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The Cocktail Party is a play by T. S. Eliot. Elements of the play are based on Alcestis, by the Ancient Greek playwright Euripides. The play was the most popular of Eliot's seven plays in his lifetime, although his 1935 play, Murder in the Cathedral, is better remembered today.

The Cocktail Party was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 1949. In 1950 the play had successful runs in London and New York theaters (the Broadway production received the 1950 Tony Award for Best Play.)  It focuses on a troubled married couple who, through the intervention of a mysterious stranger, settle their problems and move on with their lives. The play starts out seeming to be a light satire of the traditional British drawing room comedy. As it progresses, however, the work becomes a darker philosophical treatment of human relations. As in many of Eliot's works, the play uses absurdist elements to expose the isolation of the human condition. In another recurring theme of Eliot's plays, the Christian martyrdom of the mistress character is seen as a sacrifice that permits the predominantly secular life of the community to continue.

In 1951, in the first Theodore Spencer Memorial Lecture at Harvard University Eliot criticized his own plays in the second half of the lecture, explicitly the plays Murder in the Cathedral, The Family Reunion, and The Cocktail Party. The lecture was published as "Poetry and Drama" and later included in Eliot's 1957 collection On Poetry and Poets.

Synopsis
Edward and Lavinia Chamberlayne are separated after five years of marriage. She leaves Edward just as they are about to host a cocktail party at their London home, and he has to come up with an explanation for why Lavinia is not present, in order to keep up social appearances. Lavinia is brought back by a mysterious Unidentified Guest at the party, who turns out to be a psychologist whom Edward and Lavinia both consult. They each learn that they have been deceiving themselves and must face life's realities. They learn that their life together, though hollow and superficial, is preferable to life apart. This message is difficult for the play's third main character, Edward's mistress, to accept. She, with the psychiatrist's urging, also moves on towards a life of greater honesty and salvation and becomes a Christian martyr in Africa. Two years later, Edward and Lavinia, now better adjusted, host another cocktail party.

Act 1 Scene 1
''The Drawing room of the Chamberlayne's London flat. Early evening.'' The play starts in the drawing room of the Chamberlayne's London flat. The party guests are being entertained by Edward due to his wife, Lavinia's notable absence. He makes up a story about Lavinia visiting a sick aunt, however it becomes apparent later that the guests saw through Edward's lie. After Alex tells a story, Julia is encouraged to tell her story about Lady Klootz and the cake, but she ends up going on a tangent about a harmless son and doesn't end up telling the story. Shortly thereafter the guests leave and only the Unidentified Guest remains. He has drinks with Edward and they talk about Lavinia. It is revealed that Lavinia has left Edward and the Unidentified Guest seems to have some knowledge of the situation and suggests that Lavinia will return in a day if Edward doesn't ask any questions about why she left. Edward agrees and the Unidentified Guest, who says his name is Riley, leaves. Shortly thereafter, Julia and Peter return in search of Julia's glasses, which happen to be in her purse. Julia leaves and Peter stays behind to talk to Edward about Celia. Peter and Celia have been attending concerts together over the last year, and he has fallen in love with her, although lately she has been disengaged from him. Alex comes back to the displeasure of Edward and begins to make an exotic meal for him in an attempt to cheer him up. After the meal is finished, Peter and Alex leave and Edward makes a phone call.

Act 1 Scene 2
Fifteen minutes after Alex and Peter leaves, Edward is waiting alone. Celia arrives at the door and they talk about Lavinia. Celia wants Edward to divorce Lavinia now that she has left so they can get married. Edward says that he will go through with the divorce, although Cecilia isn't fully convinced that this is true. Their conversation is interrupted by a phone call from Alex inquiring about the dish that he cooked up for Edward, which Celia finds overcooked and inedible. Julia returns with a revelation that she and Celia must cook for Edward, but after finding nothing edible in the kitchen, she brings out a bottle of champagne instead. She offers them both to go out dining with her, but is denied by both Edward and Celia. Julia leaves and the conversation about their relationship and what is to become of it continues. Edward reveals that he feels too old for Celia and she notes that there is a change in Edward's demeanor and how she sees him. They have a glass of champagne and then Celia leaves.

Act 1 Scene 3
Scene 3 takes place in the same room as Scene 2, but late afternoon of the next day. Edward is alone when there is a ring at the door. He answers, and it is the Unidentified guest from the previous night. The Unidentified Guest reminds Edward that he has made a decision which cannot be unmade and will change the lives of those around him forever. Edward scoffs by saying that is free to change his mind, to which the Unidentified Guest replies that he can-- and will change his mind-- but he is not free. He then tells Edward that he must greet Lavinia as a stranger. The Unidentified Guest reminds Edward that he is not to ask any questions or give any explanations to his wife when she returns. He departs cautioning him not to mention the Unidentified Guest to Lavinia, causing Edward to ask who the Unidentified Guest is. The Unidentified Guest says that he is also a stranger and then leaves. There is another ring at the door, and Edward, expecting Lavinia, finds Celia there. She tells him that she is here at the request of Lavinia who also invited Julia over through a telegram. There is another ring at the door, but this time it is Peter who was also invited by Lavinia through a telegram she sent to Alex, who will also be joining them. Peter says that he has a new job in California and will be moving shortly. Celia says that she will also be traveling abroad, to Edward's surprise as Lavinia walks through the door. Lavinia is puzzled as to why everyone is here and confesses that she sent no telegram, and assumes that this is the workings of Julia, who, along with Alex, has still not yet arrived at the Chamberlayne's. Julia and Alex arrive and the party is no sooner close to finding out who sent out the telegrams that invited them all there. The guests sense the peculiarity of the situation and depart to have a cocktail party at Julia's house. Edward and Lavinia spend a great deal of time talking about their marriage and what has been wrong over the last five years.

