Early Morning

Early Morning is a surrealist farce by the English dramatist Edward Bond. It was first produced in 1968, opening on 31 March at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by William Gaskill. The play takes place in a contorted version of the court of Queen Victoria who is portrayed as a lesbian. Her two sons are made conjoined twins. This made the play extremely scandalous, as did a scene in which the character Len eats another person standing in a queue in front of him. Like Bond's earlier play Saved (1965), it was initially condemned but later came to be viewed positively. The censor Early Morning was the final play to be banned by the Lord Chamberlain's Office when it was refused a license in its entirety in November 1967. The Royal Court then formed a members-only club to stage the play (as they had with Bond's Saved), but their plans were thwarted with the arrival of police at the 1968 first night. A further performance was given under guise of a free dress rehearsal in April. However, in September, stage censorship was abolished altogether with the passing of the Theatres Act 1968. The English Stage Company subsequently staged an ‘Edward Bond season’ at the Royal Court in 1969, with Saved, Narrow Road to the Deep North and Early Morning, followed by a European tour of the plays. Original cast Albert - Nigel Hawthorne Disraeli - Malcolm Tierney Arthur - Peter Eyre George - Tom Chadbon Lord Chamberlain - David Anderson Lord Mennings - Norman Eshley Queen Victoria - Moira Redmond Florence Nightingale - Marianne Faithfull Len - Dennis Waterman Joyce - Jane Howell Jones - Hugh Armstrong Griss - Harry Meacher Doctor - Gavin Reid Gladstone - Jack Shepherd Ned - Bruce Robinson Julian - We May Never Know Critical reception Maeve Walsh in The Independent argues that reviews for the second (post-censorship) performance of Early Morning were negative, noting that amongst contemporary reviews, the Daily Mirror accused the play of "Making an art form of the revolting"; City Press called it "The most disturbing and grotesque piece I have ever seen"; and The People concluded, "Ugh". Herbert Kretzmer remarked that the three plays staged in 1969 (Saved, Early Morning and Narrow Road to the Deep North) served as "a reminder that it is possible to become famous for having achieved nothing much at all."