Butley is a 1971 play by Simon Gray. Simon James Holliday Gray CBE ( October 21, 1936 – August 7, 2008) was a prolific postwar British playwright whose work was performed The title character, a literary professor and T. S. Eliot scholar, is an acerbic, suicidal alcoholic who loses his wife and male lover on the same day. Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions The dark comedy encompasses several hours in which he bullies students, friends, and colleagues while falling apart at the seams. Black comedy, also known as black humor or dark comedy, is a sub-genre of Comedy and Satire where topics and events that are usually regarded

It was first produced in 1971 at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End under the direction of Harold Pinter, with Alan Bates in the title role. The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London 's "Theatreland" Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003 was a British Actor.

Bates reprised his performance the following year in a Broadway production directed by James Hammerstein at the Morosco Theatre, where it ran for 14 previews and 135 performances. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located James Hammerstein ( March 23, 1931 - January 7, 1999) was an American Theatre director and producer. The Morosco Theatre was a legitimate theatre located at 217 West 45th Street in the heart of the theater district in midtown- Manhattan, New York United States Bates won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance, and Gray was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented The Drama Desk Award, created in 1955, is an award which recognizes shows produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-off-Broadway, and What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American

A 1974 film adaptation directed by Pinter starred Bates, Jessica Tandy, Richard O'Callaghan, Susan Engel, and Michael Byrne. The year 1974 in film involved some significant events Events February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released Jessie Alice Tandy ( June 7, 1909 &ndash September 11, 1994) was a British - American stage and film actress Richard O'Callaghan (born as Richard Rooke in London England March 7, 1940) is an English film stage and television Character Susan Engel (born 25 March 1935 in Vienna, Austria) is a British actress Michael Byrne (born 7 November 1943) is an English actor noted for his roles on Film and Television.

A 2006 limited-run Broadway revival at the Booth Theatre was directed by Nicholas Martin. The Booth Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in midtown- Manhattan, New York City It starred Nathan Lane and Dana Ivey, who was nominated for the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Joseph “Nathan” Lane (born February 3, 1956) is a two-time Tony and Emmy Award-winning American actor of the stage and screen Dana Robins Ivey (born August 14, 1942) is an American Character actress.

External links

• Butley at the Internet Broadway Database
• Butley at the Internet Movie Database