A memory play is a

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 ...

in which a lead character narrates the events of the play, which are drawn from the character's memory. The term was coined by playwright

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

, describing his work '' The Glass Menagerie''. In his production notes, Williams says, "Being a 'memory play', ''The Glass Menagerie'' can be presented with unusual freedom of convention." In a widening of the definition, it has been argued that

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

's plays '' Old Times'', '' No Man's Land'' and ''

Betrayal Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. Of ...

'' are memory plays, where "memory becomes a weapon".

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

's ''

Dancing at Lughnasa ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in County Donegal, Ireland in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator. He re ...

'' is a late 20th-century example of the genre.

''The Glass Menagerie''

In the script, Williams describes the scene: In his first few lines Tom Wingfield declares: The action of the play is loosely based on Williams' own memories. The narrator, Tom Wingfield, moves in and out of the action, directly addressing the audience at times. The other characters Amanda and Laura also revisit their own memories throughout. Williams' plays ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'' and '' Summer and Smoke'' are also referred to as memory plays.

Other examples

Dharamveer Bharti wrote ''Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda'' in 1952. It was adapted on screen by Shyam Benegal in 1992 as a film of the same name. The 1970s works of Harold Pinter, including ''

Landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

'', ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

'', '' A Kind of Alaska'', ''Betrayal'' and ''Old Times'' have been described by Michael Billington and others as memory plays. Characters recite their own versions of past events and there is no clear indication of which, if any, is true. In Friel's ''Dancing at Lughnasa'', "a memory play focusing on the five unmarried Mundy sisters who struggle to maintain the family home ... The memory controlling the play's shape and substance belongs to Michael, the 'love child' of Chris, youngest of the sisters." Critic Irving Wardle has argued that Friel invented the modern memory play, citing '' Philadelphia, Here I Come!'' and '' Faith Healer'' as examples. The play, '' Da'', by Hugh Leonard is another example of a memory play. The term has also been used to describe film, such as

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

's '' The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'', described by Scott Eyman as containing "under-populated sets" and "archetypal characters". In a 2007 essay entitled "Some Memory Plays Before the 'Memory Play'", academic and director Attilio Favorini identifies

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 play ...

, Pirandello and O'Neill as early 20th-century exponents of the memory play, arguing the influence of Freud and

Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of over 20 books, illustrator, and correspondent, Jung was a c ...

on their work.

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book, last=Williams, first=Tennessee, title=The Glass Menagerie, year=1945, publisher=Penguin, isbn=978-0-141-19026-6 Drama genres Memory Theatrical genres