Vincent River (play)

Vincent River
Written by	Philip Ridley
Characters	Anita (female) Davey (male)
Date premiered	6 September 2000
Place premiered	Hampstead Theatre, London
Original language	English
Subject	Hate crime: homophobia
Setting	"A run-down flat in Dagenham, East London"

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. ^[1] 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. ^{[2] [3]}

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 [4] [5] [6]
America	10 June 2008	59E59 Theaters, New York	Directed by Steve Marmion. Anita - Deborah Findlay [7] Davey - Mark Field	American premiere Performed as part of the Brits Off-Broadway festival. [8] [9]
Australia	4 January 2009	Tamarama Rock Surfers, Bondi Beach	Directed by Jonathan Wald. Anita - Elaine Hudson Davey - Beejan Land	Australian premiere [10]
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) [11] [12]
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) [13] [14] Shortlisted for the 2011 London Festival Fringe Best Play Award. [15]
Israel	7 August 2015	Tahel Theatre	Anita - Meyrav Gruber Davey - Avi Mazliah	Israeli premiere [16]
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 [17] Shortlisted for the 2019 Off West End Awards for 'Best Female Performance In A Play' for Louise Jameson. [18]
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 Cruickshank	2018 Cardiff production
Australia	13 October 2020	Christ Church, Milton, Brisbane	Produced by The Curators' Theatre Directed by Michael Beh Anita - Amanda McErlean Davey - Patrick Shearer	Queensland premiere Major revival [19] 5-star reviews
America	22 September 2021	Richard Triangle Players, Virginia.	Produced by Richmond Triangle Players Directed by Vinnie Gozalez Anita - Jill Bari Steinberg Davey - Keaton Hillman	Virginia, USA premiere
Belgium	20 October 2021	The Bridge Theatre, Burssels	Produced by the Bridge Theatre, Brussels. Directed by Robert Chevara Anita - Jo Castledon Davey - Jake McDaid	2021 Belgium premiere [20]
England	14 October 2022	Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester	Produced by Green Carnation Directed by Dan Ellis and Dan Jarvis Anita - Maddy Myles Davey - Rory McMenamin	Manchester revival 2022 [21]
England	23 June 2023	Greenwich Theatre, London	Produced by the Greenwich Theatre Directed by James Haddrell Anita - Kerrie Taylor Davey - Brandon Kimarya	2023 London Revival [22]

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

1. "Vincent River". Bloomsbury. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
2. "CV of director Matthew Lloyd" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
3. "Review of Vincent River". www.cix.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
4. "Webpage of the 2007 production of Vincent River on the Trafalgar Studios website". Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
5. "Vincent River, Trafalgar Studios, London" . Independent.co.uk . 8 November 2007. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022.
6. "Scrap-heap drama is a clapped-out old banger". 8 November 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
7. "Vincent River". www.backstage.com. 15 June 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
8. Hetrick, Adam (16 May 2008). "Findlay and Field Will Star in Vincent River for Brits Off-Broadway". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
9. Stasio, Marilyn (18 June 2008). "Vincent River". Variety. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
10. "Vincent River". www.australianstage.com.au. 9 January 2009. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
11. "Former 'EastEnders' Duffett and Jordan Star in VINCENT RIVER, 5/18 - 6/5". Broadway World. 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
12. "Vincent River Landor Theatre from 18 May 2010". Londontheatre.co.uk. 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
13. "Webpage of the 2010 production of Vincent River on the Old Red Lion website". Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
14. Lovett, Jonathan (5 November 2010). "Vincent River review at Old Red Lion London". The Stage. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
15. "Webpage of the 2011 London Festival Fringe Award on the London Festival Fringe website". Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
16. "וינסנט ריבר לראשונה בישראל בתיאטרון תהל". www.wherevent.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
17. "Park Theatre". parktheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
18. Wood, Alex (3 February 2019). "Off-West End Awards 2019 winners announced". WhatsOnStage. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
19. "Web page of the Curators' Theatre production of Vincent River". Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
20. Brussels, The Bridge Theatre. "The Bridge Theatre, Brussels". The Bridge Theatre, Brussels. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
21. "Review: VINCENT RIVER, Green Carnation - Hope Mill Theatre". West End Best Friend. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
22. "Greenwich Theatre: Vincent River - Live entertainment in Greenwich, Greenwich". Visit Greenwich. Retrieved 8 July 2025.

Further reading

• Rebellato, Dan (17 October 2011). "Chapter 22: Philip Ridley by Dan Rebellato". In Middeke, Martin; Paul Schnierer, Peter; Sierz, Aleks (eds.). The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary British Playwrights. London, Great Britain: Methuen Drama. pp. 435–437. ISBN   9781408122785.

External links

• Interview from 2010 with Philip Ridley for Time Out London about Vincent River and homophobic violence in London