Magnificence (play)

1973 play written by Howard Brenton

Magnificence

Written by| Howard Brenton
Date premiered| 28 June 1973
Place premiered| Royal Court Theatre
Original language| English
Subject| Left-wing radicalism
Setting| 1970s London

Magnificence is a 1973 play by English playwright Howard Brenton. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre and was next performed on the London stage in 2016, at the Finborough Theatre.

## Synopsis

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Magnificence has two plotlines. Firstly, five far-left revolutionaries squat an unoccupied house in London. Secondly, a Conservative cabinet MP loses faith in himself. The two plotlines converge in the final scene, where Jed (one of the revolutionaries) accidentally kills both himself and the MP with plastic explosive.

The published text of the play takes as its epigraph lines from Brecht's Die Maßnahme:

> Sink into the mire
> Embrace the butcher
> But change the world.

## Productions

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### Premiere

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Magnificence premiered at the Royal Court Theatre on 28 June 1973 with the following cast:

* Will - Michael Kitchen
* Jed - Kenneth Cranham
* Mary - Carole Hayman
* Veronica - Dinah Stabb
* Cliff - Pete Postlethwaite
* Constable - James Aubrey
* Slaughter - Leonard Fenton
* Alice - Geoffrey Chater
* Babs - Robert Eddison
* Old Man/Lenin \- Nikolaj Ryjtkov

It was directed by Max Stafford-Clark, designed by William Dudley and the lighting was by Andy Phillips. Irving Wardle, writing in The Times, called it a wonderful piece of theatre.[1]

### 2016

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Magnificence was performed at the Finborough Theatre in 2016, marking its first appearance in London since the premiere.[2] The reviews were favourable, with the Evening Standard commenting that "Brenton’s vision of revolutionary zeal is memorably strange".[3] For BroadwayWorld the play was "both epic and intimate" and the Guardian wrote that "the play’s anger about the co-existence of homelessness and empty property still strikes a chord".[4][5]

## References

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1. ^ Brenton: Plays One Methuen 1986 ISBN 978-0-413-40430-5
2. ^ Tattersall, Sarah (1 November 2016). "Interview: Playwright Howard Brenton on 'Magnificence'". Everything Theatre. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
3. ^ Hitchings, Henry (31 October 2016). "Magnificence: A memorably strange vision of revolutionary zeal". Evening Standard. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
4. ^ BWW News Desk (29 September 2016). "The Finborough Rediscovers Howard Brenton Classic, MAGNIFICENCE". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
5. ^ Billington, Michael (31 October 2016). "Magnificence review – Brenton's take on 70s Britain still explodes with anger". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

* v
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Works by Howard Brenton

Major plays|

* Christie in Love
* Magnificence
* The Churchill Play
* Weapons of Happiness
* Epsom Downs
* The Romans in Britain
* Bloody Poetry
* Greenland
* Paul
* In Extremis
* Never So Good
* Anne Boleyn
* 55 Days
* Drawing the Line
* Doctor Scroggy's War
* Lawrence After Arabia

With David Hare|

* Pravda

Television|

* Dead Head

See also|

* Portable Theatre Company

* v
* t
* e

Squatting

By country|

* Albania
* Algeria
* Angola
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Australia
* Bahamas
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brazil
* Cambodia
* Chile
* Costa Rica
* Croatia
* Czech Republic
* England and Wales
* Estonia
* Fiji
* Ghana
* Greece
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* India
* Iran
* Iraq
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kazakhstan
* Kenya
* Kyrgyzstan
* Liberia
* Malaysia
* Mexico
* Myanmar
* Namibia
* Nepal
* Netherlands
* Nigeria
* Norway
* Pakistan
* Peru
* Philippines
* Romania
* Scotland
* Serbia
* South Korea
* Slovenia
* Solomon Islands
* Spain
* Sri Lanka
* Sudan
* Suriname
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Ukraine (Crimea)
* United States
* Uruguay
* Vanuatu
* Venezuela
* West Bank
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Movements|

* Abahlali baseMjondolo
* Advisory Service for Squatters
* Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
* Diggers
* Eurodusnie Collective
* Exodus Collective
* Homeless Workers' Movement
* Homes Not Jails
* Justice Not Crisis
* Landless Workers' Movement
* Mad Housers
* National Union of the Homeless
* Occupy Homes
* Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
* Picture the Homeless
* Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca
* Reclaim The City
* Revolutionary Housing League
* Squatters' Action for Secure Homes
* Take Back the Land
* The City is For All
* The Land is Ours
* We Are Here
* Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign
* Zone to Defend

In culture|

* A Squatter's Tale
* Ciutat Morta
* Dark Days
* Dear Mandela
* Emergency Exit
* Garbage Dreams
* In Krakende Welstand
* Kill City
* Lefties
* Magnificence
* Miracle in Milan
* Night Lodgers
* No Land! No House! No Vote!
* Shadow Cities
* Squatter's Rights
* Squatting the real story
* Suburbia
* The Cambridge Squatter
* The Good Terrorist
* The Harvest Gypsies
* The Legacy of Luna
* The Silverado Squatters
* The Strategy of the Snail
* Two Up, Two Down
* We, the Invisible

Related topics|

* Adverse possession
* Asentamiento
* Campamento
* Cantegril
* Colonia
* Favela
* Gecekondu
* Home
* Homelessness
* Occupation (protest)
* Pavement dwellers
* Pueblos jóvenes
* Rooftop slum
* Shanty town
* Slum
* Squatters union
* Tent city
* Tree sitting
* Villa miseria

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