Butley (play)

For the film of this name, see Butley (film). For the village of this name in England, see Butley, Suffolk.
Butley
Poster of original West End production
Written bySimon Gray
Date premiered14 July 1971
Place premieredCriterion Theatre, London
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama
SettingAn office in a London university
Official site

Butley is a play by Simon Gray set in the office of an English lecturer at a university in London, England.[1] The title character, a T. S. Eliot scholar, is an alcoholic who loses his wife and his close friend and colleague – and possibly male lover – on the same day.[2] The action of the dark comedy takes place over several hours on the same day during which he bullies students, friends and colleagues while falling apart at the seams.[3] The play won the 1971 Evening Standard Award for Best Play.[4]

  1. ^ Gray, Simon. Simon Gray: Plays 1. London: Faber and Faber, 2010.
  2. ^ "Butley | Samuel French". www.samuelfrench.com.
  3. ^ Brantley, Ben (October 26, 2006). "Butley - Theater - Review". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference standard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).