Act 2
The Scene starts in the Unidentified Guest's, now known as Sir Henry Harcourt-Reilly, consulting room in London, several weeks after the events of Act 1. Reilly is talking to his Nurse-Secretary and gives her directions for the three appointments he has for the day. Alex arrives to talk to Reilly about the Chamberlayne's appointment and their plot to get Edward to choose him as his doctor, unbeknown to Edward that Reilly is the guest who brought his wife back. They discuss the ramifications of Edward's decision to have his wife come back despite the cautioning of Reilly. Edward remarks that he believes he is ill because two people mentioned that he is having a nervous breakdown and inquires about being placed in a sanatorium. Reilly has Edward talk in order to gauge a diagnosis, although this leads nowhere, as Edward isn't completely honest with Reilly. Lavinia joins in on the session and both the affair with Edward and Celia and Lavinia and Peter come to light. Reilly hears them quarrel and diagnosis Lavinia as unlovable and Edward as incapable of loving, which he sees as making them perfect for each other. They decide that they must make the best of a bad job and work with the situation at hand. They leave, and Julia enters and speaks briefly about their plot with Alex before exiting. Celia enters Reilly's office as the third appointment for the day. She shares that she has been feeling lonely and confused about the people and state of the world around her, and that in order to fix these problems she believes she has to change herself. After some very metaphorical dialogue, Cecilia decides to go to the sanatorium. Julia returns and seems to have knowledge of where Celia will be sent and the eventual martyrdom that she will achieve. Alex joins them and they partake in a prayer-like service concluded with drink. They bring up that the only person left to make a decision is Peter Quilpe.

Act 3
Act 3 takes place in the Chamberlayne's flat two years after Act 2. Lavinia is preparing for a cocktail party when Edward arrives home from work. The two engage in playful banter and seem to be a lot better off than they were two years before. Lavinia is tired and asks Edward to sit with her. Shortly thereafter, Julia and Alex arrive, and Alex tells of his expedition in Kinkaja where there are tensions between Christian and pagan tribes being instigated by neighboring state. Alex is about to tell them about someone they know who is involved in the situation when Peter Quilpe arrives. He tells of his developments in Hollywood when Henry Harcourt-Reilly arrives at the party, a surprise devised by Julia. Peter wants to have Celia in a new film he is working on, but Alex remarks that he was about to tell everyone before Peter arrived that Celia has died quite savagely while on a mission as a nurse in Kinkaja. Peter is disappointed and leaves to tend to business. The remaining guests speak briefly about Celia and the ramifications that decisions have. Alex, Julia, and Reilly leave and the Chamberlayne's prepare for their cocktail party.

Characters

 * Edward Chamberlayne- protagonist of the play, Edward Chamberlayne is described as a passive character despite playing a central role in the play. Edward must choose between his wife, Lavinia, and his mistress, Celia. It is determined that Edward is incapable of loving.
 * Lavinia Chamberlayne- wife to Edward and noticeably absent at the beginning of the play, it is Lavinia who organizes the cocktail parties. She is having an affair with Peter Quilpe. It is determined that Lavinia is incapable of being loved.
 * Celia Coplestone, Edward's mistress- described as the young and artistic type, Celia is a friend of Lavinia's and is later sent to Africa where she dies and becomes deified.
 * Sir Henry Harcourt-Reilly, the mysterious stranger/psychiatrist- the unidentified guest at the beginning of the play, he appears to have a supernatural-like knowledge of the lives of the other characters. The Unidentified guest is often likened to the devil and has a certain way with words unlike any other character in the play.
 * Miss Barraway, Sir Henry's secretary
 * The couple's friends:
 * Peter Quilpe, with whom Lavinia has an affair, but who yearns for Celia- also an artistic type, Peter moves to California and works on movies.
 * Julia Shuttlethwaite- a slightly overbearing friend of the Chamberlayne's.
 * Alexander MacColgie Gibbs- an eccentric character that is described as having a lot of connections with influential people.

Productions
After its debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 1949 with Alec Guinness in the role of the unidentified guest, produced by Henry Sherek and directed by E. Martin Browne, The Cocktail Party premiered on Broadway on January 21, 1950, at the Henry Miller's Theatre and ran for 409 performances. Produced by Gilbert Miller and directed by E. Martin Browne, the production starred Alec Guinness as the mysterious stranger, Robert Flemyng as Edward Chamberlayne, and Cathleen Nesbitt as Julia. It received the 1950 Tony Award for Best Play. The play also ran in London with Rex Harrison as the uninvited guest.

A revival directed by Philip Minor and produced by the APA-Phoenix Repertory Company opened on October 7, 1968, and ran until April 26, 1969 at the Lyceum Theatre with a total of 44 performances. The Chamberlaynes were played by Brian Bedford and Frances Sternhagen, with Sydney Walker as the mysterious stranger.

Guinness returned to the role of the uninvited guest at the Chichester Festival Theatre under his own direction in 1968, taking the production to London later in the year.

In the spring of 2010, the New York based Off-Broadway company The Actors Company Theatre (TACT) presented the play.