Long Day's Journey Into Night

brian cox returns to the stafe

Eugene O'Neil's Pulitzer Prize-winning magnum opus returns to London in spring 2024, starring Emmy, Golden Globe, and Olivier winner Brian Cox in his first West End stage appearance in nearly a decade. The story of a mercurial family in crisis told over one day, this brand new production of the 20th Century classic comes from Second Half Productions, with direction from the esteemed Jeremy Herrin. Starring alongside Cox is the luminous Patricia Clarkson as his wife Mary, Anthony Boyle as son and Daryl McCormack as their sons and Louisa Harland as Cathleen.

A haunting work that captures the collective dysfunction of the volatile Tyrone family, it is considered one of the 20th century's most astounding plays. Written for his wife and published posthumously in 1956, its foundations lie in O'Neil's own upbringing at his Connecticut summer house. 

What is the story?

Long Day's Journey Into Night follows James and Mary, the parents of Jamie and Edmund, who come to visit on an August day in 1912. James is a shabby classical actor who has squandered his talents on one role and Mary is his devoted morphine-addicted wife. When the progeny arrives each bringing his own views on love and resentment, it becomes a difficult and explosive day for all involved.