Action (play)

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Action
Written by Sam Shepard
Characters
  • Shooter
  • Jeep
  • Liza
  • Lupe
Date premiered1974
Place premiered Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London
Original language English
GenreDrama

Action is a 1974 play by Sam Shepard. The play, which scholar Stephen J. Bottoms described as "stark" and "plotless", is considered by scholars to be among his most important works. [1] It has been compared to the work of Samuel Beckett. [2]

Contents

Production history

Action was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, in October 1974, directed by Nancy Meckler. [1] [3] The original cast was as follows:

The play was also performed at New York's American Place Theatre with a companion piece, Shepard's monologue Killer's Head , [1] premiered with it as a double bill.

In 1975, Sam Shepard directed a revival of the play at the Magic Theater in San Francisco, where he was artist in residence. [4]

Plot summary

Action follows two men and two women stuck in a house on Christmas, after some implied disastrous event has taken place in the world. They attempt to cook a holiday dinner and perform other domestic rituals, from the mundane like hanging laundry, to the absurd like tap dancing and pretending to be bears. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bottoms, Stephen J. (1998). The Theatre of Sam Shepard: States of Crisis. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521587914 . Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  2. ↑ Winters, John J. (March 15, 2017). Sam Shepard: A Life. Counterpoint. ISBN   9781619029842 . Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Action". Royal Court - Living Archive. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Sam Shepard". The Wittliff Collections. Retrieved April 10, 2023.


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