The Daughter-in-Law explained

The Daughter-in-Law
Characters:Mrs Gascoyne
Joe Gascoyne
Mrs Purdy
Minnie Gascoyne
Luther Gascoyne
Cabman
Place:Royal Court Theatre, London, England
Orig Lang:English

The Daughter-in-Law is the first play by D. H. Lawrence, completed in January 1913. Lawrence described it as "neither a tragedy nor a comedy - just ordinary". It was neither staged nor published in his lifetime.[1]

The first stage production, by Peter Gill at the Royal Court Theatre in 1967, contributed to a reappraisal of Lawrence's dramatic writing.[2] In 1968, The Times Literary Supplement said it was "a fine and moving piece of work" that "ought to be as well known as Sons and Lovers and the best Nottinghamshire stories".[3] In 2012, the critic Michael Billington described it as "quite extraordinary ... one of the great British dramas of the 20th century".[4]

Characters

Production history

The play, directed by Peter Gill, premiered on 16 March 1967 at the Royal Court Theatre, London. The cast comprised Gabrielle Daye, Anne Dyson, Victor Henry, Judy Parfitt, and Mike Pratt.[5]

Much later, it was revived at The Young Vic in 2002 under Artistic Director David Lan,[6] with The Guardian calling it "one of the great British dramas of the 20th century".

A year after, the Mint Theater Company produced the play in 2003 in New York City [7] with The New York Times naming it a top ten production of the year.[8]

In 2018, Arcola Theatre produced the play directed by Jack Gamble[9] [10]

Adaptations

In 2015, the National Theater with the Royal Exchange Theater co-produced Husbands and Sons, an adaption that wove together The Daughter-In-Law, A Collier’s Friday Night, and The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd into a single three-hour narrative.[11] The three D. H. Lawrence plays were adapted by Ben Power and the production was directed by Marianne Elliott[12]

Television

In 1985, the BBC broadcast a production directed by Martyn Friend with Sheila Hancock as Mrs Gascoigne, Cherie Lunghi as Minnie and David Threlfall as Luther.[13]

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Lawrence, David Herbert. The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd and Other Plays. Oxford University Press. 2001. xxvii.
  2. News: Billington . Michael . A shining light: Peter Gill, the unsung hero of British theatre . The Guardian . 4 September 2019 . en.
  3. Book: Moran, James. The Theatre of D. H. Lawrence. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2015. 6.
  4. Web site: The Daughter-in-Law review, The Guardian.
  5. Web site: The Daughter-in-Law, Peter Gill.
  6. News: Billington . Michael . The Daughter-in-Law, Young Vic, London . The Guardian . 13 September 2002 . en.
  7. News: Weber . Bruce . THEATER REVIEW; D. H. Lawrence's Young Wisdom . The New York Times . 16 June 2003.
  8. News: Weber . Bruce . THEATER: THE HIGHS; The Plays And Players Of the Year . The New York Times . 28 December 2003.
  9. News: Billington . Michael . The Daughter-in-Law review – is this the best British working-class drama? . The Guardian . 29 May 2018 . en.
  10. Web site: The Daughter-in-Law . Arcola Theatre . 5 February 2018.
  11. Web site: Husbands & Sons . National Theatre . 23 October 2015.
  12. News: Billington . Michael . Husbands and Sons review – Anne-Marie Duff shines through violation of DH Lawrence . The Guardian . 28 October 2015 . en.
  13. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/3ec3ac15ac5641399364693b388edb47 The Daughter-in-Law – BBC – Radio Times