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{{short description|Comic play by Simon Gray}}
'''''Otherwise Engaged''''' is a bleakly comic play by English playwright [[Simon Gray]]. It opened at the [[Queen's Theatre]] in London on 10 July 1975, with [[Alan Bates]] as the star and [[Harold Pinter]] as director, produced by Michael Codron. [[Ian Charleson]] co-starred as Dave, a Glasgow lout. [[Michael Gambon]] took over from Bates in 1976, "playing it for a year, eight times a week." The play also had a successful run on Broadway, opening in February 1977 with [[Tom Courtenay]] as Simon and [[Carolyn Lagerfelt]] as Beth. It won the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle]] Award for Best Play.▼
{{for|the 1965 Australian television film|Otherwise Engaged (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox play
| name = Otherwise Engaged
| image = Otherwise Engaged.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Flyer for original production
| writer = [[Simon Gray]]
| characters =
| genre = Drama
| setting = A house in London
| premiere = 10 July 1975
| place = [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], London
| orig_lang = English
| web = http://simongray.org.uk/plays/otherwise-engaged
}}
▲'''''Otherwise Engaged''''' is a bleakly comic play by English playwright [[Simon Gray]].
==Plot==
The play revolves around a British publisher named Simon Hench. When we first see Hench, he has settled down in his lavish living room, and plans to spend a pleasant afternoon listening to
First, he is visited by his tenant Dave, a penniless student. Later, Hench must deal with his brother, a money-strapped public school teacher with a large family to support. Later, Hench meets with a drunken journalist mate, and with that mate's girlfriend (an aspiring writer who is more than willing to flaunt her body to get a publishing contract from Hench). Later, Hench receives a call from a meek gentleman that Hench used to torment when they were schoolboys, and whose
Finally, Hench's tranquil afternoon is interrupted by his wife, who announces that she is leaving him.
Initially, Hench seems witty, warm and charming. For much of the play, he appears to be the one and only sane, grounded character. Gradually, this
==Original cast==
The play was revived at the Criterion Theatre in 2005 in a production starring [[Richard E. Grant]] and [[Anthony Head]], directed by Simon Curtis, produced by Mark Rubinstein, Sonia Friedman, Jeremy Meadow and Lee Menzies.▼
*Beth – [[Mary Miller (actress)|Mary Miller]]
*Dave – [[Ian Charleson]]
*Davina – [[Jacqueline Pearce]]
*Jeff – [[Julian Glover]]
*Simon – [[Alan Bates]]
*Stephen – [[Nigel Hawthorne]]
*Wood – [[Benjamin Whitrow]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/play/d1e/otherwise-engaged/production/t36|title=Production of Otherwise Engaged | Theatricalia|website=theatricalia.com}}</ref>
===Critical reception===
Of the London production, [[Clive Barnes]] wrote in ''[[The New York Times]]'', "The play brings together once more the three people who had earlier given us "[[Butley (play)|Butley]]," the playwright Simon Gray, Harold Pinter as director and its star, Alan Bates. They have proved that lightning can strike twice in the same place, and indeed this is probably a more substantial play than "Butley," and Mr. Bates, at his most magisterially comic, is even better, deeper and funnier than in his [[Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play|Tony Award]] winning performance in the earlier play. In fact, not to waste words, Mr. Bates is terrific."<ref name=nytimes/>
==Other productions==
▲The play was revived at the Criterion Theatre in 2005 in a production starring [[Richard E. Grant]] and [[Anthony Head]], directed by [[Simon Curtis (filmmaker)|Simon Curtis]], produced by Mark Rubinstein, [[Sonia Friedman]], [[Jeremy Meadow]] and Lee Menzies.<ref name="guardian">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/nov/01/theatre|title=Otherwise Engaged, Criterion, London|first=Michael|last=Billington|date=November 1, 2005|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>
==Sequel==
Gray wrote a sequel, titled ''Simply Disconnected''. The play once again featured Gray's muse, Bates, reprising his role as Simon Hench. This premiered on May 10, 1996, as part of the [[Chichester Festival production history|Chichester Theatre Festival]].<ref name="sequel">{{Cite web |url=http://simongray.org.uk/plays/simply-disconnected/ |title=''Simply Disconnected'' (1996) |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=SimonGray.org.uk |orig-date=2017 |quote=In 1996 Simon Gray wrote a sequel, in which he explores how Simon Hench responds to the catastrophes and absurdities of his life a quarter century on, |via=The literary estate of [[Simon Gray]]}}</ref>
==References==
<references/>
==Bibliography==
*''Who's Who in the Theatre'', 16th/17th editions, Pitman/Gale (1977/1982)
*''Gambon: A Life in Acting'', [[Mel Gussow]], Nick Hern Books/Applause (2004)
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* {{ibdb title|3891}}
{{DramaDesk Play 1975–2000}}
[[Category:English plays]]
[[Category:1975 plays]]
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