A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

by Peter Nichols

Wednesday 9th November to
Friday 11th November 2005

Guildhall Theatre, Derby

“ .. a magnificent, deeply humane
and emotionally shattering play”

About Joe Egg

"Nichols's play is genuinely original."
New Statesman, Katherine Duncan Jones

A play about a hopelessly crippled child and her parents may not immediately seem like your kind of evening out - but this Peter Nichols play is an amazing piece of theatre with the kind of spark, drama and depth you can rely on from Derby Theate in the Round.

Ten year old Josephine sits around, brain damaged and seemingly unable to respond to the world around her. In an effort to cope with the situation her parents Bri and Sheila, make up scenes and invent personality traits and conversations for the child. Inevitably the tension starts to build and the strain becomes almost unbearable as we move between tragedy and dark comedy.

"Joe Egg raises provocative questions about the relationship between love, dependence and guilt, and not just for the parents of handicapped children. Laughter is the balm that eases such considerations, for the audience and Nichols' characters."
Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY

Nicknamed Joe Egg, Sheila's mother says that the child will never be "more than a kind of living parsnip". Nichols smashes every kind of taboo with this play and isn't afraid to confront us with the kind of secret squeamishness most of use would rather not admit to harbouring.

This is a play full of grace, compassion and laughter, as one critic says "his humour is sharp and witty and will have you crying, but so will his heartbreaking honesty".

Recent revivals of the 1960's play include a BBC Radio 4 with Christopher Eccleston (2005) and West End productions with Eddie Izzard (2003) and Clive Owen (2001).

"What Nichols does, with an extraordinary humorous compassion, is to use Joe Egg to portray a strained marriage and depict a society that doesn't really know what it believes in."
The Guardian, Michael Billington

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ARCHIVED: Questions About This Production

Is this play suitable for children?
We would advise you that this production explores some difficult themes.
We think it's a great show for older children and young adults especially as it uses humour to challenge us and it's often studied for english literature and theatre courses including A-Level.
We leave it to your discretion wether you bring pre-teens, but advise against bringing very young children.
For an informal chat with the producer email theatreintheround@yahoo.co.uk and we will pass on your contact details.

How can I purchase tickets?
You can buy your tickets in person from the Assembly Rooms Box Office, Market Place, Derby or telephone them on 01332 255 800.
You can also buy your tickets online from the Assembly Rooms website. Although it says otherwise on their site you can in fact buy concessionary tickets using the online service - but for some reason it doesn't show them on the first screen. Select the £8 tickets and then on the second screen you'll see the concessionary options. Please note you will need to show qualifying proof of your concessionary status on the evening.

Why isn't there a Saturday evening show?
This production has performances on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings. Derby Theatre in the Round is a small group with a small budget. We like to perform in central, professional venues but we have to keep an eye on the costs. In recent years it has proven more cost effective to run our shows for three nights. Even without Saturday evening theatre hire 90% of our total production budget goes towards paying for the venue and for performing rights. So we hope this November you'll join us on Friday, or Thursday or Wednesday.

Can I advertise in your progamme?
Yes! We'd be happy to talk to you about advertising your services or company in the programme for this production. You can have a quarter page advert for £15, a half page for £25 or a full page for just £40. Plus if you don't have access to your DTP team we'll even help with designing your advert - for free! Email theatreintheround@yahoo.co.uk and Rachel our Publicity Officer will be happy to help.