Summary
Bri, a schoolteacher, and his wife, Sheila, have a ten-year-old child named Josephine who has cerebral palsy. Joe is non-verbal, completely helpless and utterly dependent. Bri hides behind irony and sarcasm. Sheila, believing the child is her penance for a promiscuous past, soldiers on devotedly with their little “Joe Egg.” Well-meaning family and friends offer sundry solutions, including everything from adoption to euthanasia, but ultimately Bri finds he cannot continue, leaving Sheila and Joe behind.
History
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg premiered at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, on 9 May 1967 and transferred to the Comedy Theatre in London on 20 July 1967. Directed by Michael Blakemore, the production featured John Carson, Joan Hickson, Phyllida Law, Joe Melia, Elaine Mileham, Susan Porter and Zena Walker. The play made its Broadway premiere at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 1, 1968, returning for Tony-nominated revivals in 1985 and 2003.