Ecstasy (play)
Encyclopedia
Ecstasy is a 1979 play by British
playwright
Mike Leigh
with a six-character cast. It covers the life of four blue-collar friends living in a ratty area of London
near Kilburn High Road and the drunken frustration in their lives, particularly that of the lead character Jean.
Jean is a suicidal garage attendant who sleeps with unsuitable men, like Roy, drinks heavily and has abortions. Her friend from Birmingham
, Dawn, who has had three children, brings back her husband Mick, an Irish labourer, and his quiet friend, Len, to Jean's bleak Kilburn bedsitter, - 'their second act ensemble trumpets the dark night of the soul, in what is at once one of the best and gloomiest party scenes in contemporary drama.'
The play opened at the Hampstead Theatre
on 26 September 1979. The production was designed by Alison Chitty
, and the cast comprised Sheila Kelley
as Jean, Ron Cook
as Roy, Rachel Davies
as Val, Julie Walters
as Dawn, Stephen Rea
as Mick, and Jim Broadbent
as Len. For both Broadbent and Rea, this was the first of several collaborations with Leigh. A new production directed by Leigh, opened on 10 March 2011 at the Hampstead Theatre
, and transferred to the Duchess Theatre
in Covent Garden on 12 April 2011.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh
Michael "Mike" Leigh, OBE is a British writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and studied further at the Camberwell School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s...
with a six-character cast. It covers the life of four blue-collar friends living in a ratty area of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
near Kilburn High Road and the drunken frustration in their lives, particularly that of the lead character Jean.
Jean is a suicidal garage attendant who sleeps with unsuitable men, like Roy, drinks heavily and has abortions. Her friend from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Dawn, who has had three children, brings back her husband Mick, an Irish labourer, and his quiet friend, Len, to Jean's bleak Kilburn bedsitter, - 'their second act ensemble trumpets the dark night of the soul, in what is at once one of the best and gloomiest party scenes in contemporary drama.'
The play opened at the Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
on 26 September 1979. The production was designed by Alison Chitty
Alison Chitty
Alison Chitty OBE is an Olivier Award winning production designer and set and costume designer, known for her collaborations with Mike Leigh, Francesca Zambello and Sir Peter Hall. She is also the Director of the Motley Theatre Design Course, a successor to Motley Theatre Design Group...
, and the cast comprised Sheila Kelley
Sheila Kelley
Sheila Kelley may refer to:*Sheila Kelley , Gwen Taylor in L.A. Law*Sheila Kelley...
as Jean, Ron Cook
Ron Cook
Ron Cook is an English actor who has been active in the theatre, film and television since the 1970s. He is from South Shields, Co Durham, England and is a graduate of Rose Bruford College.- Stage appearances :...
as Roy, Rachel Davies
Rachel Davies
Rachel Davies is a British actress, with numerous television credits to her name from the beginning of the 70s onwards.She has played leading roles in the following series: Boon, The Cuckoo Waltz, Making Out, Band of Gold, Emmerdale, Nice Guy Eddie, Linda Green and The Chase.She appeared in the...
as Val, Julie Walters
Julie Walters
Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
as Dawn, Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in high profile films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on Pluto...
as Mick, and Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
as Len. For both Broadbent and Rea, this was the first of several collaborations with Leigh. A new production directed by Leigh, opened on 10 March 2011 at the Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
, and transferred to the Duchess Theatre
Duchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
in Covent Garden on 12 April 2011.