Run for Your Wife | |
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Written by | Ray Cooney |
Characters | John Smith |
Date premiered | 29 March 1983 |
Original language | English language |
Subject | Bigamy |
Genre | Adult comedy |
Run for Your Wife (1983) is an adult comedy play by Ray Cooney.
The story concerns London cab driver John Smith, with two wives, two lives and a very precise schedule for juggling them both, with one wife at home in Streatham and another at home in Wimbledon.
Trouble brews when Smith is mugged and ends up in hospital, where both of his addresses surface, causing both the Streatham and Wimbledon police to investigate. Having upset his schedule, Smith becomes hopelessly entangled in his attempts to explain himself to his wives and two suspicious police officers, with help from his lazy layabout neighbour upstairs in Wimbledon.
Cast members have a precise schedule as well with many entrances and exits that create pressure and humor through this adult comedy.
Richard Briers and Bernard Cribbins took the lead roles in the original West End theatre production. It had a highly successful nine-year run in various theatres: Shaftesbury Theatre (March to December 1983), Criterion Theatre (December 1983 to March 1989), Whitehall Theatre (March 1989 to May 1990), Aldwych Theatre (May to September 1990) and Duchess Theatre (September 1990 to December 1991). On 26 and 27 November, 2016, the play was directed by Faiz Rasool from Independent Theatre Pakistan at Ali Auditorium, Lahore, Pakistan.
A film adaptation was released in February 2012, with both Briers and Cribbins appearing in cameo roles.