A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

Synopsis

Joe Egg is the name given by Bri and Sheila to their spastic child. To make their lives bearable they have evolved an elaborate series of fantasy games about Joe. Yet ten years of devotion to a human vegetable have created terrible strains on their marriage and when Bri sees an opportunity of allowing Joe to die, he takes it. The attempt fails; Joe's living death will continue.

Our Review:

4 April 2006

Peter Nichols' classic groundbreaking black comedy was first performed in Glasgow in 1967. The comic situations which arose from the most serious of subjects meant that many thought it was in bad taste. Critics loved the play though and it later transferred to Broadway making the Bristol born playwright a household name.

Opening during a school detention, this production makes the audience feel uncomfortable with immediate effect as teacher Bri Jason Thorpe addresses them as naughty pupils. This free style approach continues throughout the play and allows the actors to improvise at will.

We learn that Bri jokes his way through life because he is a disappointed, sad young man. His daughter Joe is severely disabled. Mum, Sheila Judy Flynn has hope that her little girl will improve.

Following a visit from friends Freddie and Pam, we see the couple struggle with their daughter’s inability to carry out every day tasks. The friends do not know where to look when Joe i...

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Latest User Review

20.138.246.89) - 5 April 2006:

A different kind of egg awaits anyone able to get to the Library Theatre Manchester over this Easter period before April 29th. Making puerile puns/jokes about a 10 year old girl so severely disabled that she cannot even react to the attention her parents give her might seem inappropriate but its exactly the coping mechanism that her father Brian employs to get through. Not knowing what to expect from this play, except that it has been a critical success since first being performed in 1967, I was treated to a beautifully observed black comedy whose principal purpose is to make us laugh but also brings an emotional lump to the throat at times. The style is unconventional, the characters break the "fourth wall" and talk to the audience directly. There is also a great deal of improvisation that adds a freshness to the performance. The device of adding three more characters in the second act works well as we get to see how the family reacts to the "real world," at least as it was in 1967. Everyone plays their roles well, but particular credit must go to Jason Thorpe as Brian. Another cracker from the Library Theatre....

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