Janie and I have a very clear memory of the opening of Marriage Play, in which Bill Paterson’s character, Jack, repeatedly taunts his wife, played by Sheila Gish, with the phrase “I’m leaving you”. It’s a bit “Who’s Afraid…” meets “Dances of Death”, I suppose. But we both recall really enjoying Marriage Play, while we thought a lot less of the second half’s short play, Finding The Sun.
What did the critics think?
Our friend, Michael Billington, was not wild about the evening as a whole, much preferring Marriage Play:
Marriage Billington Guardian 9 May 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Charles Spencer seems to have seen it similarly, while gushing even more about Sheila Gish and Bill Paterson.
Marriage Spencer Telegraph 10 May 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Nicholas de Jongh, on the other hand, was much taken by both plays, even preferring Finding The Sun:
Marriage de Jongh Standard 9 May 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Earlier that day, Janie and I had warmed up for our evening at the theatre by seeing Greta for massage (in my case) and pilates in Janie’s case.