A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg

The play centres on a British couple, Bri and Sheila, who are struggling to save their marriage whilst trying to raise their only child, a small girl named Josephine, who has cerebral palsy. She uses a wheelchair and is nonverbal, which her parents see as unable to communicate. Caring for her has occupied nearly every moment of her parents' lives since her birth, taking a heavy toll on their marriage. Sheila gives Josephine as much of a life as she can, while Bri wants the child institutionalised and has begun to entertain chilling fantasies of killing himself and Josephine.

'This remarkable play is about a nightmare all women must have dreamed at some time, and most men...'Ronald Bryden, Observer (1967)'Joe Egg is unlike any play I've seen; concerns about whether it's dated fade next to the claims that can now be made for it. It's in the collisions between pious and rogue thoughts that the play's energy lies. We don't know what to feel. Which is why, once seen, Joe Egg won't go away.'Robert Butler, Independent on Sunday (1993)

A deeply moving play about the problems of a young couple struggling to cope with and raise their only child--a severely handicapped young girl. Although they try to maintain a sense of humor the difficulty and seeming futility of their efforts takes an emotional toll that eventually threatens to destroy their marriage.

The Modern Monologue in two volumes, one for men and one for women, is an exciting selection of speeches drawn from the landmark plays of the 20th century. The great playwrights of the British, American and European theatre-- and the plays most constantly performed on stage throughout the world--are represented in this unique collection. Monologues of all types--both serious and comic, realistic and absurdist--provide a dynamic challenge for all actors: the student, the amateur and the professional. A fuller appreciation of each speech is enhanced by the editors' introduction and commentaries that set the plays and individual speeches in their dramatic and performance contexts.

A glorious meeting of humor, eroticism and duplicity, this modern classic enjoys a major West End revival starring Zoe Wanamaker.