What is it, in summary?: (TOM's other hand comes up and with both his hands he brings her hand to his lips.) LAURA (Smiles tenderly at this gesture, and after a moment) Years from now . . . when you talk about this . . . and you will . . . be kind.
It's a very tender play about homophobic bullying and toxic masculinity in the mid-century, and how one survives that with support and love. It touches sensitive topics such as age gap relationships, repressed homosexuality, and horrible bullying with such care and tenderness. It takes play at a school in New England in the 1950s, and it centers around Tom, a boy who starts to be bullied for not being "manly," enough, and the understanding, kind house mistress who begins to feel trapped by how little she can help.
The movie is very good and well-acted (stars the original cast from the play) but read the play first, as the movie is effected by some 1950s film censorship.
What do you love about it?:
It's so -- it's about this young man, Tom Lee, who is soft, and sweet, and likes music, and has long hair, and is in love with the headmaster's wife, and he doesn't fit in with the other boys. And because he doesn't fit in, they're threatened by him. They start to mock him cruelly, awfully, and it's -- it's something that holds up so painfully well. Tom is not queer as in into men (alas) but it's a story that really showcases toxic masculinity.
It's a story about how the pressure of being a man eats you up and chews you out and crushes you. And how you turn on anyone who isn't man enough, because if you turn on them, then no one will notice the way you fail, no one will notice the ways you don't fit into the tribe --
And it's also about the love between Tom and the house master's wife, how they connect on a soul-deep way, on a level no one else in the play does. It's about how she alone understands this boy's soul, this agonizing almost romance, this deep connection built on shaky ground. It's about how she says "Manliness is not all swagger and swearing and mountain climbing. Manliness is also tenderness, gentleness, and consideration." It's about how there's such understanding, such empathy in this play -- it is so deeply, firmly kind.
It is aching and painful and one of the most beautiful things I've ever read.
I just love how empathetic it is -- how lovingly it showcases its characters. It has love for everyone in this show, from Tom and his non-traditional masculinity, for Laura and how she feels a kinship to Tom in part because of her dead husband his age, for Mr. Reynolds and his own repressed queerness that he expresses by lashing out. I love how it still holds up astonishingly well today -- how what it has to say about toxic masculinity still is sadly relevant. I love what good writing it has -- look at this description!
(She looks at him a moment. He is to her a heartbreaking sight . . . all dressed up as though he were going to a prom, but instead he's going to Ellie . . . the innocence and the desperation touch her deeply . . . and this shows in her face as she circles behind him to the door.)
It is possibly the most impactful play I have read in a while; I read it a little more than two months, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. It makes me unhinged.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: I am absolutely fascinated by the strange, almost-romance of Laura and Tom. What starts out as just a school boy crush on his end (TOM shuts the door He is deeply in love with this woman, though he knows nothing can come of it. It is a sort of delayed puppy love. It is very touching and very intense. They are easy with each other, casual, though he is always trying in thinly veiled ways to tell her he loves her.) turns into something deeper and more real throughout the events of the play. It's based on the author's own experience with falling in love with an older woman in school, and it shows in how kindly he writes it. They have such a genuine, true connection, and it's just deliciously problematic enough to be intriguing and aching. They connect on music, poetry, art! They're the only ones who appreciate the finer things at this school -- but it's partially her connection to him that makes him an object of scorn. The house mistress is only supposed to offer "a little tea and sympathy," not truly care about the boys, and her connection to him hastens the problems in her marriage. They are lovely and painful and wonderful and --
I want to read about them post-canon. I think the play ends at such an intriguing point, and I can so easily see them meeting later. I can so easily picture them picking up years later, older and wiser, and maybe then --?
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: Nope!
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Homophobic bullying and slurs. A main character attempts suicide but does not succeed.
Tea and Sympathy - Anderson
Media: Play
Approx length: About 92 pages.
