David Eldridge's trilogy of plays, Beginning, Middle and End, has captivated London audiences with its raw portrayal of love and relationships. The final instalment, End, is currently in rehearsal at the National Theatre, starring Saskia Reeves and Clive Owen as a couple approaching 60. The trilogy, which began with Beginning in 2017, explores the ups and downs of different relationships across real-time, single-action plays set in north London and Essex.
Eldridge conceived the idea for Middle during a preview of Beginning in 2017, imagining a couple 10 years older in a crisis. The trilogy is not narratively linked, allowing audiences to enjoy each play independently. Beginning follows a couple on the edge of 40 who take 100 minutes to kiss, Middle depicts a late-fortysomething couple at 4am with a marriage hanging in the balance, and End sees Alfie and Julie deciding how to live the end of their relationship.
The plays share common elements: music, dancing, food, drink, and characters who support West Ham United. They are set between late 2015 and early 2016, a more innocent time after the London Olympics. Eldridge notes that in all three plays, six lives stand on the edge of massive change, mirroring the world at that time.
Eldridge was initially reluctant to write Middle without an idea for End. He avoided a 'divorce play' or 'deathbed play', instead exploring how a couple might choose to end their relationship. The characters in End come from working-class Essex backgrounds but now live in north London, working as artists. Eldridge spent nearly two years mulling the idea before committing to the final two plays.
Audiences have embraced the trilogy deeply. One couple who saw Beginning on their first date got married and engraved 'Beginning' on their rings. Another audience member emailed Eldridge to share their divorce, leaving him inconsolably sad. Performers from Middle often struggled to leave the stage door as audience members shared stories of their own marriages. Eldridge aims to tell the truth about people, echoing John Osborne's notion of giving audiences 'lessons in feeling'.
