41
WEST OF SUEZ
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Description
A PLAYBILL FOR THE CAMBRIDGE THEATRE, OCTOBER 1971, starring Ralph Richardson and Jill Bennett; 76 x 50cm; 80 x 55cm (framed)
West of Suez opened at the Royal Court Theatre on 17th August 1971, and despite a tepid critical reception, transferred to the Cambridge Theatre in the West End that October. It was Osborne's twelfth play, and the main attraction of the Royal Court's summer season (see lot 34). 'Set in an imaginary former British colony, its main character, the novelist Wyatt Gillman, resembles a fading Evelyn Waugh who has become a spent force and a prophet opposed to change... Gillman is its symbol of values floundering in a celebration of Western mediocrity and junk. The play isn't about nostalgia for Empire, but fear of the destruction of language and culture. Osborne has abandoned showbiz metaphors for something bigger and more profound - a warning about the fate of modern civilization. In its essential, cataclysmic message, the now forgotten West of Suez was ahead of its time. It's about terrorism.' (Heilpern, pp. 362 & 366).
Qty: 1
Written in 1971, the play examines the fading of Empire and antipathy for opposing ideologies.
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A PLAYBILL FOR THE CAMBRIDGE THEATRE, OCTOBER 1971, starring Ralph Richardson and Jill Bennett; 76 x 50cm; 80 x 55cm (framed)
West of Suez opened at the Royal Court Theatre on 17th August 1971, and despite a tepid critical reception, transferred to the Cambridge Theatre in the West End that October. It was Osborne's twelfth play, and the main attraction of the Royal Court's summer season (see lot 34). 'Set in an imaginary former British colony, its main character, the novelist Wyatt Gillman, resembles a fading Evelyn Waugh who has become a spent force and a prophet opposed to change... Gillman is its symbol of values floundering in a celebration of Western mediocrity and junk. The play isn't about nostalgia for Empire, but fear of the destruction of language and culture. Osborne has abandoned showbiz metaphors for something bigger and more profound - a warning about the fate of modern civilization. In its essential, cataclysmic message, the now forgotten West of Suez was ahead of its time. It's about terrorism.' (Heilpern, pp. 362 & 366).
Qty: 1
Written in 1971, the play examines the fading of Empire and antipathy for opposing ideologies.
Looking Back at John Osborne: Pictures and Possessions from his Estate The Hurst, Shropshire (Timed)
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