The Philanthropist
- Dates
- Apr 26 – Jun 28, 2009
- Performances
- 73
About
The Philanthropist is a play by Christopher Hampton, written as a response to Molière's The Misanthrope. After opening at the Royal Court Theatre, London in August 1970, the piece, directed by Robert Kidd, transferred to the May Fair Theatre in the West End and ran there for over three years, subsequently going on a regional tour in 1974. In the meantime, the play, directed once again by Kidd, premiered on Broadway in March 1971, running till May of the same year. Kidd had previously collaborated with Hampton on When Did You Last See Your Mother? (1964), which had also been staged at the Royal Court Theatre. Described by Hampton as a "bourgeois comedy", the piece is set in an "English University Town". The Philanthropist demonstrated Hampton's ability "to write witty, subtle and revealing ...