Steaming is a 1981 play written by English playwright Nell Dunn first staged at Theatre Royal, Stratford East, in London. It won the 1981 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy (at the time known as the Society of West End Theatre Award for Best New Comedy).

Steaming
Written byNell Dunn
Date premiered1981
Place premieredTheatre Royal, Stratford
London
Original languageEnglish
SubjectFive women of all conditions come to bare their bodies, souls and fantasies.
GenreComedy
SettingA Russian Steam bath in London in the late 1970s.

The play opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 12 December 1983, running for 65 performances and ten previews. The cast included Judith Ivey, Pauline Flanagan, Lisa Jane Persky, Linda Thorson, and Margaret Whitton.[1] Reviewing the production in The New York Times, Frank Rich praised Ivey's performance, and wrote "Though in no way an accomplished play, Steaming is still lightly enjoyable when it isn't preaching. The talk is often amusing and seemingly authentic ... The American Steaming contains far more nudity than the London version, but it's handled un-self-consciously and adds verisimilitude where once there was prurient coyness."[2]

During 2010, Jally Entertainment toured Australia with the play, starring Val Lehman (best known for her role in TV serial Prisoner) and Alli Pope.[citation needed]

Film adaptation

edit

The play was adapted for film by Patricia Losey released in 1985. The film was directed by Joseph Losey with Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, and Diana Dors.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Steaming". IBDB. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  2. ^ Rich, Frank (13 December 1982). "THEATER: 'STEAMING,' BRITISH COMEDY". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 August 2022.

Further reading

edit
  • Dunn, Nell (1981). Steaming (First ed.). Ambergate, Derbyshire: Amber Lane Press. ISBN 0-906399-30-0.
edit