Saved (play)

rdf:langString Saved (play)

rdf:langString Saved

rdf:langString Saved

rdf:langString Fred

rdf:langString Harry

rdf:langString Mary

rdf:langString Mike

rdf:langString Barry

rdf:langString Pete

rdf:langString Len

rdf:langString Colin

rdf:langString Pam

rdf:langString Liz

rdf:langString England

rdf:langString Drama

rdf:langString English

rdf:langString Saved is a play by Edward Bond which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in November 1965. 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." U.S. novelist Mary McCarthy praised its "remarkable delicacy". 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. Benedict Nightingale stated in 2001 that initially, the play divided reviewers more than any play since Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts. The original cast included John Castle, Tony Selby, Ronald Pickup, Dennis Waterman, William Stewart, Barbara Ferris, Lucy Fleming, Gwen Nelson and . The creative team included: director William Gaskill 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, John Barrett and William Gaskill was the director. While critical reception initially was very negative, critics praised the play after the 1969 performance. The play is rarely revived, though it has been described as "one of the great modern plays" and 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.