Plays
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Ragdoll by Katherine Moar
This is a fictional reimagining of the Patty Hearst kidnap story, jumping between two timelines, 2017 and 1978. Two characters, Holly the heiress and Robert her lawyer, appear as both their 1978 and 2017 versions. Holly and Robert work through what each feels they are owed by the other, the catalyst for the action is… Continue reading
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“Those feelings are in their twenties now”: The Comeuppance by Branden Jacob-Jenkins
Warning: Here be spoilers. I like to write about all of a play and not avoid mentioning the ending. That’s the best bit. I love a play that leaves me with an abiding image – a moment, a gesture – that encapsulates the connective moment of meaning between writer, actor and audience. At the end… Continue reading
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Top Ten Ghost Plays for Halloween!
10. Ghost Stories by Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman I wanted to like this more than I did. Ticks the box for scares and I loved the frame narrative. The actual ghost stories it contained were a little underwhelming and ultimately relied on a tired trope which could do with some revision. 09. Macbeth by… Continue reading
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“This entire story about who you are may remain intact”: The Nether by Jennifer Haley
With a greater distance of time, Jennifer Haley’s 2013 play The Nether can live a little more freely than when it debuted. I think there is a tendency when a work of science fiction first appears (particularly those that are set, like The Nether, “soon”) to judge it on its short term predictive abilities and… Continue reading
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The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh
First time that I’ve read a play by Martin McDonagh. Having seen several of his films I had a sense of what to expect – dark humour, bursts of wince inducing violence and distinctive, intelligently drawn characters who speak with linguistic fire and flair. And The Pillowman certainly delivers these elements with gusto. The play’s… Continue reading
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This Week’s Read: The History Boys by Alan Bennett.
I’d always had a bit of an aversion to Alan Bennett, based on a host of preconceived notions – too cosy, too middle class, too middle aged, all a bit safe – but The History Boys has quite the reputation as a modern classic. So did it dispel my prejudices? To some extent. The play… Continue reading
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Apparently I have to apologise: Giant by Mark Rosenblatt
How can art tackle the huge, intractable and infinitely complex issues that bedevil history, politics and society? Often taking a macro lens to one facet of something that feels vast and impossible to express in two hours of stage traffic can forge a story that feels both manageable and illuminating, using the personal as one… Continue reading
The Read Through 