''Epitaph for George Dillon'' is an early

John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur, who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-war theatre. Born in London, he briefly worked as a jo ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, one of two he wrote in collaboration with Anthony Creighton (the other is '' Personal Enemy''). It was written before '' Look Back in Anger'', the play which made Osborne's career, but opened a year after at Oxford Experimental Theatre in 1957, and was then produced at

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 app ...

theatre, where ''Look Back in Anger'' had debuted. It transferred to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

shortly afterwards and garnered three

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 ...

nominations.

Themes

The play tells the story of Kate Elliot's unhappy suburban South London family and the domestic havoc wrought when she decides to adopt George Dillon as a surrogate son. It tackles typical Osborne themes, including religion (and Osborne's hatred thereof), vegetarianism, the casual deception of everyday life and scorn of the theatre. In common with Jimmy Porter in '' Look Back in Anger'', George Dillon is an intelligent man unable to find his place in the world.

London

It opened professionally 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 West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

on 11 February 1958, in a production by William Gaskill, with the following cast (in order of appearance): *

Wendy Craig Wendy Craig (born Anne Gwendolyn Craig; 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms '' Not in Front of the Children'' (1967–1970), '' ...And Mother Makes Three'' (1971–1973), '' ...And Mother M ...

... Josie Elliot * Yvonne Mitchell ... Ruth Gray *

Alison Leggatt Alison Joy Leggatt (7 February 1904 – 15 July 1990) was an English character actor, character actress. Career Born in the Kensington district of London, Leggatt trained under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based ...

... Mrs. Elliot * Avril Elgar ... Norah Elliot * Toke Townley ... Percy Elliot * Robert Stephens ... George Dillon * Philip Locke ... Geoffrey Colwyn-Stuart * Paul Bailey ... Mr Webb *

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 Fir ...

... Barney Evans ;Critical reception In ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'',

Kenneth Tynan Kenneth Peacock Tynan (2 April 1927 – 26 July 1980) was an English theatre critic and writer. Initially making his mark as a critic at ''The Observer'', he praised John Osborne's ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) and encouraged the emerging wave ...

called it "Powerful, honest and transfixing"; while in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'',

Harold Hobson Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author. Early life and education Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley, near Rotherham, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield ...

wrote that the play "absorbs and fascinates because it is that rarest of theatrical phenomena, a realistic modern drama which is not bourgeois in its underlying assumptions. It is like a familiar building caught at an angle which suddenly makes it look like something never seen before."

Broadway

It made its debut on Broadway on 4 November 1958 starring

but was a failure and closed on 22 November 1958 after just 23 performances. Another version by new management and separately-financed opened during the same season on 12 January 1959, again starring Craig but was also a commercial failure playing for 48 performances, and closing on 21 February 1959. The first version received three

nominations - Best play; best direction ( William Gaskill) and best actor ( Robert Stephens). ;Original Broadway cast *

... Josie Elliot *Felix Deebank ... Barney Evans * Avril Elgar ... Norah Elliot *

Frank Finlay Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English actor. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Iago in ''Othello'' (1965). His first leading television role came in 1971 in '' Casanova''.

... Percy Elliot * Eileen Herlie ... Ruth Gray *

... Mrs. Elliot * Robert Stephens ... George Dillon *James Valentine... Geoffrey Colwyn-Stuart * David Vaughan ... Mr Webb

2005 London revival

A successful West End revival of the play ran at the Comedy Theatre from 27 September 2005 until 14 January 2006, directed by Peter Gill and starring Joseph Fiennes, Francesca Annis and Anne Reid. It also featured Geoffrey Hutchings, Zoe Tapper,

Dorothy Atkinson Dorothy Caroline Atkinson (born 1966) is an English actress and singer. She has appeared in several plays by playwright Alan Ayckbourn and in films by Mike Leigh, including ''Topsy-Turvy'', '' All or Nothing'', and '' Mr. Turner'', which premi ...

, Stephen Greif, Hugh Simon and Alex Dunbar.

Adaptations

In 1969,

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

broadcast a production starring

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

in the title role; and in 1994, another version starring Michael Maloney.

Online Reviews

Guardian

The Stage

Variety

Anni Bruno

References

External links

* {{John Osborne 1958 plays Plays by John Osborne Broadway plays