Donkeys' Years
Donkeys' Years | |
---|---|
Written by | Michael Frayn |
Date premiered | 1976 |
Place premiered | Globe Theatre now Gielgud Theatre, London |
Original language | English |
Subject | A group of men at their twentieth college reunion regress to their undergraduate behaviours |
Genre | Comedy / farce |
Donkeys' Years is a play by English playwright Michael Frayn that premiered at the Globe Theatre, London, in 1976.
The play is a West End farce, a genre that Frayn parodied five years later in his play within a play "Nothing On" from Noises Off.
In Donkeys' Years six former students spend the weekend at their old university college for their 25th year reunion. The wife of the Master of the college becomes locked within its walls for the night, supplying the material for a classical bedroom farce. A Government minister is placed in a series of embarrassing positions.
The play featured Penelope Keith, who subsequently won the 1976 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance.
The play was revived in 2006 at the Comedy Theatre
Title
The dictionary definition of donkey's years at Wiktionary sheds some light on the play's name.
References
Further reading
- Frayn, Michael (1977). Donkeys' Years: A Play (First ed.). London: Samuel French. ISBN 0-573-11097-2.