Saved (play)
Encyclopedia
Saved is a play written by Edward Bond
, and was first produced at the Royal Court Theatre
in November 1965. It was originally enacted privately, under "club" auspices, since the play was initially censored due largely to the infamous 'stoning
of a baby' scene.
The play itself is set in London during the 1960s. Its subject is the cultural poverty and frustration of a generation of young people on the dole and living on council estates. In response to the censorship of the play, Laurence Olivier
wrote a letter to The Observer
, saying that: "Saved is not a play for children but it is for grown-ups, and the grown-ups of this country should have the courage to look at it."
Saved was originally refused a licence without severe cuts by the Lord Chamberlain
. When it was performed to large private audiences, the Lord Chamberlain decided to prosecute those who were involved in the production of the play. Although the defendants pleaded guilty and were fined, the case reflected badly on the censorship office and was pivotal in the abolition of theatre censorship a few years later in 1968.
The original cast was John Castle
, Tony Selby
, Richard Butler
, Ronald Pickup
, Dennis Waterman
, John Bull, William Stewart
, Barbara Ferris
, Lucy Flemming, Gwen Nelson and Alison Fraser
. The creative team included: director William Gaskill
, design by John Gunter
and lighting by Eric Baker
.
In February 1969, after the abolition of censorship in the 1968 Theatres Act, Saved was given its first full public run at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The revival cast included: Malcolm Tierney
(as Len), Kenneth Cranham
(as Fred), Patricia Franklin
(as Pam), Queenie Watts
(as Mary), Tom Chadbon
, Peter Blythe
and William Gaskill
was the director.
The play is rarely revived, though its theme of social disenfranchisement is seen by Bond as very relevant to the present day. In October 2011, the play was revived in London for the first time in 27 years, at the Lyric Hammersmith
, directed by Sean Holmes
.
Len, a young London man, has a new girlfriend, Pam. The play opens with Pam bringing Len back to her house. They eat sweets. When Pam's father Harry passes, Len encourages Pam to pretend that they are having vigorous sex, so that Harry will overhear them. Pam is amused by Len's behaviour.
Len and Pam go boating on a lake in a local park. Pam is showing signs of being bored of Len. In charge of the boats is Fred, a friend of Len's. He shows interest in Pam.
Len becomes a lodger in Pam's house, although Pam has now left him for Fred. It is clear that Fred does not treat her well, and Len is sympathetic. Pam is grateful for the sympathy, although she finds Len irritating. Pam becomes pregnant by Fred, and has his baby. Pam's mother Mary becomes fond of Len, although Pam gets increasingly annoyed by his presence in the house. Over the course of one scene, Pam fights with Len and with her mother Mary while the neglected baby cries continually. When Len suggests that something needs to be done about caring for the baby, Pam responds "Put it on the council", i.e. hand it over to child welfare authorities.
Fred goes fishing, watched by Len. Fred confides in Len that he is disenchanted with Pam. Fred and Len's friends Pete, Colin, Mike and Barry turn up, as does Pam, who is wheeling the baby in a pram
. Not wanting to be left in charge of the baby, Fred loses his temper with Pam, who in turn becomes angry and leaves the baby with him.
Len leaves. Pete, Colin, Mike and Barry tease the baby, at first harmlessly then with increasing roughness. Fred does nothing to stop them. Barry observes that babies are only animals that don't feel pain. When the baby dirties its nappy
, they rub its face in the mess. The violence escalates as they strike the baby and ultimately throw stones at it, Fred joining in. The park is about to close and they run off, Fred returning only to fetch his fishing tackle. Pam returns to retrieve the baby and talks to it absently, not having noticed that it has been stoned to death. Still oblivious, she wheels it away.
Fred is sent to prison for his part in the baby's death, but far from accepting responsibility he is chiefly outraged at the way the crowd outside the prison was treating him. Len admits to him that he saw them attack the baby, but didn't intervene. Fred's response is that that will not help his case. He has finally finished with Pam.
Len is still lodging with Pam and her parents. Pam is hoping that Fred will get back together with her when he is released from prison. Len feels a sexual attraction to Mary, Pam's mother, and flirts with her; she is flattered, but doesn't act on it.
