Play Details
Context
Artistic Director
Max Stafford-Clark
Dates Performed
Friday 13th July 1979
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Play Details
Synopsis
New York City
Marie and Bruce is a one-act play balancing realism with dreamlike moments. It uses direct speeches, long monologues, and quick conversations, all laced with sharp humour. At its heart, Marie plans to leave her husband but waits for the right moment after Frank’s party.
Onstage, characters deal with past regrets, worries about the future, and the struggles of daily life, all wrapped up in feelings of loneliness and sadness.
Cast & Creative
Cast
Philip Donaghy
Cast
Stephanie Fayerman
Cast
Robert Hamilton
Cast
Annie Hayes
Cast
Paul Jesson
Cast
Paul Kember
Cast
Robin Pappas
Designer
Peter Hartwell
What our readers say
What is it like reading this play now?
Reading the play today gives a mixed feeling of being current yet remote. While the language is modern, some outdated terms stick out. The play’s use of misogynistic language is striking for 2023, but it doesn’t glorify it as some older plays might. Its predictions about a machine-dominated workplace seem amusingly on-point now.
What does it tell us about the past and the present?
This play feels so utterly trapped in the now. The past hangs over the characters like a mist, while the future looms ahead with false hope and grim uncertainty. All the characters have is right now and right now, they’re all miserable. It’s existential angst and fearful inertia held together by a socially-imposed veneer. Whether 1978 or 2023, it’s dishearteningly familiar.
What plays does it speak to/influence?
It certainly owes something to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. The character of Marie is very reminiscent of Martha in the violent, yet entertaining way she speaks. It also reminds me of Noel Coward and Oscar Wilde in the way in which sarcasm, insults, and the notion of polite society clash and mingle.