Road

by Jim Cartwright

“Why's the world so tough? It's like walking through meat in high heels.”

A road, a wild night; a drunken guide, Scullery, conducts a tour of the derelict Lancashire road on which he lives. In this seminal play that gives expression to the road's poverty-stricken inhabitants, we are taken on a journey from the gutter to the stars and back.

This is published to coincide with the revival of Jim Cartwright's 1986 game-changing play to the Royal Court, London in June 2017.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[bex 🌱 · Rating 1 out of 5]

clearly excited to be studying this in drama
(note: i'm sure this would be better seen than read)

[Harry McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Why's the world so tough? It's like walking through meat in high heels."

I'v been putting off reading this for ages, it's been almost 2 years since I saw it. I think it's because I knew I'd have a really complicated relationship with it - and surprise surprise, I do!

One night on Road in the late 1980s, somewhere in the north of England. Everyone's out on the lash. Eddie and Brink are dressing up before they go and sign on the next morning. Carol and Louise are maybe trying to get off with a couple of lads. The chippy's delivery hasn't arrived so they've only got chips.

Road was an instant classic because of the way its kaleidoscopic form allowed for short, sharp insights into the lives of the working classes in the latter days of the Thatcher premiership. It famously took over the Royal Court theatre, ran a disco, transformed the bar into a Lancashire pub, took the audience directly into these people's homes. It's less confrontational now, less intimate. The way it represents these people feels old-fashioned - though it didn't feel like that in the flesh, it's a weird thing. And not all of it works, because it's so episodic some of it can't quite hold the momentum.

But it's still all worth it for that last scene. Probably my favourite scene in any play ever, to be perfectly honest. Somehow a somehow.

I wrote this after seeing the Royal Court's revival in 2017: https://harryrmcdonald.wordpress.com/...

[Noha]

Just awful. No interesting conversation (except for Joey), no chance to even grasp the characters let alone attempt to analyse them. Doesn't deserve one star.

[Elliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Road was unlike any play I’ve ever read before. It takes place, you guess it, on a road in a 1980s small Lancashire town. The whole play is rich with character and story.

You go from place to place and character to character learning about them and what’s going on in their lives, never letting up from the emotionally wretched and hilarious lives of these people.

I really enjoyed that the whole play felt connected and flowed, characters taking you to each place but not feeling forced, and I loved how scullery was almost like a commentator/narrator giving both and inside and outside perspective.

Each character is awful in their own way, from robbery to foul mouths to sleazing up to women but you thoroughly enjoy them interacting in their lively and almost clownish way. I feel Cartwright really embodied the atmosphere he was trying to.

I also like how there are things going on pre-show and in the interval, staying in character and bringing the story literally to life to the audience.

Overall, I believe this would be better performed than read, as some of the monologues were quite long and got tedious, but would definitely be a lot more interesting on their feet. An enjoyable and funny read, really helped broadened the plays I’ve read.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d read scenes from this over the years, and always enjoyed them, so I decided to finally buckle down and read the whole thing. Really glad I did, as this was a great play.
I’m always a sucker for “slice of life” plays, and this really tapped into an almost nostalgic sense of being a “townie”. It also really highlighted the pub culture, which I found really interesting.
The hunger strike and skinhead scenes are particular stand outs, but it’s very VERY British.
Would love to see this staged. If I were to do it, I would have a stage of layered projector screens with the background being projected over the performer.

[Salli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this because I am playing Brenda in a local performance. I am intrigued by its form; it's promenade and audience inclusion elements and it was probably ground breaking at the time. It is vibrant slice of life and would have spoken to its time, placing the suffering of the 80s in front of a wider audience. But it does not have that philosophical edge which would make it a classic. Useful as social history. Certainly contains some wonderful parts for actors.
This is of course after only one read and no rehearsals so I may feel differently once I have seen it on its feet.

[Maria Cullimore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A particularly relevant play in the current climate of disenfranchisement and increasing income inequality both within and across UK regions. Cartwright's words are poetic in their ability to conjure the grime and depravation of a community that society has abandoned.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I saw this live and had to perform the Carol and Brenda scene for my GCSE. I’ve always wanted to re-read the play but never got round to it till now.
This is one of those plays that I definitely recommend seeing live. I still enjoyed it and it still holds relevancy today.

[Pip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bleak and brief. An interesting perspective on thatcherite policies by those most affected.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good play. But it's better if you watch it live.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monologues!

[Cam Berrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark and humorous, what more do you want?

[Nancy Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complicated and messy depiction of life in working class Lancashire. Brilliant characterisation, and very well developed relationships between characters. Would love to see it performed.

[Jaden · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really quite liked this play, some great characters and monologues in there uff

[Verity Treadwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - interesting insight into the lives of the working class under Thatcher.

Interesting characters but not very developed, making it difficult to follow

[Sleepy Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if I was seeing it and not reading it. However I still like the play and find the different perspectives of the characters interesting.

[Rebecca Fell · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Why’s the world so tough? It’s like walking through meat in high heels”

I chose to read this as one of my texts for A-Level Drama and Theatre Studies and, as a Northerner, I loved the premise of this play; A play that focused on the working class hardships of the tumultuous latter years of the Thatcher era in the North. However, I feel like the writing on the most part in this is extremely exaggerated and, on some levels, grotesque. Trying to mirror typical working class Lancastrian dialect, Cartwright strings together slurs of profanities and harsh stereotypes to reflect the tensions in the north during the 80s. Whilst I can see why he did this- to reflect the hardships of mass unemployment and poverty- I feel that it was unneeded. Maybe this is because I come from a different class background in the North, but all the same, with writing like Cartwright’s I’m not surprised that the Southern stereotype towards people who live in the north is derived from feeling threatened by supposed northern aggression. However, on a more positive note, some of the dialect Cartwright actually crafts is superbly accurate, especially Scullery and Louise’s dialogue; in the moments where his writing is accurate, Cartwright brilliantly reflects typical North-Western humour and poignantly satirises Thatcherian society.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting piece and one which I would love to see staged. Even though it was written in the mid 80's it has aged very well and many of the themes are still as prevalent today as they were back then particularly in Europe on the back of the latest recession. Its raw, explicit, in your face, un-relenting yet very funny. The characters are often depraved and messy yet they are always real and much of the time likeable. So much of modern American, Irish and British theatre is concerned with realism and maintaining the fourth wall.But this play is all about playing to the audience and interacting with them, breaking down the structures between the audience (usually middle-class) and the characters in the play (working class). Yet at all times the characters feel real and their situations believable. You don't disbelieve for a minute that the world they live in doesn't exist though. Although the world is not a pretty one and often feels claustrophobic and depressing there is a sense of community which runs through it. Of these characters all knowing each other, accepting each other in all their guises and in some funny way looking out for each other.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This play is simply one of the best, most complex tales I have read in a long time. It was also the first play I produced, one of my better designs and one of the most horrific labors of love in which I have been involved.

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Read for Drama)
When we watched the film, I thought 'what the hell is this rubbish?' But now that I have read the script, I think I can appreciate what Jim was trying to create. Let's hope that we fufil his wishes when we perform it!

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play was recommended to me a biased person (the playwright's daughter), but she wasn't lying: it's very, very good. It's like a dark Withnail & I. I'm not sure if it offers any kind of salvation, but it certainly is cathartic in its whinging.

[J. B. Pichelski · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the more 'interesting' plays I've read.