Pam and Len go to a coffee bar, where Fred will come to celebrate his release. Fred, Colin, Pete, Mike, Barry and Fred's new girlfriend Liz turn up. Although Fred is glad to have been released he is edgy and tense, and is disgruntled to notice that Pam is there. When Pam confronts him and asks for him back, he explodes and calls her a "bloody menace", before leaving in disgust. The others follow, except for Len. Pam finally realises that Fred does not love her, and Len offers himself as a substitute, although she does not respond.
Harry confronts Mary about flirting with Len. They argue, and she hits him on the head with a teapot
. A chair
is also broken. Len helps Harry fix himself up and Harry reveals that he does not bear Len a grudge. Harry tells Len that Len's problem is that he didn't get to fight in World War II
: "Yer never got yer man", i.e. Len has never killed anyone in combat.
In the final scene, Len slowly and methodically repairs the broken chair while Harry does his football pools, Pam reads a magazine and Mary does housework. The otherwise entirely silent scene contains only one line of dialogue, from Len to Pam: "Fetch me 'ammer
." Although he ends up having to fetch the hammer himself, the family has not completely disintegrated.
Edward Bond described the end of the play as "almost irresponsibly optimistic".
Edward Bond
Edward Bond is an English playwright, theatre director, poet, theorist and screenwriter. He is the author of some fifty plays, among them Saved , the production of which was instrumental in the abolition of theatre censorship in the UK...
, and was first produced at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
in November 1965. It was originally enacted privately, under "club" auspices, since the play was initially censored due largely to the infamous 'stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
of a baby' scene.
The play itself is set in London during the 1960s. Its subject is the cultural poverty and frustration of a generation of young people on the dole and living on council estates. In response to the censorship of the play, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
wrote a letter to The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, saying that: "Saved is not a play for children but it is for grown-ups, and the grown-ups of this country should have the courage to look at it."
Saved was originally refused a licence without severe cuts by the Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
. When it was performed to large private audiences, the Lord Chamberlain decided to prosecute those who were involved in the production of the play. Although the defendants pleaded guilty and were fined, the case reflected badly on the censorship office and was pivotal in the abolition of theatre censorship a few years later in 1968.
The original cast was John Castle
John Castle
John Castle is an English actor. Castle has acted in theatre, film and television. He is well known for his role as Postumus in the 1976 BBC television adaptation of I, Claudius and for playing Geoffrey in the 1968 film, The Lion in Winter. He also played Dr...
, Tony Selby
Tony Selby
Tony Selby is an English actor.He has appeared in many television programmes including a starring role in RAF National Service comedy Get Some In!, and a recurring role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who as the intergalactic conman Sabalom Glitz...
, Richard Butler
Richard Butler
- Military :*Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Arran , 1st Earl of Arran, marshal of the army in Ireland, lord deputy of Ireland*Richard Butler , American Revolutionary War General, later killed fighting Native Americans in Ohio...
, Ronald Pickup
Ronald Pickup
-Life and career:Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer. Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.His television work began with an episode...
, Dennis Waterman
Dennis Waterman
Dennis Waterman is a British actor and singer, best known for his tough-guy roles in television series including The Sweeney, Minder and New Tricks.-Early life:...
, John Bull, William Stewart
Bill Stewart (actor)
Bill Stewart was an English actor best known for his role as Denton Evening News reporter Sandy Longford in the British television program A Touch of Frost. He also made appearances on Z-Cars and MacGyver and had roles in such films as 101 Dalmatians and Anna and the King.-External links:...
, Barbara Ferris
Barbara Ferris
Barbara Gillian Ferris is an English actress and former fashion model.She appeared in a number of films and productions for television and is possibly best remembered as Dinah, the young woman who eloped with Dave Clark in the 1965 film Catch Us If You Can...
, Lucy Flemming, Gwen Nelson and Alison Fraser
Alison Fraser
Alison Fraser is an American actress and singer who has appeared in concert at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The White House, Town Hall, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Tisch Center for the Arts, The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Wilma, The Emelin, Joe's Pub and Symphony space.Fraser is a two...
. The creative team included: director William Gaskill
William Gaskill
William 'Bill' Gaskill is a British theatre director.He worked alongside Laurence Olivier as a founding director of the National Theatre from its time at the Old Vic in 1963...
