The Changing Room

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Poster for the 1972 Royal Court Theatre production

The Changing Room is a play by David Storey.

At its core is a semi-pro Northern England rugby team. Six days a week, its members are peaceable men toiling away at mindless, working class jobs. On the seventh, they prepare for gory combat on the playing field. The changing room is where they perform their pre-game initiation rites, strip down, loosen muscles, and get into their uniforms. After the match they return, often broken, muddy, and bloody, regretting their loss or giddy with victory in the communal shower. There is little in the way of plot, but Storey engages his audience with his ability to dissect his characters' hurts, hopes, desires, and fighting instincts.

In 1972, The Changing Room was staged at London's Royal Court Theatre before transferring to the Globe in the West End. The US premiere was at New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre. After three previews, the Broadway production, directed by Michael Rudman, opened on March 6, 1973 at the Morosco Theatre, where it ran for 192 performances. The cast included George Hearn, John Lithgow, Richard D. Masur, John Tillinger, and Tom Atkins.