The Entertainer

The Entertainer is a three-act play by John Osborne, first performed in 1957. Osborne’s earlier play, Look Back in Anger, had gained a lot of attention but received mixed reviews. After this, Osborne was asked by Laurence Olivier to write a play about an angry middle-aged man, which led to The Entertainer. The main character, Archie Rice, is a struggling music-hall performer. Years later, Tony Richardson, who directed the play's first production, described Archie as representing the mood of the nation, symbolizing Britain's decline and lost glory. The play had its first performance on April 10, 1957, at the Royal Court Theatre in London, a venue known for supporting new, unconventional drama. The involvement of a famous actor like Olivier also drew significant attention.

Summary

The play opens in a run-down variety show setting, with hints of domestic violence happening offstage. The story takes place in a cheap boarding house where Billy Rice, an elderly man, tries to stop an argument between a couple in a different room. Billy is well-spoken and has an upper-class air, but he complains about the tenants in the building, who are mostly Polish and Irish immigrants.

Billy's granddaughter, Jean Rice, arrives, and Billy greets her. He mentions that the landlady has rented out Mick’s old room to someone else. This shows that the family doesn’t own the building, they’re renting rooms in a house. Though Billy acts like he’s wealthy, they are not rich. Jean's father, Archie, works in theater and is organizing a road show, but Billy thinks he should quit because vaudeville is no longer popular. There’s also news about trouble in the Middle East, specifically the Suez Canal crisis, and Jean mentions that she’s been involved in protests against the British government.

Billy offers to pay Jean’s train fare, but she feels guilty about borrowing even a small amount of money. Billy comes across as old-fashioned, disapproving of women who drink too much or wear revealing clothes. Jean has had a few drinks, but Billy is more conservative. He sympathizes with the younger generation because he’s had good times in his life, even though those times are now behind him.

Archie, Jean’s father, is performing on stage, doing a comedy sketch and singing a song. His song expresses apathy, asking why he should care about anything. This reveals that Archie’s act is a reflection of his disillusionment with life.

Phoebe, a woman who’s close to Jean and Billy, is introduced. Phoebe is about sixty, wearing poor makeup and acting in a common manner. She cares about Jean and starts drinking the gin Jean brought. Jean admits that she and her boyfriend, Graham, had an argument. Phoebe, though not her mother, says she still cares about Jean because she’s Archie’s daughter. This establishes their relationships: Archie is Jean’s father, Phoebe is a motherly figure, and Billy is Jean’s grandfather.

Jean talks about her differences with Graham. She works with disadvantaged children at a youth club, but Graham, who wants to be a lawyer, doesn’t support her political interests. He disapproves of her attending an anti-government rally. Jean feels frustrated with her job and sees it as difficult, but she feels she’s making progress with the kids. Graham wants to marry her, but Jean isn’t sure if she’s ready for that. She’s unsure about her life and feels controlled by Graham.

Mick, Phoebe’s son, is mentioned. He’s serving overseas in the military. Frank, Phoebe’s other son, didn’t serve and was imprisoned for six months. Now Frank works as a porter in a hospital. Billy mentions surviving the Dardanelles in World War I without getting hurt.

Archie is back on stage. His jokes aren’t landing well, and he’s trying to keep up his bravado. He performs a song that’s mostly patriotic but also about looking out for himself.

Archie finally returns home, a bit drunk. He’s welcomed by Billy, Jean, and Phoebe. He casually mentions that he’s behind on paying his taxes. There’s a short discussion about male ballet dancers that shows some homophobia. Billy and Archie also make some negative comments about foreigners and gay men.

Archie’s variety show is losing popularity, but he pretends everything is fine and tries to get everyone to drink to celebrate avoiding the tax man for twenty years. He insults his father, Billy, and ignores a telegram that arrives for him. Phoebe is tired of the family’s struggles and expresses frustration, but Jean senses that something’s wrong. Later, when the others are asleep, Jean convinces Archie to tell her the truth: Mick has been captured in the Suez.

Some time has passed. Billy, Phoebe, and Jean talk about Mick’s situation. The news says he’s famous and will soon be released. Billy recalls a time when he was treated well by an ambassador, showing how he once had a higher status. Phoebe has a bad feeling about the British government’s attempts to get Mick back, but Billy is confident that Britain’s power will ensure Mick’s safe return.

Phoebe complains that Archie’s show is failing and that he can never get top talent. She’s drunk and talks about how much she dislikes her husband’s behavior. She also reveals that although she’s not Jean’s real mother, she’s still looked after her. Phoebe talks about Billy’s older son, Brother Bill, who is wealthy and helped the family from a distance but never understood them. The family resents him for that, but Phoebe admires him.

When Archie and Frank arrive, Archie starts teasing Phoebe, who is emotional about many past events, including how Brother Bill helped pay for Jean’s college. Billy accidentally takes a piece of cake Phoebe bought for Mick’s return, and Phoebe becomes angry, yelling at him. It’s revealed that the family relies on Billy’s pension and occasional help from Brother Bill.

Archie is back on stage, performing poorly. His jokes are falling flat, and the audience isn’t reacting. He tries to sing a song about being “normal” and about patriotism, but nobody responds.

