Skip to main content
1965

Saved

Written by Edward Bond

Play Details

Context

Artistic Director 
William Gaskill

Dates Performed

Wednesday 3rd November 1965
Main House (Downstairs)

Play Details

Synopsis

A bleak council estate in 1960s South London, where poverty and disillusionment breed a cycle of violence and indifference.

Pam, a young woman desperate for connection, becomes entangled with Len, a well-meaning but ineffectual young man, and Fred, a charismatic but cruel thug. As their relationships spiral into a web of betrayal and abuse, the play builds to a shocking climax where a group of disaffected youths, including Fred, stone a baby to death in its pram. In the aftermath, Len struggles to find meaning and redemption in a world seemingly devoid of hope or compassion.

Edward Bond’s controversial masterpiece dissects the roots of social alienation and violence with unflinching brutality. Through stark, spare dialogue and moments of searing cruelty, “Saved” paints a damning portrait of a society that has abandoned its most vulnerable members. The play’s infamous baby-stoning scene serves not as mere shock value, but as a devastating metaphor for the death of innocence and humanity in a world governed by poverty, neglect, and systemic failure. Bond challenges audiences to confront the conditions that give rise to such seemingly senseless acts, forcing a reckoning with the true costs of social inequality.

Director(s)

Bill Gaskill

Photo credit

All images credited to Zoe Dominic

Other productions

Cast & Creative

Cast

John Bull

Cast

Richard Butler

Cast

Timothy Carlton

Cast

John Castle

Cast

Frances Cuka

Cast

Ian Cutherbertson

Cast

William Stewart

Designer

John Gunter

Explore more plays banned by Lord Chamberlain

A Patriot for Me

A Patriot for Me

1965

John Osborne

Early Morning

Early Morning

1969

Edward Bond


Want to read the script?

 

 

Visit the Royal Court bookshop