Men Should Weep
by Ena Lamont Stewart
4 STARS 'A superb, surprisingly uplifting production...One of the dramatic highlights of the year.' Daily Telegraph
4 STARS ''Ena Lamont Stewart's remarkable play...a landmark in British drama.' Guardian
4 STARS 'This brilliantly comic play is stock full of pleasures, and proves defiantly uplifting in Josie Rourke’s huge-hearted, magisterial production.' Time Out
4 STARS 'This revival by Josie Rourke of Ena Lamont Stewart’s neglected classic is hugely welcome.' Evening Standard
A moving and funny portrayal of impoverished 1930s Glasgow, a raw salute to the human spirit.
Once they’ve been laid in yer airms, they’re in yer heart tae the end of yer days, no matter whit way they turn oot.
Despite cramped tenement living and the turmoil of seven children, there is laughter and strength in the Morrison family. Tough and tender mother Maggie, one of the great stage roles for women, just about holds together her unruly brood against wretched poverty.
But sniping neighbours, the flight of daughter Jenny, and the unexpected return to their overcrowded quarters of Maggie’s son and his sexually restless wife erodes her spirit. And then, just as temporary employment for beloved husband John affords a decent Christmas, wayward Jenny returns with new-found wealth, offering them the chance of escape and one big moral dilemma.
Ena Lamont Stewart’s Men Should Weep, was voted one of the top hundred plays of the last century in the NT millennium poll.
4 STARS ‘Performed by a superbly marshalled cast, Rourke's production avoids any trace of melodrama.' Independent
4 STARS ‘Sharon Small is deeply touching as Maggie…There are superb performances.’ Daily Express
4 STARS 'Superb...A vivid portrait of poverty. I loved this play.' Daily Mail
'Josie Rourke’s tremendous production doesn’t miss a beat.’ Observer
'Rourke's witty production is strong and firm...beautifully capturing the goldfish-bowl intimacy of tenement living.' Metro
4 STARS 'Wholly engrossing.' The Times
4 STARS ‘This telling combination of pathos and comedy is Men Should Weep at its best.’ Financial Times
photo © Barbara Orton
Read an interview with Josie Rourke in the Evening Standard
Read an interview with Sharon Small on the Official London Theatre website
Men Should Weep finished on: 10 January 2011