After the show, the family tries to distract themselves. Frank delivers a speech about being a “nobody” and tells Jean she should focus on herself because nobody else will. Archie talks about a time he went to Canada during the war and saw an emotional performance by an African woman. He says that nothing he’s ever done as a performer compares to the raw emotion she showed. He wishes he could trade places with her to feel what she felt, since he no longer cares about his own career.

Later, Jean learns that Phoebe turned on her because of an affair Archie had with Jean’s mother. Jean’s mother left him, and eventually died. A policeman arrives with bad news: Mick has been killed by his captors. Archie, for the first time, sings a spiritual with deep emotion, as if he’s finally feeling something real. There’s no audience to hear it.

Instead of Archie performing, his son Frank is on stage. He’s singing alone and asking for his brother’s body to be brought home on an airplane, but without anyone speaking to him.

After Mick’s funeral, the family is at home. Jean tries to have a serious conversation, but Archie keeps talking about trivial things like his time in Donegal and drinking beer. Jean becomes frustrated with how her family is grieving, and they’re angry with her for not understanding. She realizes that she’s becoming more like Graham and Brother Bill in her outlook on life.

Jean wonders what it all means, especially since Mick died in a foreign country over an incident that doesn’t seem connected to the family. She’s angry and wants to object, but she also finds out that Archie plans to divorce Phoebe to be with a young woman whose parents are supposed to fund Archie’s show.

Billy decides to return to the stage for one final performance to help Archie, but Jean tries to convince Archie to break up with the young woman. Billy, however, goes to the young woman’s parents and tells them that Archie is married, ending the affair and ruining Archie’s chances of a financial backer. Billy feels the need to perform one last time to save his son.

Archie is on stage, giving a farewell speech for his father, Billy, who has died from a heart attack. A woman, representing the one Billy admired in Canada, enters and symbolically takes Billy’s hat and gloves, dancing away with them. She, not Archie, will carry on Billy’s legacy as an entertainer.

Jean and Graham have a conversation, and so do Archie and Brother Bill. Bill offers Archie a chance to start over in Canada, working for a relative of Phoebe’s. Phoebe and Frank plan to leave for Canada, but Jean decides to break up with Graham because she feels more connected to her eccentric family than to his more conventional way of life. She’s not sure if she’ll go to Canada with Phoebe, as she’s not officially part of their family, but she plans to stay with them until they leave.

Archie’s last performance. He talks about the need to be sincere, to feel emotions, and to be real. He tries to sing his “Why Should I Care” song, but it falters. He leaves with Phoebe, and the spotlight goes out. Only the music remains.

Character analysis

Archie Rice
Archie is about fifty years old and works as a music-hall entertainer, a job he loves but that is slowly fading away. Despite growing up with a very expensive education alongside his brother Bill, Archie chose a career in entertainment, not for money, but because it felt right for him. He sings, dances, and tells jokes, but the business is in decline, getting more tacky and shallow as time goes on. Archie is friendly, outgoing, and sees himself as a ladies’ man, yet he doesn’t really fit into any particular class. He often acts like he’s smarter than everyone else because of his education, but deep down, he’s struggling. His outward jokes hide a lot of inner frustration, and he sometimes feels "dead" inside, though the truth is that he’s filled with anger and disappointment.

Billy Rice
Billy is Archie’s father, now in his seventies and retired from his own music-hall days, where he was once a big star. He still takes care of the family financially, relying on his savings. Though his clothes are outdated, they are of very high quality and he keeps them well-pressed. Billy is proud of how he looks and his past as a showman, but he doesn’t like how modern entertainment has become so crude and vulgar. He believes the old-fashioned, family-friendly music-halls were much better, and he’s very vocal about his dislike for the nudity and tackiness of today’s shows.

Phoebe Rice
Phoebe, who’s about sixty, is Archie’s wife. She’s very self-centered, often not paying attention to what others say, and gets fidgety when she’s forced to listen. She misses her son Mick terribly and often drinks too much, making her talk more than usual. She’s emotionally distant from the rest of the family but has a soft spot for Jean, who she considers like a daughter.

Jean Rice
Jean is Archie’s eldest daughter, around twenty-two, and has recently ended an engagement. She’s come back for a short visit after leaving home to pursue a career teaching art to troubled kids. Jean is also getting interested in politics. She loves her family, but at the same time, she feels disconnected from them. Though she loves Phoebe, Jean’s real mother passed away, and she has some complicated feelings about her relationship with her father and the rest of the family.

Frank Rice
Frank, Archie’s youngest son at about nineteen, acts much younger than his age. He didn’t want to join the military and even went to jail for refusing, but he’s now out. Frank is impulsive and affectionate, often getting caught up in his father’s dreams and ideas. He’s somewhat naïve and follows along with Archie’s fantasies.

Brother Bill
Brother Bill is Archie’s older sibling, a successful lawyer. He’s very practical and doesn’t have much patience for the way Archie lives his life. Bill thinks Archie’s career is a joke and doesn’t want to support it anymore. However, he does have a potential business opportunity for the family in Canada, offering them a way out of their financial mess.

Graham
Graham was once engaged to Jean and is a younger, more serious version of Brother Bill. He’s very conservative and doesn’t understand or sympathize with Jean’s family at all. He sees Jean as being far above her father and brothers, but Jean feels frustrated by Graham’s narrow views. Though she has a strong emotional connection to her family, especially to Phoebe, she’s torn between her loyalty to them and the frustrations that come with their lifestyle and attitudes.