Overview
THE GARDEN PARTY
The Garden Party focuses on family relationships. It is Richard's seventieth birthday. To his Isle of Wight home come his children - Sam, unhappily married, and bringing her autistic son, Miles; Charlie, a discontented alcoholic with numerous chips on his shoulder; and Ben, whose generosity and sense of fun draw attention away from a mystery at the heart of his life. With Ben arrives Brice, an expected addition to the party and, in some quarters, an unwelcome one: for Brice was the first husband of Richard's wife, Jan, and is the real father to her children. The scene is set for a day and a night of revelations, arguments and moments of tenderness as the family seeks to resolve its difficulties and to put the past behind all of its members.
The play was written as a collaboration between two wonderful writers - Jimmie Chinn and Hazel Wyld.