Plenty (play)

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At its core is Susan Traherne, a woman conflicted by the triumphs of her past - she worked behind enemy lines as a courier for the Special Operations Executive in France during World War II - and the mundane nature of her present life as the increasingly depressed wife of a diplomat whose career she has destroyed. In what she views as a morally bankrupt society, Susan has become self-absorbed, bored, and destructive, and the slow deterioration of her mental health mirrors the crises within the ruling class in postwar Britain.

Rather than following a linear chronology, the drama shifts back and forth through its protagonist's life, illustrating not only how one's youthful dreams are rarely realized but how an individual's personal life can affect the outside world.

Hare's inspiration for the play came from the fact that 75% percent of the real-life women engaged in wartime activities for the Special Operations Executive divorced in the years after. Its title is derived from the idea that after the war it would be a time of "plenty", which proved not to be the case for much of England.

"Plenty", directed by Hare, was performed for the first time at the Lyttelton Theatre on April 7, 1978 with Kate Nelligan as Susan. The play was nominated for the Olivier Award for Play of the Year and Nelligan for Best Actress in a New Play, losing to "Whose Life is it Anyway?" and Joan Plowright in "Filumena" respectively. [cite web
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title =The Nominees and Winners of The Laurence Olivier Awards for 1978
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publisher =Official London Theatre Guide
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The first New York City production, also directed by Hare, opened on October 21, 1982 at Joseph Papp's Public Theater, where it ran for 45 performances. Nelligan reprised her role of Susan, supported by Kelsey Grammer and Dominic Chianese.

After eleven previews, the Broadway production (again directed by Hare) opened on January 6, 1983 at the Plymouth Theatre, where it ran for 92 performances. Nelligan was joined by Edward Herrmann, Daniel Gerroll, Madeleine Potter, and George N. Martin.

Hare's 1985 film adaptation, directed by Fred Schepisi, starred Meryl Streep as Susan, with Charles Dance, Tracey Ullman, John Gielgud, Sting, Ian McKellen, and Sam Neill in supporting roles. Ullman and Gielgud were nominated for BAFTA Awards, and Gielgud was named Best Supporting Actor by both the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics.

Companion piece

"Licking Hitler", a companion piece to "Plenty", was broadcast by the BBC on 10 January 1978. [cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/1999/may/03/tvandradio.television|title=Splitting Hares|last=Lawson|first=Mark|authorlink=Mark Lawson|date=1999-05-03|work=The Guardian|accessdate=2008-08-14] Written and directed by Hare, and again starring Nelligan, its theme is the cruel relationship between the director of a wartime propaganda unit (Bill Paterson) and his subordinate, "Anna". With the war won and the unit disbanded, "Anna" cannot reconcile herself to her new, mundane life and longs for the excitement of her former work. It won the best single television play BAFTA award for 1978. [cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/awards/television/nominations/?year=1978|title=Television nominations 1978|work=Past winners and nominees|publisher=British Academy of Film and Television Arts |accessdate=2008-08-14]

Awards and nominations

*Tony Award for Best Play (nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Actor in Play (Herrmann, nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Nelligan, nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (Martin, nominee)
*New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play of the 1982-83 Season (winner)

References

External links

* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4202/ Internet Broadway Database listing]
* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0089816/ Internet Movie Database listing]