The Workhouse Donkey

work by Arden

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Last updated

July 23, 2026

Quick Summary

The Workhouse Donkey is a play by John Arden, first produced in 1963. It is described as a crowded, exuberant, and comic drama centered on municipal politics. The play captures the character of Barnsley, Arden's industrial hometown. The term "donkeywork" refers to very hard or unpleasant work.123

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John Arden
…he captured in his play The Workhouse Donkey (1963). He studied architecture at the University of Cambridge and at Edinburgh College of Art, where fellow students performed his comedy All Fall Down (1955), about the construction of a railway. He continued to write plays while working as an architectural assistant…
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…he captured in his play The Workhouse Donkey (1963). He studied architecture at the University of Cambridge and at Edinburgh College of Art, where fellow students performed his comedy All Fall Down (1955), about the construction of a railway. He continued to write plays while working as an architectural assistant…
Read More