Long Day's Journey Into Night Tickets

The Apollo Theatre are delighted to announce a new production of Eugene O'Neill's influential masterpiece 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'. The play will run at the Apollo from April 2^nd to August 18^th 2011. This play is a milestone work in 20^th century American theatre, winning O'Neill a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1957. The play is a heartbreaking tale of a family torn apart by addiction and dysfunction, and its sheer power remains undiminished by the half-century since its premiere. This production brings David Suchet back to the Apollo, after last year's critically acclaimed production of Arthur Miller's 'All My Sons'.

The play focuses on the events of one fateful day for the Tyrone family, as they gradually reveal the deep and disturbing tensions behind their fragile family life, and the tragic circumstances which have led them to this position. The head of the family, James Tyrone, Sr., is an ageing actor, disillusioned with the industry after touring the same show year upon year, his wealth fading with the last of his youth. His wife Mary retains a shadow of her former beauty, but has been ravaged by a debilitating morphine addiction, and now inhabits a bubble of hazy memory and self-delusion. Their grown-up children, James Jr. – called Jamie – and Edmund, have both followed their father into alcoholism; Jamie has also followed him into acting, where he struggles due to his reckless behaviour, while Edmund has recently returned from a tour with the merchant navy, returning ill and possibly infected with tuberculosis. As their mother's addiction sinks to new depths, the fighting between the men reaches new heights, and the family's true feelings for each other are forced to the surface.

Eugene O'Neill is credited with introducing realism to American theatre, and among innumerable awards was made a Nobel laureate in literature in 1936. 'Long Day's Journey Into Night' was written in 1942, but never performed until 1956, according to O'Neill's wishes that the play should remain a secret until after his death. The play is largely autobiographical; the names correspond closely to O'Neill's family; his father was a disillusioned actor, and his brother did eventually die due to alcoholism. David Suchet is one of Britain's most respected actors, best known for playing the titular role in 'Poirot'. This production will be directed by veteran British director Anthony Page.