Parallels with Howards End

The majority of the play’s elements have been adapted from elements in the novel Howards End, by British novelist E.M. Forster. There are several variations - for example, there are no same-sex couples or relationships in the novel, and the details of character interaction have been reshaped to fit into a contemporary frame of reference, i.e. an early twenty-first century context in the case of the play, as opposed to an early twentieth century context in the case of the novel. Those adaptations and reshapings notwithstanding, there are significant, clear, and specific parallels in character / relationship, plot / story, and metaphor / meaning between both works.

In terms of character and relationship, central character Eric is clearly a parallel to the novel’s central character, Margaret Schlegel. Toby is something of a parallel to the character of Helen, in that both characters...