A Night Out (play)
Encyclopedia
- For the musical, see A Night Out (musical)A Night Out (musical)A Night Out is a musical comedy with a book by George Grossmith, Jr. and Arthur Miller, music by Willie Redstone and Cole Porter and lyrics by Clifford Grey. The story is adapted from the 1894 French comedy L'Hôtel du libre échange by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallières...
.
A Night Out is a play written by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
in 1959.
Plot and overview
Albert Stokes, a loner in his late twenties lives with his emotionally-suffocating mother and works in an office. After being falsely accused of groping a female at an office party, he wanders the streets until he meets a girl, who invites him to her flat, where he responds to her overtures by angrily demeaning her. Then he returns home to his mother.The play had its first performance on the BBC Third Programme
BBC Third Programme
The BBC Third Programme was a national radio network broadcast by the BBC. The network first went on air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces in Britain, playing a crucial role in disseminating the arts...
on 1 March 1960, with Pinter's acting-school classmate and friend Barry Foster
Barry Foster (actor)
Barry Foster was a British actor who appeared in numerous film roles and is known for his leading role as a Dutch detective in the ITV drama series, Van der Valk, which spanned five series over 20 years from 1972....
as Albert Stokes, Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
as Seeley, and Vivien Merchant
Vivien Merchant
Vivien Merchant was a British actress.-Career:Merchant performed in many stage productions and several films, including Alfie and Frenzy...
, Pinter's first wife, as the Girl. (Full production details and "Radio Review" accessible at haroldpinter.org.)
Its performance on television a month later, on 24 April 1960, was Pinter's first big success as a playwright in that medium. As presented on ABC Television
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
's Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre
Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television after 1968....
, it was viewed by 6.4 million households, at that time a record for a single television drama.
Some other ABC production details (full cast and credits accessible at Screenonline):
- Director Philip SavillePhilip SavillePhilip Saville is a British television direction and screenwriting from the late 1950s...
- Producer Sydney NewmanSydney NewmanSydney Cecil Newman, OC was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s...
- Designer Assheton GortonAssheton GortonAssheton Gorton is an English production designer. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film The French Lieutenant's Woman and was the BAFTA nominated art director for Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 film Blowup.-Selected filmography:*The Knack ...and How...
Cast:
- Tom BellTom Bell (actor)Tom Bell was an English actor on stage, film and television. He was dark-haired, lean, and in his later years often played characters having a sinister side to their nature.-Biography:...
- Albert Stokes - Madge RyanMadge RyanMadge Ryan was an Australian film, theatre and television actress.-Career:Already an established theatre actor in Sydney, Australia, she emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1957 and starred in many British stage shows...
- Mrs Stokes - Harold PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
(as David Baron) - Seeley - Philip LockePhilip LockePhilip Locke was an English actor.He is possibly best known for his role as villainous SPECTRE underling Vargas in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball...
- Kedge - Vivien MerchantVivien MerchantVivien Merchant was a British actress.-Career:Merchant performed in many stage productions and several films, including Alfie and Frenzy...
- Girl - Arthur LoweArthur LoweArthur Lowe was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. He was best known for playing Captain George Mainwaring in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977.-Early life:...
- Mr King - Stanley MeadowsStanley Meadows-Selected filmography:* The Mummy * Payroll * A Prize of Arms * Panic * The Main Chance * The Masque of the Red Death * Clash by Night * The Ipcress File...
- Gidney