it was subsequently adapted for the stage, opening at the theatre royal in plymouth on 5 october 1989 before transferring to the queen's theatre in london on 23 october 1989, running until 8 september 1990. the stage version and subsequent movie gave joy davidman only one son instead of two. the production was directed by elijah moshinsky and starred nigel hawthorne as lewis with jane lapotaire as joy. it won best play in the evening standard awards for 1990. lapotaire was nominated for the laurence olivier award for best actress for her stage performance.