Men Should Weep

Synopsis

Portrayal of impoverished 1930s Glasgow. Despite cramped tenement living and the turmoil of seven children, there is laughter and strength in the Morrison family. Tough and tender mother Maggie, just about holds together her unruly brood against wretched poverty. But sniping neighbours, the flight of daughter Jenny, and the unexpected return to their overcrowded quarters of Maggie’s son and his sexually restless wife erode her spirit. And then, just as temporary employment for beloved husband John affords a decent Christmas, wayward Jenny returns with new-found wealth, offering them the chance of escape and one big moral dilemma. Written in 1947.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 27 October 2010

Ena Lamont Stewart’s Men Should Weep, a Depression-era tenement tragi-comedy, a sort of Glaswegian blast of Clifford Odets, or Sean O’Casey, was written in 1947, revived by 7:84 (Scotland) at the Edinburgh Festival in 1982, and is now restored in a thumping production in the Lyttelton.

Bush Theatre director Josie Rourke makes an impressive NT debut, filling the big wide stage with a full segment of the tenement, rather like a doll’s house, where we focus on the trials and tribulations of the Morrison family and, in particular, the matriarch Maggie Morrison.

Bunny Christie’s split-level design shows us other residents of the block, away to the side and, most tellingly, up above: a man savagely beats his pregnant wife, a woman next door dresses slowly, a neighbour opposite disappears to confront a bleating husband.

Admittedly these snippets don’t have the “lived” intensity you might expect in a full...

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Latest User Review

David Baxter - 15 December 2010:

I suspect that many regular visitors to the National had never heard of Men Should Weep or Ena Lamont Stewart - I certainly hadn't - but it's an excellent play and well worth reviving in this age of austerity. From the far remove of the Lyttelton circle it's difficult to fully appreaciate the quality of acting from a large ensemble or Bunny Christie's split level set and the broad Glaswegian dialect takes time to get used to. It's clear though that Sharon Small excels as Maggie, struggling to hold her family together amidst grinding poverty. Despite the title, not all of the men in the play are workshy wife beaters and there is a lovely tenderness between Maggie and her husband of 25 years. The Christmas setting of the final act brought some welcome humour but I suspect that the possibility of a happy ending is a bit of wishful thinking on the part of the author. I had to cancel my original trip to see this play but, even from such a remote seat, this rearranged visit brought a welcome discovery...

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