A9
Tom Stoppard – Night and Day
A9 a. UK Edition
1a. First Edition Hardback
Faber and Faber. Published 30th October 1978. Hardback. White endpapers, 1 blank, half-title, title, [v], 78 pages numbered 17-94. Pages 197mm x 118mm. Black cloth; down spine in silver: ‘Tom Stoppard NIGHT AND DAY Faber’.
Dustjacket. 439mm x 203mm. Front: white with at the top in red ‘Tom Stoppard’, in black ‘Night & Day’ six times, and below in red ‘A PLAY’. ISBN 0-571-11372-9. Price on front flap £3.95.
Note 1: A copy in the MW collection was presented to Diana Rigg during the preview run at the Wimbledon Theatre. It is inscribed on the first blank page in green ink “Dear Diana, thank | you for Ruth. | – you are the one. | Tom. | Downtown Wimbledon | Oct ’78.”
1b. First Edition Paperback
Faber and Faber. Published 30th October 1978. Paperback. 1 blank, half-title, title, [v], 78 pages numbered 17-94, 1 blank. Pages 197mm x 110mm. Front: white with at the top in red ‘Tom Stoppard’, in black ‘Night & Day’ six times, and below in red ‘A PLAY’. ISBN 0-571-11373-7. Price on back cover £1.95.
Note 2: A copy in the MW collection was presented to the Australian theatre critic Leonard Radic. It is inscribed on the first blank page “best wishes | Tom Stoppard |Perth. Feb 79” and is also signed by Radic. This copy is missing the final page of text. There is no sign of it being tampered with so it’s assumed to be a binding error.
2. Proof
Faber and Faber. Paperback. 1 blank, half-title, title, [v], 78 pages numbered 17-94, 1 blank. Pages 195mm x 118mm. Front: blue-grey with publication data text in black.
3. Second Edition
Faber and Faber. Published 1979. Paperback. Half-title, title, [v], 81 pages numbered 15-95. Pages 195mm x 113mm. Front: upper area is white with in red ‘Tom Stoppard’, in black ‘Night & Day’; in the lower area is a black and white photograph of the actor Diana Rigg in the role of Ruth from the original London production. ISBN 0-571-11373-7. Price on back cover £1.95.
4. Acting Edition
Samuel French Ltd. Published September 1980. Paperback. Title, [i], 55 pages numbered 1-55, [ii]. Pages 215mm x 132mm. Front: white with at the left side in dark blue, 5 vertical lines and the Samuel French logo; in dark blue ‘Night | and Day | A Play | Tom Stoppard’. ISBN 0-573-11308-4.
5. Theatre Script
Diana Rigg’s working copy of the script with her annotations and bound with a brad clip. Includes some crumpled and loose pages, with many notes on the text. In addition there are later annotations in red ink by Tom Stoppard dated October 2021 which were made at the request of Rigg’s daughter.
6. Manuscript scene
1 page draft of a scene from Night & Day with note to “Paul” on verso signed by Stoppard and dated 16.2.78. The published version of the play is dedicated to Paul Johnson – journalist, friend and neighbour of Stoppard, so he was possibly the original recipient.
7. First Night Gift
A Sunday Globe newspaper ceramic for Night and Day. A first night gift from Tom Stoppard to Diana Rigg, 1978. Signed “F. Hewlett 1978” and numbered 5/16. Probably made by ceramicist Francis Hewlett who was involved in Bristol theatre.
See photos below.
A9 b. USA Edition
1a. First Edition Hardback
Grove Press. Published 1st December 1979. Hardback. White endpapers, half-title, title, [iii], 113 pages numbered 1-113, 2 blanks. Pages 202mm x 126mm. White paper boards with dark flecks quarter bound with black cloth; down spine in silver: ‘NIGHT AND DAY Tom Stoppard GROVE PRESS’. ISBN 0-394-50526-3. Price on front flap $10.00.
Dustjacket. 475mm x 208mm. Front: a grey and upside-down sheet of newsprint with a section torn away revealing on black background, in white ‘NIGHT’, in grey ‘AND’, in white ‘DAY’, and below in pink ‘A Play by Tom Stoppard’.
1b. First Edition Paperback
Grove Press. Published 1st December 1979. Paperback. half-title, title, [iii], 113 pages numbered 1-113, [ii]. Pages 202mm x 128mm. Front: a grey and upside-down sheet of newsprint with a section torn away revealing on black background, in white ‘NIGHT’, in grey ‘AND’, in white ‘DAY’, and below in pink ‘A Play by Tom Stoppard’, and in the upper right corner in black ‘(logo) E-726 $3.95’. ISBN 0-394-17085-7. Price on front and back covers $3.95.
2. Bookclub Edition
Grove Press. Published June 1980. Hardback. White endpapers, half-title, title, [iii], 114 pages numbered 1-114, 2 blanks. Pages 207mm x 132mm. Black leatherette boards; down spine in purple: ‘NIGHT AND DAY Tom Stoppard GROVE PRESS’. No ISBN.
Dustjacket. 510mm x 214mm. Front: a grey and upside-down sheet of newsprint with a section torn away revealing on black background, in white ‘NIGHT’, in grey ‘AND’, in white ‘DAY’, and below in pink ‘A Play by Tom Stoppard’. On bottom of front flap ‘Book Club Edition’.
Note 1: The June 1980 selection of The Fireside Theatre book club.
Note 2: There are two versions of the Bookclub Edition dustjacket. They are exactly the same except that one has ‘A Play by Tom Stoppard’ in pink and the other is white. Multiple copies have been sighted of both variants.
See photos below.
Theatrical Performances
UK Previews: 24th October to 4th November 1978 at the Wimbledon Theatre, London
UK Premiere: 8th November 1978 at the Phoenix Theatre, London
USA Previews: 12th October to 17th November 1979 at the Eisenhower Theater, Kennedy Center
USA Premiere: 27th November 1979 at the Anta Theatre, New York
