After the Rain (play)

After the Rain
Written by John Bowen
Date premiered 1966
Place premiered Hampstead Theatre Club, London[1]
Original language English

After the Rain is a play by John Griffith Bowen, based on his 1958 novel about a 200-year flood. The action takes place in a university lecture hall two centuries after a massive rainfall.[2][3]

The play's first English staging was at the Hampstead Theatre in 1966, and was notable for involving the audience in the action of the play by situating them as students in a lecture hall.[4]

Its U.S. premiere on Oct. 9, 1967 at the John Golden Theater in New York City starred Alec McCowen and was directed by Vivian Matalon. It received a good review in the New York Times but only ran a short time.[5]

References

  1. ALLEGORICAL PLAY PRAISED IN LONDON New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 03 Sep 1966: 12.
  2. Playbill from 1967 production accessed 16 June 2013
  3. PLAYWRIGHT OPTS FOR THE OLD IDEAS: Bowen, Author of 'After the Rain,' Works on Structure By RICHARD F. SHEPARD. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 13 Oct 1967: 30.
  4. Jinnie Schiele (2005). Off-centre Stages: Fringe Theatre at the Open Space and the Round House 1968-1983. Univ of Hertfordshire Press. pp. 43–. ISBN 978-1-902806-43-3.
  5. Theater: Play That Extends the Mind: 'After the Rain' by John Bowen Is at Golden Social Parable Deals With Flood Survivors By CLIVE BARNES. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 10 Oct 1967: 54.

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