Where to find it: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL6112306W/Tea_and_sympathy?edition=key%3A/books/OL6206061M
https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/tea-and-sympathy
What is it, in summary?: (TOM's other hand comes up and with both his hands he brings her hand to his lips.)
LAURA (Smiles tenderly at this gesture, and after a moment)
Years from now . . . when you talk about this . . . and you will . . . be kind.
It's a very tender play about homophobic bullying and toxic masculinity in the mid-century, and how one survives that with support and love. It touches sensitive topics such as age gap relationships, repressed homosexuality, and horrible bullying with such care and tenderness. It takes play at a school in New England in the 1950s, and it centers around Tom, a boy who starts to be bullied for not being "manly," enough, and the understanding, kind house mistress who begins to feel trapped by how little she can help.
The movie is very good and well-acted (stars the original cast from the play) but read the play first, as the movie is effected by some 1950s film censorship.
What do you love about it?:
It's so -- it's about this young man, Tom Lee, who is soft, and sweet, and likes music, and has long hair, and is in love with the headmaster's wife, and he doesn't fit in with the other boys. And because he doesn't fit in, they're threatened by him. They start to mock him cruelly, awfully, and it's -- it's something that holds up so painfully well. Tom is not queer as in into men (alas) but it's a story that really showcases toxic masculinity.
It's a story about how the pressure of being a man eats you up and chews you out and crushes you. And how you turn on anyone who isn't man enough, because if you turn on them, then no one will notice the way you fail, no one will notice the ways you don't fit into the tribe --
And it's also about the love between Tom and the house master's wife, how they connect on a soul-deep way, on a level no one else in the play does. It's about how she alone understands this boy's soul, this agonizing almost romance, this deep connection built on shaky ground. It's about how she says "Manliness is not all swagger and swearing and mountain climbing. Manliness is also tenderness, gentleness, and consideration." It's about how there's such understanding, such empathy in this play -- it is so deeply, firmly kind.
It is aching and painful and one of the most beautiful things I've ever read.
I just love how empathetic it is -- how lovingly it showcases its characters. It has love for everyone in this show, from Tom and his non-traditional masculinity, for Laura and how she feels a kinship to Tom in part because of her dead husband his age, for Mr. Reynolds and his own repressed queerness that he expresses by lashing out. I love how it still holds up astonishingly well today -- how what it has to say about toxic masculinity still is sadly relevant. I love what good writing it has -- look at this description!
(She looks at him a moment. He is to her a heartbreaking sight . . . all dressed up as though he were going to a prom, but instead he's going to Ellie . . . the innocence and the desperation touch her deeply . . . and this shows in her face as she circles behind him to the door.)
Or this bit that says so much about Tom!
https://pureanonofficial.tumblr.com/post/728030662357073920/tea-and-sympathy-1956
It is possibly the most impactful play I have read in a while; I read it a little more than two months, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. It makes me unhinged.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: I am absolutely fascinated by the strange, almost-romance of Laura and Tom. What starts out as just a school boy crush on his end (TOM shuts the door He is deeply in love with this woman, though he knows nothing can come of it. It is a sort of delayed puppy love. It is very touching and very intense. They are easy with each other, casual, though he is always trying in thinly veiled ways to tell her he loves her.) turns into something deeper and more real throughout the events of the play. It's based on the author's own experience with falling in love with an older woman in school, and it shows in how kindly he writes it. They have such a genuine, true connection, and it's just deliciously problematic enough to be intriguing and aching. They connect on music, poetry, art! They're the only ones who appreciate the finer things at this school -- but it's partially her connection to him that makes him an object of scorn. The house mistress is only supposed to offer "a little tea and sympathy," not truly care about the boys, and her connection to him hastens the problems in her marriage. They are lovely and painful and wonderful and --
I want to read about them post-canon. I think the play ends at such an intriguing point, and I can so easily see them meeting later. I can so easily picture them picking up years later, older and wiser, and maybe then --?
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: Nope!
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Homophobic bullying and slurs. A main character attempts suicide but does not succeed.