Plays
by Joe Penhall

Name: Plays
Brand: Joe Penhall
SKU: 9780713689433
Rating: 4.36 (11 reviews)

Highlights

British

What readers are saying

Readers have mixed feelings about the play, appreciating its masterful exploration of conflict while noting the saturation of heist-themed stories in film. The contrasting reviews highlight some enjoyment but also a sense of over-familiarity with the genre. Many feel the play presents interesting themes despite the common narrative.

Masterful exploration of conflictEngaging themesStrong character portrayalsOverly familiar heist themes

Synopsis

Penhall's 1994 play Some Voices was described as 'the most thrilling playwriting debut in years' by the Sunday Times.

He has consistently lived up to and exceeded that early promise as the plays in this second volume of his work testify.

Characterised by a taut mood, a grappling with moral dilemmas, and tough, eloquent dialogue, punctuated by outrageously comic moments, the plays in this volume are:

Blue/Orange: An incendiary tale of race, madness and power set in a psychiatric hospital.

'Britain's best new play since Michael Frayn's Copenhagen ... thrillingly original' Financial Times Dumb Show sees TV star Barry caught in a tense game of manipulation and entrapment in this satire on the fame game and the media industry: 'Penhall brings the same sharpness and wit to Dumb Show that he did to his hugely successful Blue/Orange' The Times Wild Turkey (1993): a characteristically taut work about the acrimonious relationships of people in a late-night burger bar.

'More than any of his peers Penhall has shown a rare aptitude for confronting headline issues of the day, using his gift of the gab as a dramatist to interrogate their underlying complexities and contradictions' Daily Telegraph