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1985

Saved

Written by Edward Bond

Play Details

Context

Artistic Director 
Max Stafford-Clark

Dates Performed

Sunday 15th December 1985
Jerwood Theatre 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)

Danny Boyle

Photo credit

All images credited to John Haynes

www.johnhaynesphotography.net

Other productions

Cast & Creative

Cast

Peter Hugo-Daly

Cast

Adrian Dunbar

Cast

Peter Lovstrom

Cast

Leslie Manville

Cast

Gary Oldman

Cast

Gerad Horan

Cast

Joanne Whalley

Cast

June Watson

Cast

Mark Wingett

Designer

Peter Hartwell

Lighting

Andy Phillips

Costume

Jennifer Cook

Sound

Andy Pink

Deputy Stage Manager

Annie Hutchinson

Deputy Stage Manager

Peter O'Malley

Voice and dialect coach

Joan Washington

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