''Steaming'' is a 1981 play written by English playwright
Nell Dunn first staged at
Theatre Royal, Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose s ...
, in London. It won the 1981
Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy (at the time known as the Society of West End Theatre Award for Best New Comedy).
The play opened on
Broadway at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was designed by Herbert ...
on December 12, 1983, running for 65 performances and ten previews. The cast included
Judith Ivey
Judith Lee Ivey (born September 4, 1951) is an American actress and theatre director. She has twice won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: for '' Steaming'' (1981) and '' Hurlyburly'' (1984). She has also appeared in several fil ...
,
Pauline Flanagan
Pauline Flanagan (29 June 1925 – 28 June 2003) was a 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 in ...
,
Lisa Jane Persky
Lisa Jane Persky (born May 5, 1955) is an American actress, journalist, author, artist, and photographer. She played supporting roles in the films '' The Great Santini'' (1979) '' Peggy Sue Got Married'' (1986) and '' When Harry Met Sally...'' ( ...
,
Linda Thorson, and
Margaret Whitton. Reviewing the production in ''
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 ...
'',
Frank Rich
Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO.
Rich is curren ...
praised Ivey's performance, and wrote "Though in no way an accomplished play, ''Steaming'' is still lightly enjoyable when it isn't preaching. The talk is often amusing and seemingly authentic ... The American ''Steaming'' contains far more nudity than the London version, but it's handled un-self-consciously and adds verisimilitude where once there was prurient coyness."
During 2010, Jally Entertainment toured Australia with the play, starring
Val Lehman (best known for her role in TV serial
Prisoner
A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison.
...
) and Alli Pope.
Film adaptation
The play was adapted for film by Patricia Losey released in 1985. The film was directed by
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Blacklisted ...
with
Vanessa Redgrave
Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...
,
Sarah Miles
Sarah Miles (born 31 December 1941) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in films '' The Servant'' (1963), '' Blowup'' (1966), '' Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), '' The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' (1973), '' White Mischief'' (1987) and ' ...
, and
Diana Dors
Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer.
Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was ...
.
References
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Further reading
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External links
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1981 plays
Broadway plays
Comedy plays
Laurence Olivier Award-winning plays
British plays adapted into films
Plays by Nell Dunn
West End plays
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