Artefacts (Modern Plays)

New
Paperback
2008
$16.19

Sixteen-year-old Kelly has never known her Dad. Turns out he's from Iraq, which her mum never mentioned, and he's brought an ancient Mesopotamian vase as some kind of present. But Kelly doesn't want a vase. She wants her dad to stay and get to know her. It's not the reunion either of them expected and for Kelly, it's the beginning of an epic and dangerous journey. Mike Bartlett has been described as 'One of the most exciting new talents to emerge in recent times'. (The Stage). His first play My Child was called 'Brutal, thrilling, unmissable' (Evening Standard) and 'the theatrical equivalent of a firecracker'. (Metro).

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Kelly has never known her Dad. Turns out he's from Iraq, which her mum never mentioned, and he's brought an ancient Mesopotamian vase as some kind of present. But Kelly doesn't want a vase. She wants her dad to stay and get to know her. It's not the reunion either of them expected and for Kelly, it's the beginning of an epic and dangerous journey. Mike Bartlett has been described as 'One of the most exciting new talents to emerge in recent times'. (The Stage). His first play My Child was called 'Brutal, thrilling, unmissable' (Evening Standard) and 'the theatrical equivalent of a firecracker'. (Metro).

$16.19

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10 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 80
Publisher: Methuen Drama
Published: 20 Feb 2008
ISBN 10: 1408106779
ISBN 13: 9781408106778
Book Overview: Published as a programme text to coincide with the world premiere at the Bush Theatre, 25 Feb - 22 March. After 4 weeks at the Bush Theatre, the play then embarks on a national tour from 26 March - 10 May. 'What starts as a story of a troubled family ends up as an account of a devastated nation. This is dramatic writing of a very high order indeed.' Daily Telegraph The tour visits Mold (North Wales) 26-27 March, Scarborough 7-8 April; Bath 10-12 April; Salisbury 23-24 April; Norwich 30 April; Colchester 1-2 May and finishes at Plymouth 6-10 May. Mike Bartlett's third play opens at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in May/June.

Media Reviews

'Mike Bartlett, still only in his mid-twenties, is a dramatist of rare economy and dramatic power.' Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 27.02.08 'I was left full of admiration for this dramatist's combination of power and precision ... this is dramatic writing of a very high order indeed.' Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 27.02.08 Written with great economy, humour and theatrical verve, Mike Bartlett's fascinating new play explores the differences in family life between London and Baghdad' Aleks Sierz, The Stage, 26.02.08 'I cannot recall when I last saw so much, on both narrative and thematic levels, crammed into a one-act 80-minute play without the whole thing bursting messily under the strain.' Ian Shuttleworth, Financial Times, 27.02.08 'This is a play teachers, Education Ministers and advertising agency executives should see, to grasp what an immature country they are creating' Quentin Letts, Daily Mail, 26.02.08

Author Bio

Mike Barlett's debut, My Child (Royal Court, May 2007) saw him hailed by The Stage as 'one of the most exciting new talents to emerge in recent times'. He is a winner of the Old Vic New Voices Award for Artefacts (Bush Theatre, February 2008), and is currently participating in the prestigious Pearson Playwrights Scheme. He won the Writer's Guild Tinniswood and Imison prizes for his radio play, Not Talking.