A Life (play)
A Life is a bittersweet comedy by Irish playwright Hugh Leonard. 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
Productions
The play had premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin starring Cyril Cusack in 1979.[1]
The play opened on
The Irish Repertory Theatre presented the play Off-Broadway in June 2001, starring Fritz Weaver as Drumm and Pauline Flanagan as Mary.[4]
In regional theatre, the Northlight Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, presented the play in March to April 2010, starring John Mahoney.[5]
A Life received its first London revival in over 30 years at the Finborough Theatre in October 2012. Directed by Eleanor Rhode and produced by Snapdragon Productions, the cast included Hugh Ross as Drumm and Kate Binchy as Mary.[1]
References
- ^ a b A Life finboroughtheatre.co.uk, accessed September 12, 2015
- ^ a b "'A Life' Broadway" playbillvault.com, accessed September 12, 2015
- ^ Beaufort, John. "Broadway's eloquent new play by the author of 'Da'" csmonitor.com, November 7, 1980
- ^ Ehren, Christine. "Irish Rep Looks at Leonard's Life With Weaver, Flanagan, June 28-Aug. 12" Playbill, June 28, 2001
- ^ "Northlight Theatre presents Hugh Leonard's 'A Life'" theatreinchicago.com, accessed September 12, 2015
 | This article on a play from the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |