Vincent River is a one act stage play by Philip Ridley. It was Ridley's fourth stage play and premiered at the Hampstead Theatre, London on 6 September 2000. The production was the last major collaboration between Ridley and director Mathew Lloyd, who had previously directed the majority of Ridley's other theatrical works.
Plot
The story plays out in realtime and is set in a rundown flat in Dagenham.
A woman called Anita is moving in following the death of Vincent, her son who was killed in a homophobic attack, which resulted in her discovering that he was a homosexual.
In the play, she interacts with Davey, a boy who claims to have been the first to find Vincent's corpse and who wants to know as much as he can about Vincent from Anita.
Notable stage productions
Country Date Location People Details England 6 September 2000 The Hampstead Theatre, London Directed by Matthew Lloyd.
Anita - Julie Legrand Davey - William Mannering World premiere Slovenia 26 October 2007 SKUC Theatre, Ljubljana Directed by Alen Jelen.
Anita - Zvezdana Mlakar Davey - Jure Henigman Slovenian premiere England 30 October 2007 Trafalgar Studios, London Directed by Rebecca McCuheon.
Anita - Lynda Bellingham Davey - Mark Field West End premiere America 10 June 2008 59E59 Theaters, New York Directed by Steve Marmion.
Anita - Deborah Findlay Davey - Mark Field American premiere
Performed as part of the Brits Off-Broadway festival. Australia 4 January 2009 Tamarama Rock Surfers, Bondi Beach Directed by Jonathan Wald.
Anita - Elaine Hudson Davey - Beejan Land Australian premiere England 18 May 2010 Landor Theatre, London Presented by Thomas Hopkins and Theatrica Ltd.
Directed by Robert McWhir.
Anita - Nicola Duffett Davey - Elliott Jordan "10th anniversary production" (2010 London revival) England 2 November 2010 Old Red Lion Theatre, London Presented by Charmers productions.
Directed by Gary Reid.
Anita - Debra C.Barker Davey - Frank Keogh 2010 London revival (2nd London revival of 2010)
Shortlisted for the 2011 London Festival Fringe Best Play Award. Israel 7 August 2015 Tahel Theatre Anita - Meyrav Gruber Davey - Avi Mazliah Israeli premiere England 27 February 2018 The Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester. Directed by John Young.
Anita - Joyce Branagh Davey - Dominic Holmes England "regional premiere" (Manchester 2018) England 20 March 2018 The Park Theatre, London. Directed by Robert Chevara.
Anita - Louise Jameson Davey - Thomas Mahy 2018 London revival
Louise Jameson received the 2019 Offie for 'Best Female Performance In A Play'. Wales 19 September 2018 A site-specific production at Jacob's Market, Cardiff Produced by No Boundaries Theatre.
Directed by Luke Hereford.
Anita - Victoria Pugh Davey - Aly Cruickshank2018 Cardiff productionAmerica28 November 2018The Crane Theater Studio, Minneapolis, MNProduced by Arrow Theater. Directed by Grant Sorenson
Anita - Laura Esping Davey - Cole SeagerFirst US non-festival production. Australia 13 October 2020 Christ Church, Milton, Brisbane Produced by The Curators' Theatre
Directed by Michael Beh
Anita - Amanda McErlean Davey - Patrick ShearerQueensland premiere Major revival 5-star reviewsAmerica22 September 2021Richard Triangle Players, Virginia.Produced by Richmond Triangle Players Directed by Vinnie Gozalez
Anita - Jill Bari Steinberg Davey - Keaton HillmanVirginia, USA premiereBelgium20 October 2021The Bridge Theatre, BursselsProduced by the Bridge Theatre, Brussels. Directed by Robert Chevara
Anita - Jo Castledon Davey - Jake McDaid2021 Belgium premiereEngland14 October 2022Hope Mill Theatre, ManchesterProduced by Green Carnation Directed by Dan Ellis and Dan Jarvis
Anita - Maddy Myles Davey - Rory McMenaminManchester revival 2022England23 June 2023Greenwich Theatre, LondonProduced by the Greenwich Theatre Directed by James Haddrell
Anita - Kerrie Taylor Davey - Brandon Kimarya2023 London Revival
On film In 2005 Marianne Epin and Cyrille Thouvenin starred in the play at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris, which was also filmed and released as a television movie. It is available on region 2 DVD.
The play has been compared to the 2014 film Lilting, starring Ben Whishaw, Cheng Pei Pei and Andrew Leung and written and directed by Hong Khaou. The story, similar to the play, is about a man who approaches the mother of his deceased gay lover to try and connect and understand their loss.
References
Further reading
External links Interview from 2010 with Philip Ridley for Time Out London about Vincent River and homophobic violence in London