, design by John Gunter
John Gunter
John Gunter was secretary-manager of Middlesbrough F.C. from February 1909 to June 1910.Following the departure of Andy Aitken to Leicester Fosse, Boro were left without a manager in name for sixteen months, and so the responsibilities of management fell to secretary John Gunter.Gunter joined the...
and lighting by Eric Baker
Eric Baker
Eric Baker, played by Ed O'Neill, is a recurring character during the final two seasons of the American television series The West Wing. He is the fictional Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania....
.
In February 1969, after the abolition of censorship in the 1968 Theatres Act, Saved was given its first full public run at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The revival cast included: Malcolm Tierney
Malcolm Tierney
Malcolm Tierney is an English actor who has appeared in many film and television roles.His roles include the part of Tommy McArdle in Brookside between 1983 and 1987, Charlie Gimbert in Lovejoy, Geoffrey Ellsworth-Symthe in A Bit of a Do, Patrick Woolton in House of Cards and Chief Const. Raymond...
(as Len), Kenneth Cranham
Kenneth Cranham
Kenneth Cranham is a film, television and stage actor. He starred in the title role in the popular 1980s comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. He also appeared in Layer Cake, Gangster No. 1, Rome, Oliver! and many other films. He is probably best known to horror genre fans as the deranged Dr...
(as Fred), Patricia Franklin
Patricia Franklin
Patricia Franklin is an English actress. Her television credits include Black Books, The Bill, Silent Witness, The Sweeney and Play for Today....
(as Pam), Queenie Watts
Queenie Watts
Queenie Watts was an English actress and singer of film and television....
(as Mary), Tom Chadbon
Tom Chadbon
Tom Chadbon is an English actor, who has spent the larger part of his career appearing on British television. While principally a character actor, he has occasionally had leading or recurring roles....
, Peter Blythe
Peter Blythe
Peter Blythe was a British character actor, best known as Samuel "Soapy Sam" Ballard on Rumpole of the Bailey.-Early life:...
and William Gaskill
William Gaskill
William 'Bill' Gaskill is a British theatre director.He worked alongside Laurence Olivier as a founding director of the National Theatre from its time at the Old Vic in 1963...
was the director.
The play is rarely revived, though its theme of social disenfranchisement is seen by Bond as very relevant to the present day. In October 2011, the play was revived in London for the first time in 27 years, at the Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
, directed by Sean Holmes
Sean Holmes
Sean Holmes is a British theatre director and, from spring 2009, artistic director of London’s Lyric Hammersmith.-Early career:Sean Holmes took a masters degree at King's College, London and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in text and performance...
.
Story
The action of the play may be assumed to take place over a period of many months, or even a few years.Len, a young London man, has a new girlfriend, Pam. The play opens with Pam bringing Len back to her house. They eat sweets. When Pam's father Harry passes, Len encourages Pam to pretend that they are having vigorous sex, so that Harry will overhear them. Pam is amused by Len's behaviour.
Len and Pam go boating on a lake in a local park. Pam is showing signs of being bored of Len. In charge of the boats is Fred, a friend of Len's. He shows interest in Pam.
Len becomes a lodger in Pam's house, although Pam has now left him for Fred. It is clear that Fred does not treat her well, and Len is sympathetic. Pam is grateful for the sympathy, although she finds Len irritating. Pam becomes pregnant by Fred, and has his baby. Pam's mother Mary becomes fond of Len, although Pam gets increasingly annoyed by his presence in the house. Over the course of one scene, Pam fights with Len and with her mother Mary while the neglected baby cries continually. When Len suggests that something needs to be done about caring for the baby, Pam responds "Put it on the council", i.e. hand it over to child welfare authorities.
Fred goes fishing, watched by Len. Fred confides in Len that he is disenchanted with Pam. Fred and Len's friends Pete, Colin, Mike and Barry turn up, as does Pam, who is wheeling the baby in a pram
Baby transport
Baby transport consists of devices for transporting and carrying infants. A "child carrier" or "baby carrier" is a device used to carry an infant or small child on the body of an adult...
. Not wanting to be left in charge of the baby, Fred loses his temper with Pam, who in turn becomes angry and leaves the baby with him.
