St John Ervine’s pre-First World War tale of a woman attempting to escape her marriage, Jane Clegg, will be revived at Finborough Theatre this spring, marking the first time the play has been seen in the capital for more than 75 years! Book your tickets now!
David Gilmore directs the play that premiered in 1913 at Manchester’s Gaiety Theatre, but which has not graced the London stage since 1944. It runs at Finborough Theatre from 23 April to 18 May 2019.
London, 1913. Travelling salesman Henry Clegg has taken his wife, Jane, for granted for most of their marriage. She endures his dishonesty, infidelity and neglect, as well as his demanding mother. But when Henry is accused of embezzling money from his firm and his latest affair is revealed, Jane realises she must finally escape her life of domestic abuse for herself and her children… only to find that for women without money and connections breaking free isn’t so easy.
The title role was originally created by Dame Sybil Thorndike, who performed it in Manchester, when the production transferred to London’s Royal Court Theatre and around the world.
In this new production, Alix Dunmore takes on the role. She was most recently seen in another revived show, the highly acclaimed Bodies at Southwark Playhouse. Other recent credits include Banquo in The Factory’s Macbeth and King Kong at The Vaults.
Dunmore stars opposite Brian Martin, who appeared in the Michael Grandage-directed West End production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore in 2018, Victoria Lennox, Sidney Livingstone, Matthew Sim, Eve Prenelle & Theo Wilkinson.
Director David Gilmore has directed 17 West End productions in his career to date, including Daisy Pulls it Off, Lend Me a Tenor, The Hired Man and Grease. He’s also worked as Artistic Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, the Watermill Theatre and the St James Theatre (now The Other Palace) when it first opened.
Mixed Marriage at Finborough Theatre (Photo: Bronwen Carr)
Jane Clegg is the third of St John Ervine‘s plays that Finborough Theatre has rediscovered and staged, following 2011’s four-star hit Mixed Marriage, described by Michael Billington in The Guardian as “The most compelling play in London,” and 2014’s John Ferguson.
Ervine was an Irish dramatist who moved to London as a teenager. In 1913, the year in which he wrote Jane Clegg, he attended the Derby, where he stood next to Emily Davison before she was killed by the King’s horse. He served in the First World War, but received an injury that led to his leg being amputated. He went on to write plays including Anthony and Anna and The First Mrs Fraser.
Finborough Theatre and Andrew Maunder stage Jane Clegg as part of a season that also includes are revival of Lionel Bart’s musical Maggie May and the world premiere of Julia Pascal’s tale of passion, war, women’s freedom and love, Blueprint Medea.
