A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
2001 West End revival theatrical poster
Written by	Peter Nichols
Date premiered	1967
Place premiered	Citizens Theatre Glasgow, Scotland
Original language	English
Subject	Parents with a child with cerebral palsy use humour to cope
Genre	Comedy
Setting	present day, Bristol, England

A Day in the Death of Joe Egg is a 1967 play by the English playwright Peter Nichols, first staged at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, before transferring to the Comedy Theatre in London's West End.

The play centers on a British couple who are struggling to save their marriage whilst trying to raise their only child, a small girl with cerebral palsy. She uses a wheelchair and is unable to communicate. Caring for her has occupied nearly every moment of her parents' lives since her birth, taking a heavy toll on their marriage.

Sheila, her mother, gives Josephine as much of a life as she can while husband Bri wants the child institutionalised and has begun to entertain chilling fantasies of killing himself and Josephine.

After its premiere in Glasgow in 1967, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg opened in London's West End in 1967 then transferred to Broadway the next year. On Broadway, the play received four nominations for Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Actor (Albert Finney), Best Featured Actress (Zena Walker) and Best Director (Michael Blakemore). Walker won the Tony for Best Featured Actress.

The play has been revived twice on Broadway. A 1985 revival staged at the Longacre Theatre ran for 93 performances. It was directed by Arvin Brown and the cast included Jim Dale, , Joanna Gleason, Christina Pickles and Kate Wilkinson. The production won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival.