The Lion in Love (play) explained

The Lion in Love
Setting:"a town in the North of England"
Premiere:5 September 1960
Place:Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
Orig Lang:English
Genre:Drama

The Lion In Love is a 1960 play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney.[1] It was her second written play.[2] It was premiered at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry on 5 September 1960 [3] [1] With a cast from the English Stage Company, the play commenced a run at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 29 December 1960.[3] [4] The work has been described as a "follow up" to Delaney's 1958 play A Taste of Honey but did not achieve that earlier play's success.[5]

Productions

Royal Court Theatre 1960

Cast[3]
Production[3]

Off-Broadway 1963

The Lion in Love had an Off-Broadway professional run in the United States in 1963.[6] The 1963 production was not a critical or popular success.[7]

Salford Arts Theatre 2014

The play had a professional revival by Eat Theatre at Salford Arts Theatre in 2014.[8]

Original reception

Response to the play was largely negative, both critically and commercially, but in retrospect it has been seen as a success by ordinary standards.[9] [10] Though conservative critics such as W.A. Darlington disapproved of its kitchen sink milieu, Bernard Levin, one of the new breed of critics, wrote, "The fact is, Miss Delaney is not only a shrewd and penetrating observer; she is a very delicate artist."[1] Delaney herself responded with nonchalance, “I expected bad notices and those I have read, if they had been written about any other play, would make me want to dash out to go and see it.” [11]

Delaney did not write again for the theatre for almost twenty years.[12] In 1979 she adapted her BBC series The House That Jack Built for Off-Off-Broadway's Cubicolo Theatre.[13] [14] [15]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Shelagh Delaney obituary: feisty playwright best known for her ground-breaking debut, A Taste of Honey. Dennis Barker. Dennis Barker. 22 November 2011. The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. 11 July 2013.
  2. News: Taste of Honey Playwright Shelagh Delaney dies at 71. 21 November 2011. BBC News. BBC. 3 July 2018.
  3. Book: The Lion in Love. Methuen & Co Ltd. London. 1961.
  4. Web site: Production of The Lion in Love | Theatricalia. theatricalia.com.
  5. News: Shelagh Delaney: Writer best known for her controversial first play 'A Taste of Honey'. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/shelagh-delaney-writer-best-known-for-her-controversial-first-play-a-taste-of-honey-6265757.html . 2022-06-18 . subscription . live. Chris Maume. Chris Maume. 22 November 2011. The Independent. 17 May 2018.
  6. News: Shelagh Delaney, Author of A Taste of Honey, Dies at 71 . Simonson. Robert. 22 November 2011. Robert Simonson. Playbill. 12 July 2013.
  7. News: Theater: It Won't Do, Luv . 22 December 2023 . . 3 May 1963.
  8. Web site: SHELAGH DELANEY THE LION IN LOVE AT SALFORD ARTS THEATRE - Salford Star - with attitude & love xxx. www.salfordstar.com.
  9. Book: Krueger, Christine L.. Encyclopedia of British Writers: 19th and 20th Centuries. July 11, 2014. Infobase Publishing. 9781438108704. Google Books.
  10. Web site: Tastes of Honey by Selina Todd review – illuminating life of Shelagh Delaney. Kate. Kellaway. August 25, 2019. www.theguardian.com.
  11. Web site: Shelagh Delaney: playwright on probation - archive, 20 September 1960. John. Mapplebeck. September 20, 2019. www.theguardian.com.
  12. Web site: Shelagh Delaney: The Start of the Possible. The British Library.
  13. Web site: The House that Jack Built. June 22, 1977. 2797. 43. BBC Genome.
  14. Book: Todd, Selina. Tastes of Honey: The Making of Shelagh Delaney and a Cultural Revolution. August 29, 2019. Random House. 9781473545090. Google Books.
  15. Web site: Shelagh Delaney Biography - eNotes.com. eNotes.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Lion in Love (play)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.