That Good Night
Encyclopedia
That Good Night is a play by NJ Crisp, written with the intention of it being performed by Sir Donald Sinden and his son Marc Sinden
playing the central characters of the father and son. However Marc, who in 1991 had starred in Crisps' psychological thriller Dangerous Obsession
, decided to produce it instead and so it became his first play as a Theatrical Producer
.
The title is taken from the poem
by Dylan Thomas
:
"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
on 2 April 1996 with the following cast (in order of appearance):
(his first commercial tour), set designed by Michael Pavalka and lighting by Robert Bryan, critics at the time regarded the play as Crisps' finest work and both the production and performances received ecstatic reviews:
, becoming ill and dying of cancer on the 29 May 1996. The proposed West End
transfer was cancelled.
Marc Sinden
Marc Sinden is an English theatre producer, documentary director and actor. His father is the actor Sir Donald Sinden.-Theatre:...
playing the central characters of the father and son. However Marc, who in 1991 had starred in Crisps' psychological thriller Dangerous Obsession
Dangerous Obsession
Dangerous Obsession is a psychological thriller written by N. J. Crisp which premièred at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley on 9 November 1987.Crisp's play was filmed in 1999 as Darkness Falls, starring Ray Winstone, Tim Dutton and Sherilyn Fenn...
, decided to produce it instead and so it became his first play as a Theatrical Producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
.
The title is taken from the poem
Do not go gentle into that good night
Do not go gentle into that good night, a villanelle, is considered to be among the finest works by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas . Originally published in the journal Botteghe Oscure in 1951, it also appeared as part of the collection "In Country Sleep." Written for his dying father, it is one of...
by Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
:
"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Original cast
It opened at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, GuildfordYvonne Arnaud Theatre
The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, Surrey presents in-house productions which often tour and transfer to London's West End. Other performances include opera, ballet and pantomime. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, the company has two performance venues, a main theatre and the smaller Mill...
on 2 April 1996 with the following cast (in order of appearance):
- Anna: Lucy FlemingLucy FlemingLucy Fleming is a British actress.She is the daughter of the actress Celia Johnson and writer Peter Fleming, as well as the niece of James Bond author Ian Fleming...
- Michael: Patrick RyecartPatrick RyecartPatrick Geoffrey Ryecart is an English actor.Ryecart was born in Leamington Spa. He has predominantly acted on British television shows since the mid-seventies including Lillie, Romeo and Juliet, The Professionals, Minder, Rumpole of the Bailey, Lovejoy, Coming Home, and Holby City...
- Debbie: Julie-Kate Olivier
- Ralph: Donald SindenDonald SindenSir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
- The Visitor: Nigel DavenportNigel DavenportNigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...
Plot
Ralph is a successful screenwriter, charming, cantankerous, rude and a bully; in his time an avid womaniser and completely selfish. Now in his seventies and terminally ill, he has two final missions: to be reconciled to his long-abandoned son Michael and secretly to ensure he is not a burden to his younger, devoted and second wife Anna as he goes "into that good night". But when Michael arrives at the beautiful Tuscan villa for their first meeting in many years, Ralph wrecks all hope of reconciliation when he picks and loses a fight with Michaels beautiful girlfriend, Debbie. Later, alone, Ralph receives 'The Visitor' whose services he has hired to provide a painless ending, as he goes into 'That Good Night'. But The Visitor plays a devastating trick, causing Ralph to consider the damaged potential that life still holds for him.Critical reception
Directed by Edward HallEdward Hall (director)
Edward Hall is an English theatre director and an associate director at The National Theatre. Hall is known for directing Rose Rage, a stage adaptation of Shakespeare's three Henry VI plays. He also runs an all-male Shakespeare company, Propeller...
(his first commercial tour), set designed by Michael Pavalka and lighting by Robert Bryan, critics at the time regarded the play as Crisps' finest work and both the production and performances received ecstatic reviews:
Production
The tour of the play coincided with Sir Donald's other son, actor Jeremy SindenJeremy Sinden
Jeremy Sinden was an English actor who specialised in playing eccentric military men and overgrown schoolboys.-Early life:...
, becoming ill and dying of cancer on the 29 May 1996. The proposed West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
transfer was cancelled.