The Cocktail Party
T232484552
In his most sparkling dramatic work T.S. Eliot takes a comic convention and uses it to explore his themes of conflict, recognition and acceptance. Edward and Lavinia have just enough in common to make them loathe one another. That is, until an unidentified guest at their party offers them, and their respective lovers, hope of escape from the trap. But freedom can come at a terrible price.
Archive :: production:T232484552, play:S2816, venue:V389
Production details
Considered the most popular of his plays in his lifetime, The Cocktail Party (1949) will receive a semi-staged reading for one evening only. Warring married couple Edward and Lavinia Chamberlayne are about to throw a cocktail party at their London home when Lavinia chooses the moment to leave her husband. A highly original take on the ‘drawing room comedy’ of the era.
