Vincent River (play)

Vincent River is a one act stage play by Philip Ridley. It was Ridley's fourth stage play for adults and premiered at the Hampstead Theatre, London on 6 September 2000.[1] The production was the last major collaboration between Ridley and director Mathew Lloyd, who had previously directed the majority of Ridley's other theatrical works.[2][3]

Vincent River
Written byPhilip Ridley
CharactersAnita (Female, aged 53) Davey (Male, aged 17)
Date premiered6 September 2000
Place premieredHampstead Theatre, London
Original languageEnglish
SubjectHomophobia
Setting"A run-down flat in Dagenham, East London"

It is believed that the play in part draws from Ridley's unpublished radio play October Scars the Skin which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 16 January 1989. The story like Vincent River involved a mother of a murdered homosexual who befriends his son's lover and also featured a character called Vincent.[4][5]

Plot

The story plays out in realtime and is set in a rundown flat in Dagenham.

There a woman called Anita is moving in following the death of Vincent, her son who was killed in a homophobic attack which resulted in her discovering that he was a homosexual in the aftermath of his murder.

In the play we see her interact with Davey, a boy who claims to have been the first to find Vincent's corpse and who wants to know as much as he can about Vincent from Anita.

Notable Stage Productions
CountryDateLocationPeopleDetails
England6 September 2000The Hampstead Theatre, London.Directed by Matthew Lloyd. World Premiere
England30 October 2007Trafalgar Studios, London.Directed by Rebecca McCuheon. West End Premiere[6][7][8]
America10 June 200859E59 Theaters, New YorkDirected by Steve Marmion. American Premiere

Performed as part of the Brits Off-Broadway festival.[9][10]

Australia4 January 2009Tamarama Rock Surfers, Bondi BeachDirected by Jonathan Wald. Australian Premiere[11]
England18 May 2010Landor Theatre, LondonPresented by Thomas Hopkins and Theatrica Ltd.

Directed by Robert McWhir.

 "10th anniversary production" (2010 London revival)[12][13]
England2 November 2010Old Red Lion Theatre, LondonPresented by Charmers productions.

Directed by Gary Reid.

  • Anita - Debra C.Barker
  • Davey - Frank Keogh
 2010 London revival (2nd London revival of 2010)[14][15]
  • Shortlisted for the 2011 London Festival Fringe Best Play Award.[16]
Israel7 August 2015Tahel Theatre Israeli Premiere[17]
England27 February 2018The Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester.Directed by John Young.
  • Anita - Joyce Branagh
  • Davey - Dominic Holmes
 England "Regional Premiere" (Manchester 2018)
England20 March 2018The Park Theatre, London.Directed by Robert Chevara. 2018 London Revival[18]
Wales19 September 2018a site-specific production at Jacob's Market, CardiffProduced by No Boundaries Theatre.

Directed by Luke Hereford.

  • Anita - Victoria Pugh
  • Davey - Aly Cruickshank
 2018 Cardiff Production
Australia13 October 2020Christ Church, Milton, BrisbaneProduced by The Curators' Theatre

Directed by Michael Beh

  • Anita - Amanda McErlean
  • Davey - Patrick Shearer
 Queensland Premiere
  • Major revival[20]
  • 5-star reviews

On Film

In 2005 Marianne Epin and Cyrille Thouvenin starred in the play at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris, which was also filmed and released as a television movie. It is available on region 2 DVD.

The play has been compared to the 2014 film, Lilting, starring Ben Whishaw, Cheng Pei Pei and Andrew Leung and written and directed by Hong Khaou. The story similar to the play is about a man who approaches the mother of his deceased gay lover to try and connect and understand their loss.

References
  1. http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/vincent-river-9781408104491/
  2. CV of director Matthew Lloyd
  3. Review by Ian Shuttleworth of the original production of Vincent River directed by Matthew Lloyd
  4. Clarke, Jeremy (June 1990). "Grisly Ridley". Third Way. Vol. 13 no. 5. Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd. p. 14. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  5. Listing for October Scars the Skin on the BBC website
  6. "Webpage of the 2007 production of Vincent River on the Trafalgar Studios website". Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  7. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/vincent-river-trafalgar-studios-london-399505.html
  8. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3669128/Scrap-heap-drama-is-a-clapped-out-old-banger.html
  9. Hetrick, Adam (16 May 2008). "Findlay and Field Will Star in Vincent River for Brits Off-Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  10. Stasio, Marilyn (18 June 2008). "Vincent River". Variety. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  11. http://www.australianstage.com.au/reviews/sydney/vincent-river-2155.html
  12. "Former 'EastEnders' Duffett and Jordan Star in VINCENT RIVER, 5/18 - 6/5". Broadway World. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  13. "Vincent River Landor Theatre from 18 May 2010". Londontheatre.co.uk. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  14. "Webpage of the 2010 production of Vincent River on the Old Red Lion website". Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  15. Lovett, Jonathan (5 November 2010). "Vincent River review at Old Red Lion London". The Stage. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  16. "Webpage of the 2011 London Festival Fringe Award on the London Festival Fringe website". Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  17. http://www.wherevent.com/detail/%D7%A7%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%AA-%D7%AA%D7%94%D7%9C-%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%A0%D7%98-%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%91%D7%A8-%D7%9C%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%94-%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%90%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9F-%D7%AA%D7%94%D7%9C
  18. Web-page of 2018 Park Theatre production of Vincent River
  19. Wood, Alex (3 February 2019). "Off-West End Awards 2019 winners announced". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  20. Web page of the Curators' Theatre production of Vincent River

Further reading
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