Stanley (play)
Encyclopedia
Stanley is a 1996 play written by English playwright, Pam Gems
. The play was premiered at the Royal National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre
in London.
, who was played by Anthony Sher in the play's London and Broadway debuts.
Spencer was a twentieth century painter, whose work attempted to combine the sexual with the divine in contemporary English settings. His paintings frequently showed biblical scenes taking place in ordinary English villages, particularly Cookham
, and often depicted, or used figures inspired by, his friends, relatives and lovers.
Spencer married two different women, each of whom was a gifted painter in her own right. He left his first wife Hilda, a conventional woman who loved him, in order to marry Patricia
, a defiantly unconventional lesbian who was incapable of loving him. Much of the play revolves around his passionate attachment to both women.
Awards
Nominations
Pam Gems
Pam Gems was a British playwright. The author of numerous original plays, as well as of adaptations of works by major European playwrights of the past, Gems is best known for the 1978 musical play Piaf.-Personal life:...
. The play was premiered at the Royal National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in London.
Plot synopsis
The play explores the complicated life of British painter Stanley SpencerStanley Spencer
Sir Stanley Spencer was an English painter. Much of his work depicts Biblical scenes, from miracles to Crucifixion, happening not in the Holy Land but in the small Thames-side village where he was born and spent most of his life...
, who was played by Anthony Sher in the play's London and Broadway debuts.
Spencer was a twentieth century painter, whose work attempted to combine the sexual with the divine in contemporary English settings. His paintings frequently showed biblical scenes taking place in ordinary English villages, particularly Cookham
Cookham
Cookham is a village and civil parish in the north-easternmost corner of Berkshire in England, on the River Thames, notable as the home of the artist Stanley Spencer. It lies north of Maidenhead close to the border with Buckinghamshire...
, and often depicted, or used figures inspired by, his friends, relatives and lovers.
Spencer married two different women, each of whom was a gifted painter in her own right. He left his first wife Hilda, a conventional woman who loved him, in order to marry Patricia
Patricia Preece
Patricia Preece , born Ruby Vivian Preece, was an English artist associated with the Bloomsbury Group and the second wife of painter Stanley Spencer, for whom she modelled. As a teenager, Preece was involved in the death of dramatist W. S. Gilbert...
, a defiantly unconventional lesbian who was incapable of loving him. Much of the play revolves around his passionate attachment to both women.
Awards and nominations
Awards
- 1996 Evening Standard Award for Best Play
- 1997 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play
Nominations
- 1997 Tony Award for Best Play