Journey's End Play by Sherriff, R. C. ( AUTHOR ) Jan-15-1993 Hardback

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i would just like to know what happens afterwards. does Stanhope quit drinking and go home? do they all just die? Sherriff, R. C. (1929). Journey's End, a Play in Three Acts (Firsted.). New York: Brentano's. OCLC 1490502. She doesn't know that if I went up those steps into the front line – without being doped with whisky – I'd go mad with fright.” The resulting play ran for 594 performances in the West End, 485 on Broadway and was a worldwide hit, including in Berlin. Sherriff had apparently found the “perfect pitch” at which to represent the “tragedy” of 1914–18 for 1920s audiences who were more used to drawing-room comedies than plays set in a grimy dugout. Osborne puts a tired and somewhat drunk Stanhope to bed. Stanhope, as well as the other officers, refers to Osborne as "Uncle".

The days up to, and including, the start of the battle are portrayed in the recent film adaptation of R.C. Sherriff’s classic World War I play, Journey’s End – which premiered in 1928. Adapted by Simon Reade and directed by Saul Dibb, the movie has all the familiar features you’d expect of a piece about the “Great War”: a frontline dugout, mud everywhere and a foolhardy raid on a German trench during which seven men die.

A gentleman’s game?

But I love the theatre and I’ve wanted to read Journey’s End for a while now because I’ve heard it was beautiful and tragic. And they are my favourite adjectives when it comes to literature. Journey’s End is an extremely claustrophobic play, set in the trenches in March 1918 as the war is drawing to a close. It tells the story of a group of officers and their commander over a course of three days. Apparently R.C Sherriff intended the play to be called ‘Suspense’ or ‘Waiting’ and, I have to say, they both would have been perfect titles for this. As with many films of this oeuvre, there are brave young officers and there are good-humoured working-class soldiers – but it is left to a heavy-drinking army captain, Dennis Stanhope (played by Sam Claflin), a former captain of “rugger” at his private school, to reflect on the horror before leading his men out to die.

a b c d e f g h i Sherriff, Robert Cedric (1968). No Leading Lady: An Autobiography. London: Victor Gollancz. pp.39, 9, 43–44, 45, 52, 49, 70–76, 129, 130, 181. ISBN 978-0-575-00155-8. The play has been filmed several times, and a new version has just appeared. I look forward to it, as well as hoping to see Journey’s End on stage at some point. In 1930, James Whale directed an eponymous film based on the play, starring Colin Clive, David Manners and Ian Maclaren. [18] The play is the basis for the film Aces High (1976), although the action was switched from the infantry to the Royal Flying Corps. At times of great social upheaval, the arts help society understand events, deal with complex emotions and recover from collective trauma. As we enter the final year of commemorations marking 100 years since the end of the First World, the conflict continues to have a significant presence on the UK stage. Recent years have seen revivals of productions such as Birdsong and War Horse and new works including Balletboyz’s Young Men. Journey’s End is one of the most commonly revived plays of the First World War and will grace the silver screen in 2017. Touring production of Journeys EndEven in the socially stratified 1920s, the social composition of the play prompted raised eyebrows. In 1929 the left-leaning New Statesman hated Journey’s End calling it “an orgy of the public school spirit” and asked: “Was the war really only a slaughterhouse for athletes and a school for gentlemen?” Journey's End @ the Greenwich Theatre - A Review - Londoneer". Archived from the original on 19 February 2013 . Retrieved 19 February 2013. I remember studying this play at secondary school, and it did not leave much of an impression. Simply another script to read until we could play football at break. Upon returning to it a little older, I have found a deep level of appreciation for the play. Sherriff had trouble getting Journey's End produced in the West End, writing that "Every management in London had turned the play down. They said people didn't want war plays [...] 'How can I put on a play with no leading lady?' one [theatre manager] had asked complainingly." [1] Sherriff used No Leading Lady as the title of his autobiography, published in 1968.