A Prayer for My Daughter (play)

A Prayer for My Daughter (play)

Infobox Play
name = A Prayer for My Daughter


image_size =
caption =
writer = Thomas Babe
chorus =
characters = Sgt Kelly
Jack Delasante
Jimmy
Sean
mute =
setting = The squad room of a downtown precinct
date of premiere = January 17, 1978
country of Origin = USA
original language = English
series =
subject =
genre =
web =
playbill_event =
ibdb_id =

"A Prayer for My Daughter" is a 1977 play by American writer Thomas Babe.

Plot

The play is set in the interrogation room of a downtown New York Police station in the early hours of 5th July. Two hardened cops (Sergeant Kelly and Jack Delasante) have arrested two suspects for the murder of an old woman. During the interrogations the police attempt to get a confession from the two suspects, Sean and Jimmy. As they do, they reveal far more about their own vulnerabilities than they intend.

The tension of the play is increased by constant updates, by phone, of the state of mind of one of Kelly's daughter. Lonely and unstable, she becomes increasingly suicidal.

Discussion

Thomas Babe's writing deals with the traditional notion of a hero. Throughout A Prayer for My Daughter the two 'heroes' - the police officers - increasingly blur the lines between right and wrong. Written a few years after the Vietnam War it is no coincidence that one of these officers is a Vietnam veteran, coping with losing the war and being rejected by his country.

Also of note is that each of the characters, in one way or another, has a daughter and the relationships are therefore father/daughter. This is significant within theatre, with the majority of texts concerning themselves with father/son relationships.

Productions

The first UK production was at the Royal Court, London, in 1978 starring Anthony Sher and Donal McCann. The play was first revived in 2008 by the Young Vic, directed by Dominic Hill.

References

The play takes its name from a William Butler Yeats poem written in June 1919, which muses on the hopes and aspirations of a father for his daughter.


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