A programme text edition published in conjunction with the Finborough Theatre to coincide with the centenary of the birth of William Saroyan, The Time of Your Life runs from 26 November - 20 December. 'In the time of our life, live - so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it' The Time of Your Life, a rich tapestry of human life, peopled by a profusion of wistful dreamers, pining lonely hearts, and beer-hall-philosophers, is a twentieth century American masterpiece. The Time of Your Life was first presented at The Shubert Theatre, New Haven, USA, on 7 October 1939. It was the first play to win both the New York Drama Critics' Circle award and the Pulitzer Prize. . It has been revived three times on Broadway; was filmed in 1948, starring James Cagney; and twice filmed for TV. It was last seen in the UK in a star-studded Royal Shakespeare Company production in Stratford and London in 1983, and received the following review: 'A remarkable play which blazes forth like a brave beacon: warming and full of fire' Daily Mail
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'William Saroyan's sprawling, elegant, elegiac, of-all-life-in-a-Frisco-honky-tonk 1939 Pulitzer Prize winner The Time of Your Life.' Evening Standard, (1 December 2008) 'A refreshing hymn to human goodness.' Guardian, (2 December 2008) 'Saroyan celebrates life in all its variegated oddity without creating anything so ordered as a plot... [His] play has a genuine love of hobo eccentricity and convinces you that it really is a wonderful world.' Guardian, (2 December 2008) '[Saroyan] anticipates one of the great themes of postwar 20th-century drama, which finds its consummation in Beckett: life as an endless process of waiting.' Guardian, (2 December 2008) 'Behind the play's whimsy lurks a genuine detestation of power, money and materialism.' Guardian, (2 December 2008)
About the Author
William Saroyan (1908-1981) was an internationally renowned Armenian American writer, playwright, and humanitarian. He achieved great popularity in the thirties, forties, and fifties through his hundreds of short stories, plays, novels, memoirs, and essays. In 1939, Saroyan was the first American writer to win both the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for his play The Time of Your Life. He famously refused to accept the Pulitzer Prize on the grounds that "Commerce should not patronize art." He died near his hometown of Fresno at the age of seventy-two. The Time of Your Life was originally published in 1983 by Methuen.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Where to find god in the 20th century? A sleezy bar
13 May 2010
By David Lake
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
All of humanity comes through this bar and they all come before Nick, who helps everyone. This is a well crafted story of somewhat mythic proportions, of a somewhat impotent god and of the 20th century. Saroyan's brilliance at creating atmosphere makes up for the somewhat dated dialog and plots in this nearly perfect play. It is a play, however, can't escape this. Everything happens in one day, on one set, in one place. By the end, one feels exhausted but somehow hopeful.
5.0 out of 5 stars
first winner of Pulitzer Prize and NY Drama Critics' Circle awards
24 Nov 2012
By Frank L. Greenagel Jr.
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Written and set in 1939, William Saroyan's masterpiece takes place in pre-war San Francisco. At the heart of the play is Joe, "a young loafer with a lot of money and a good heart," and Nick, owner of Nick's Pacific Street Saloon, where most of the action takes place.
There are many colorful characters, each with their own dreams, needs and outlooks. Steinbeck's criticism of business and government (that was so apparent in "The Grapes of Wrath") pop up continually throughout the play.
The Arab constantly says "No foundation. All the way down the line." This is a comment on government, business and society.
McCarthy is "an intelligent and well-read longshoreman" who is trying to organize the workers in order to improve their wages.
Kit Carson is a 70 year old former Indian fighter and now tramp who utters lines of seeming nonsense throughout the play. "I don't suppose you ever fell in love with a midget weighing thirty-nine pounds?" (51) He serves as both comic relief and as an affirmation about the decency of man.
Joe: "It takes a lot of rehearsing for a man to get to be himself." (55)
"If anybody's got any money -- to hoard or to throw away -- you can be sure he stole it from other people." (75)
There are many colorful characters, each with their own dreams, needs and outlooks. Steinbeck's criticism of business and government (that was so apparent in "The Grapes of Wrath") pop up continually throughout the play.
The Arab constantly says "No foundation. All the way down the line." This is a comment on government, business and society.
McCarthy is "an intelligent and well-read longshoreman" who is trying to organize the workers in order to improve their wages.
Kit Carson is a 70 year old former Indian fighter and now tramp who utters lines of seeming nonsense throughout the play. "I don't suppose you ever fell in love with a midget weighing thirty-nine pounds?" (51) He serves as both comic relief and as an affirmation about the decency of man.
Joe: "It takes a lot of rehearsing for a man to get to be himself." (55)
"If anybody's got any money -- to hoard or to throw away -- you can be sure he stole it from other people." (75)
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