Trying
by Joanna McClelland Glass
by Joanna McClelland Glass
A touching play about the unexpected friendship between an elderly judge and his young Canadian secretary who navigate their personal struggles and find common ground.
About The Play
About The Play
★★★★ Four Stars, Whatsonstage
★★★★ Four Stars, Time Out
★★★★ Four Stars, TNT
A surprising yet touching play about a profound friendship between two strangers – at dramatically different points in their lives – who unexpectedly find they have more in common than they thought.
Internationally famous, cantankerous and in failing health, the 81 year old Judge Francis Biddle awaits the new secretary that his wife has forced upon him. Sarah is very young and inexperienced and, even worse, from Canada. Francis doesn’t trust her. Francis doesn’t trust anyone – his last assistant managed to burn half his books. Despite undergoing her own marital pressures and impending motherhood, Sarah is determined to get the Judge’s life in order – without crying in the bathroom.
This rich story of life’s most inevitable adventure – growing old – is inspired by the playwright’s real-life experience as personal secretary to the real Judge Biddle, US Attorney General under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Chief American Judge at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.
Since its New York premiere in 2004, Trying has been presented in numerous theatres across the world including the USA, Canada and Australia, and now receives its UK premiere.
Image of Michael Craig in the Sydney Australia production by Steve Lunam
Originally Produced at Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago, Illinois, Dennis Zacek, Artistic Director, Sandy Shinner, Production Director, on 29 March 2004
Originally Produced on the New York Stage by Michael Leavitt, Maidstone Productions, Libby Adler Mages, Mari Stuart, Tony D’Angelo, Steve Dahl, Maria Cozzi, Sandy Shinner, Production Director on 14 October 2004