thu 28/03/2024

The Late Middle Classes, Donmar Warehouse | reviews, news & interviews

The Late Middle Classes, Donmar Warehouse

The Late Middle Classes, Donmar Warehouse

Revival of Simon Gray’s play starts slowly but delivers a powerful punch

Helen McCrory and Laurence Belcher: upper-middle-class characters and their difficulties with communicationJohan Persson
The late Simon Gray, who died in 2008, lived a ragged, bruised and battering life. I usually think of him as the John Prescott of playwrights, except that he was miles more articulate, and eventually rewarded by a CBE rather than a peerage. Anyway, he was pugnacious and out of step with playwriting trends. In an age of lefty state-of-the-nation dramas, Gray explored the emotions of upper-middle-class characters and their difficulties with communication. Although he could be irascible, and his published diaries are scorchingly rude, the default position of his plays is an ironic melancholy, as evidenced by this welcome revival of The Late Middle Classes.
The late Simon Gray, who died in 2008, lived a ragged, bruised and battering life. I usually think of him as the John Prescott of playwrights, except that he was miles more articulate, and eventually rewarded by a CBE rather than a peerage. Anyway, he was pugnacious and out of step with playwriting trends. In an age of lefty state-of-the-nation dramas, Gray explored the emotions of upper-middle-class characters and their difficulties with communication. Although he could be irascible, and his published diaries are scorchingly rude, the default position of his plays is an ironic melancholy, as evidenced by this welcome revival of The Late Middle Classes.

Add comment

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters