Carving a Statue

Carving a Statue is a 1964 three-act play by Graham Greene. Set in a studio in South London, the play revolves around the relationship between a father and his son. The father obsesses over his carving of a large stone statue of God – which has been in progress for sixteen years. The son continuously fails to connect with his father, and attempts to bring girls into the studio and start a relationship.^[1]

Characters

• The Father
• His Son
• The First Girl
• The Second Girl
• Dr Parker

Productions

Carving a Statue was first produced by Peter Wood on 17 September 1964 at the Haymarket Theatre, London.^[2] The cast consisted of; Ralph Richardson as The Father, Dennis Waterman as His Son, Barbara Ferris as The First Girl, Jane Birkin as The Second Girl and Roland Culver as Dr Parker.^[3]

The play was staged off-Broadway at the Gramercy Arts Theater in 1968, in a production directed by Margaret Webster.^[4] The cast comprised Larry Gates as The Father, Saylor Cresswell as His Son, Fran Myers as the First Girl, Judy Allen as the Second Girl and Tony Capodilupo as Dr. Parker.^[5]

Graham Greene On Carving a Statue

"Never before have I known a play like this one so tormenting to write or so fatiguing in production. I am grateful to the reviewers who may have a little accelerated the end. At the age of sixty there is no reason to work, except to earn a living or to have 'fun'. This play was never fun and I earn my living in another field".^[6]

References

External links

• ​Carving a Statue​ at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

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Works by Graham Greene and their adaptations

Bibliography

Novels

• The Man Within (1929)
• The Name of Action (1930)
• Rumour at Nightfall (1932)
• Stamboul Train (1932)
• It's a Battlefield (1934)
• England Made Me (1935)
• The Bear Fell Free (1935)
• A Gun for Sale (1936)
• Brighton Rock (1938)
• The Confidential Agent (1939)
• The Power and the Glory (1940)
• The Ministry of Fear (1943)
• The Heart of the Matter (1948)
• The Third Man (novella; 1949)
• The End of the Affair (1951)
• The Quiet American (1955)
• Loser Takes All (1955)
• Our Man in Havana (1958)
• A Burnt-Out Case (1960)
• The Comedians (1966)
• Travels with My Aunt (1969)
• The Honorary Consul (1973)
• The Human Factor (1978)
• Doctor Fischer of Geneva (1980)
• Monsignor Quixote (1982)
• The Tenth Man (1985)
• The Captain and the Enemy (1988)
• No Man's Land (2005)

Travel books

• Journey Without Maps (1936)
• The Lawless Roads (1939)
• In Search of a Character (1961)
• Getting to Know the General: The Story of an Involvement (1984)

Autobiography

• A Sort of Life (1971)
• Ways of Escape (1980)
• Getting to Know the General: The Story of an Involvement (1984)
• A World of My Own: A Dream Diary (1992)

Plays

• The Living Room (1953)
• The Potting Shed (1957)
• The Complaisant Lover (1959)
• Carving a Statue (1964)
• The Return of A. J. Raffles (1975)
• The Great Jowett (1981)
• Yes and No (1983)
• For Whom the Bell Chimes (1983)

Story collections

• Twenty-One Stories (1954)
• A Sense of Reality (1963)
• May We Borrow Your Husband? (1967)
• The Last Word and Other Stories (1990)

Short stories

• "The End of the Party" (1929)
• "Proof Positive" (1930)
• "The Basement Room" (1936)
• "Across the Bridge" (1938)
• "Alas, Poor Maling" (1940)
• "The Blue Film" (1954)
• "The Destructors" (1954)
• "A Shocking Accident"
• "The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen"
• "The Last Word"

Films

• Orient Express (1934)
• The Future's in the Air (1937)
• The New Britain (1940)
• 21 Days (1940)
• This Gun for Hire (1942)
• Went the Day Well? (1942)
• Ministry of Fear (1944)
• Brighton Rock (1947)
• The Fallen Idol (1948)
• The Third Man (1949)
• The Heart of the Matter (1953)
• The End of the Affair (1955)
• Loser Takes All (1956)
• Saint Joan (1957)
• The Quiet American (1958)
• Our Man in Havana (1959)
• The Comedians (1967)
• Travels with My Aunt (1972)
• The Human Factor (1979)
• The Honorary Consul (1983)
• Monsignor Quixote (1985)
• The End of the Affair (1999)
• The Quiet American (2002)
• Brighton Rock (2010)

Other

• Brighton Rock (play)
• Shades of Greene

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