A Life' Broadway"
playbillvault.com, accessed September 12, 2015 Directed by

Peter Coe Percy Newbold "Peter" Coe (27 September 1919 – 9 August 2008) was a British athletics coach, author, translator and coach of his son Sebastian Coe. Early life and education Coe was born Percy Newbold Coe in Stepney, the only child of carpent ...

, the cast featured

Roy Dotrice Roy Dotrice (26 May 1923 – 16 October 2017) was a British stage and screen actor. He played the antiquarian John Aubrey in the solo play '' Brief Lives''. He won a Tony Award for his performance in the 2000 Broadway revival of '' A Moon for ...

as Drumm and

Pat Hingle Martin Patterson Hingle (July 19, 1924 – January 3, 2009) was an American character actor who appeared in stage productions and in hundreds of television shows and feature films. His first film was ''On the Waterfront'' in 1954. He often play ...

as Kearns. The play was nominated for four

s, including Best Play, Actor in a Play (Dotrice), Direction of a Play (Peter Coe), and Featured Actor in a Play (Adam Redfield). The ''Christian Science Monitor'' reviewer wrote: "'A Life' is eloquent, literate witty, and touching -- a rich and communicative theater event.... Hugh Leonard sheds fresh illumination on some of his favorite themes in this rich new character play at the Morosco Theater.... Drumm takes center stage in a work distinguished by Mr. Leonard's skillful blending of full-bodied comedy and deep-seated pathos." The

Irish Repertory Theatre The Irish Repertory Theatre is an Off-Broadway theatre company founded in 1988. History The Irish Repertory Theatre was founded by Ciarán O'Reilly and Charlotte Moore and opened its doors in September 1988 with Sean O'Casey's '' The Plough ...

presented the play

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in June 2001, starring

Fritz Weaver Fritz William Weaver (January 19, 1926 − November 26, 2016) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 theatre, television, and film productions in a career spanning nearly 60 years. Weaver won the 1970 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play ...

as Drumm and

Pauline Flanagan Pauline Flanagan (29 June 1925 – 28 June 2003) was an Irish-born actress who had a long career on stage, she was best known in the United States for her role as Annie Colleary, on the television soap opera ''Ryan's Hope'' in 1979 and again i ...

as Mary. In regional theatre, the Northlight Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, presented the play in March to April 2010, starring

John Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-American actor. He played retired police officer Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, receiving nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two P ...

."Northlight Theatre presents Hugh Leonard's 'A Life'"
theatreinchicago.com, accessed September 12, 2015 ''A Life'' received its first London revival in over 30 years at the

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...

in October 2012. Directed by Eleanor Rhode and produced by Snapdragon Productions, the cast included Hugh Ross as Drumm and Kate Binchy as Mary.''A Life''
finboroughtheatre.co.uk, accessed September 12, 2015

References

1979 plays Irish plays Plays based on other plays {{1980s-play-stub