Len leaves. Pete, Colin, Mike and Barry tease the baby, at first harmlessly then with increasing roughness. Fred does nothing to stop them. Barry observes that babies are only animals that don't feel pain. When the baby dirties its nappy
Diaper
A nappy or a diaper is a kind of pant that allows one to defecate or urinate on oneself discreetly. When diapers become soiled, they require changing; this process is often performed by a second person such as a parent or caregiver...
, they rub its face in the mess. The violence escalates as they strike the baby and ultimately throw stones at it, Fred joining in. The park is about to close and they run off, Fred returning only to fetch his fishing tackle. Pam returns to retrieve the baby and talks to it absently, not having noticed that it has been stoned to death. Still oblivious, she wheels it away.
Fred is sent to prison for his part in the baby's death, but far from accepting responsibility he is chiefly outraged at the way the crowd outside the prison was treating him. Len admits to him that he saw them attack the baby, but didn't intervene. Fred's response is that that will not help his case. He has finally finished with Pam.
Len is still lodging with Pam and her parents. Pam is hoping that Fred will get back together with her when he is released from prison. Len feels a sexual attraction to Mary, Pam's mother, and flirts with her; she is flattered, but doesn't act on it.
Pam and Len go to a coffee bar, where Fred will come to celebrate his release. Fred, Colin, Pete, Mike, Barry and Fred's new girlfriend Liz turn up. Although Fred is glad to have been released he is edgy and tense, and is disgruntled to notice that Pam is there. When Pam confronts him and asks for him back, he explodes and calls her a "bloody menace", before leaving in disgust. The others follow, except for Len. Pam finally realises that Fred does not love her, and Len offers himself as a substitute, although she does not respond.
Harry confronts Mary about flirting with Len. They argue, and she hits him on the head with a teapot
Teapot
A teapot is a vessel used for steeping tea leaves or a herbal mix in near-boiling water. Tea may be either in a tea bag or loose, in which case a tea strainer will be needed, either to hold the leaves as they steep or to catch the leaves inside the teapot when the tea is poured...
. A chair
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
is also broken. Len helps Harry fix himself up and Harry reveals that he does not bear Len a grudge. Harry tells Len that Len's problem is that he didn't get to fight in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
: "Yer never got yer man", i.e. Len has never killed anyone in combat.
In the final scene, Len slowly and methodically repairs the broken chair while Harry does his football pools, Pam reads a magazine and Mary does housework. The otherwise entirely silent scene contains only one line of dialogue, from Len to Pam: "Fetch me 'ammer
Hammer
A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...
." Although he ends up having to fetch the hammer himself, the family has not completely disintegrated.
Edward Bond described the end of the play as "almost irresponsibly optimistic".
Sources
- Saved, by Edward Bond. London, Methuen, 1966.
- At the Royal Court - 25 Years of the English Stage Company, by Richard Findlater. London, Methuen, 1980 (?)
- A Sense of Direction - Life at the Royal Court, by William GaskillWilliam GaskillWilliam 'Bill' Gaskill is a British theatre director.He worked alongside Laurence Olivier as a founding director of the National Theatre from its time at the Old Vic in 1963...
. London, Faber, 1988; pp 62-70. - The Royal Court Theatre Inside Out, by Ruth Little and Emily McLaughlin. London, Oberon Books, 2007.
- Changing Stages: A view of British Theatre in the twentieth century, by Richard EyreRichard EyreSir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre CBE is an English director of film, theatre, television, and opera.-Biography:Eyre was educated at Sherborne School, an independent school for boys in the market town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset in south-west England, followed by Peterhouse at the University...
and Nicholas WrightNicholas WrightNicholas or Nick Wright may refer to:* Sir Nicholas Wright , English academic* Nick Wright , English footballer* Nick Wright , English footballer...
. London, Bloomsbury, 2000. - Bond, Saved, November 1965, by Samantha Ellis. The Guardian, 23 April 2003.
- Acid tongue. Mark RavenhillMark RavenhillMark Ravenhill is an English playwright, actor and journalist.His most famous plays include Shopping and Fucking , Some Explicit Polaroids and Mother Clap's Molly House . He made his acting debut in his monologue Product, at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe...
on fellow playwright, Edward Bond. The Guardian, 9 September 2006. - 1965 Plays and Players / Theatre World reviews and pictures