Diva/Mensch pair for Apr 22, 2025

The winner of Best Play in 1967 was The Homecoming by Harold Pinter. One of the other nominees was A Delicate Balance by Edward Albee.

Diva: The Homecoming

Mensch: A Delicate Balance

Both plays are demanding and unsettling but A Delicate Balance is couched in the framework of a cozy New England upper-middle-class family home. The Homecoming is far from cozy. Those people seem dangerous, you're on the edge of your seat because anything could happen.

Here are Ian Holm and Vivien Merchant doing a scene from The Homecoming. They were in the original London and Broadway casts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv4-XI1hD9o

I couldn't find any footage on YouTube of the original production of A Delicate Balance but this McCarter Theatre trailer gives you a good sense of the play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R7um6ggr_s