Editing Becket (section)

==Stage productions==
The play was first performed in the original French at the [[Théâtre Montparnasse]]-Gaston Baty in [[Paris]] on 8 October [[1959 in literature#New drama|1959]] and in an English translation on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1960.<ref>{{cite web | title=Becket, or the Honour of God  | url=http://www.enotes.com/becket | work=E-notes | year=2008 | access-date=2008-06-17| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080626233640/http://www.enotes.com/becket| archive-date= 26 June 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> The original Parisian production was directed by [[Roland Piétri]], and starred [[Bruno Cremer]] as Thomas Becket and [[Daniel Ivernel]] as King Henry II.

===Broadway===
The first Broadway production premiered on 5 October 1960 at the [[St. James Theatre]]. It was produced by [[David Merrick]] and directed by [[Peter Glenville]], and starred [[Laurence Olivier]] as Thomas Becket and [[Anthony Quinn]] as King Henry II. The production was nominated for five [[Tony Awards]] and won four, including [[Tony Award for Best Play|Best Play]]. The play later transferred to the [[Royale Theatre]] and then to the [[Hudson Theatre]]. It was wrongly believed that during the run Quinn and Olivier switched roles, with Quinn playing Becket to Olivier's King.  In fact, Quinn left the production to work on a film, and director Glenville suggested a road tour with Olivier as Henry.  Olivier happily acceded, and [[Arthur Kennedy (actor)|Arthur Kennedy]] took on the role of Becket, with Olivier playing Henry, both for the tour and a brief return to Broadway.<ref>{{cite magazine | author=Staff | title=Henry the Second | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874346,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114104250/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874346,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 14, 2009 | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=7 April 1961 | access-date=2008-06-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Spoto | first=Donald | title=Laurence Olivier: A Biography | location=New York | publisher=HarperCollins | year=1992 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/laurenceolivierb00spot/page/360 360–368] | isbn=0-06-018315-2 | url=https://archive.org/details/laurenceolivierb00spot/page/360 }}</ref>

However, according to [[John Cottrell (biographer)|John Cottrell]]'s biography of Laurence Olivier,<ref>John Cottrell: ''Laurence Olivier'', Prentice Hall, 1975</ref> Anthony Quinn was dismayed and angry when he read that Olivier was getting better reviews for his performance as Henry than Quinn had got, claiming that he would never have left the production if he had known that was going to happen. (After Olivier's death Quinn displayed extreme animosity towards the actor in his second autobiography.)<ref>Anthony Quinn: ''One Man Tango: An Autobiography'', HarperCollins, 1995</ref> Even so, it was Quinn who was nominated for a [[Tony Award]] for his performance, while Olivier was overlooked.

===London productions===
The first [[London]] production was at the [[Aldwych Theatre]] on 11 July 1961, directed by [[Peter Hall (theatre director)|Peter Hall]] for the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]. [[Eric Porter]] played Becket and [[Christopher Plummer]] the King, with [[Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies]], [[Peter Jeffrey]], [[Diana Rigg]], [[Ian Holm]] and [[Roy Dotrice]] in the cast. The play later transferred to the [[Gielgud Theatre|Globe Theatre]]. Plummer won the [[Evening Standard Award]] for his performance after taking over the part from [[Peter O'Toole]], who broke his contract with the [[Royal Shakespeare Company|RSC]] before rehearsals began in order to take the lead in [[David Lean]]'s film ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]''.

The play was revived in a new [[translation]] by [[Frederic Raphael]] and [[Stephen Raphael]] in October 1991 at the [[Haymarket Theatre]] with [[Derek Jacobi]] as Becket and [[Robert Lindsay (actor)|Robert Lindsay]] as the King and again in October 2004 with [[Dougray Scott]] and [[Jasper Britton]].  The original English translation for the 1961 version (by [[Lucienne Hill]]) was revived at the Southwark Playhouse in September 2001 with [[Rupert Degas]] and [[Colin Salmon]].

===Edinburgh===
In 1964, the play was staged by the [[Gateway Theatre (Edinburgh)|Edinburgh Gateway Company]], directed by [[Victor Carin]].<ref>Edinburgh Gateway Company (1965), ''The Twelve Seasons of the Edinburgh Gateway Company, 1953 - 1965'', St. Giles Press, Edinburgh, p.55</ref>