Decade (play)

Last updated

Decade is a 2011 play by John Logan, Lynn Nottage, and 18 other writers commemorating the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The play is a compilation of 20 individual, shorter plays that combine to form the story's overarching narrative. [1] Its structure is drawn from the work of the choreographer Pina Bausch [ citation needed ] and it involves a cast of 12.

Contents

The play was commissioned by director Rupert Goold for his company, Headlong. [2] It premièred in St Katharine Docks (the site of London's World Trade Centre) and was performed from 1 September to 15 October 2011, in a production starring Lia Williams and directed by Goold. [3] The production received praise for its treatment of the subject material and Goold's direction. [2] [4]

Authors

Related Research Articles

<i>Mother Courage and Her Children</i> 1939 play by Bertolt Brecht

Mother Courage and Her Children is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin. Four theatrical productions were produced in Switzerland and Germany from 1941 to 1952, the last three supervised and/or directed by Brecht, who had returned to East Germany from the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almeida Theatre</span> Theatre in Islington, London

The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West End theatres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiln Theatre</span> Theatre in Kilburn, London, England

The Kiln Theatre is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as new writing, political work and verbatim reconstructions of public inquiries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Hunter</span> British actress (born 1957)

Aikaterini Hadjipateras, known professionally as Kathryn Hunter, is a British–American actress and theatre director, known for her appearances as Arabella Figg in the Harry Potter film series, Eedy Karn in the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff series Andor, as the Three Witches in Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth, and most recently as Swiney in Yorgos Lanthimos's Poor Things. Hunter was born in New York to Greek parents, and was raised in England. She trained at RADA, where she is now an associate and regularly directs student productions, and studied clowning with Philippe Gaulier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forbes Masson</span> Scottish actor and writer (born 1963)

Forbes (Robertson) Masson is a Scottish actor and writer. He is an Associate Artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is best known for his roles in classical theatre, musicals, comedies, and appearances in London's West End. He is also known for his comedy partnership with Alan Cumming. Masson and Cumming wrote The High Life, a Scottish situation comedy in which they play the lead characters, Steve McCracken and Sebastian Flight. Characters McCracken and Flight were heavily based on Victor and Barry, famous Scottish comedy alter-egos of Masson and Cumming. Masson also stars in the 2021 film The Road Dance, set on the Isle of Lewis as the Reverend MacIver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Nottage</span> American playwright (born 1964)

Lynn Nottage is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are Black. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for her play Ruined, and in 2017 for her play Sweat. She was the first woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rupert Goold</span> English theatre director

Rupert Goold is an English director who works primarily in theatre. He is the artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, and was the artistic director of Headlong Theatre Company (2005–2013). Since 2010, Goold has been an associate director at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 for services to drama.

Christopher Shinn is an American playwright. His play Dying City (2006) was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and Where Do We Live (2004) won the 2005 Obie Award, Playwriting.

The Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.

Samuel Adamson is an Australian playwright based in London, England. Productions of his plays have been staged at the Bush Theatre, The Old Vic, Almeida Theatre, and the Royal National Theatre. In November 2024, his adaptation of Peter Carey's novel Jack Maggs is being staged by the State Theatre Company of South Australia in Adelaide.

Ruined (2008) is an American play by Lynn Nottage. The play premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play explores the plight of women during the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Intimate Apparel is a play written by Lynn Nottage. The play was originally a co-production and co-commission between Center Stage, Baltimore, Maryland, and South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California. The play is set in New York City in 1905 and concerns a young African-American woman who travels to New York to pursue her dreams, becoming an independent woman as a seamstress.

Peter Caulfield is an English actor.

Mark James Harrison, known professionally as Samuel James, is an English actor and voiceover artist, known for portraying the role of Garth Stubbs in the ITV sitcom Birds of a Feather from 2014 to 2017. He has also starred in Casualty and EastEnders.

Katie Brayben is an English actress and musician who has performed in stage plays, television and musicals and also as a singer and songwriter with her own music. She is presently best known for her portrayal of the title role of Carole King in the London production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, for which she won the 2015 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She won her second Olivier award at the 2023 ceremony for her performance as the title role in Tammy Faye.

Robert Icke is an English writer and theatre director. He has been referred to as the "great hope of British theatre."

Sweat is a 2015 play by American playwright Lynn Nottage. It won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015; it was produced Off-Broadway in 2016 and on Broadway in 2017. The play is centered on the working class of Reading, Pennsylvania.

<i>MJ the Musical</i> Jukebox musical

MJ the Musical is a jukebox musical based on the life of the American entertainer Michael Jackson, focusing on his creative process prior to the 1992 Dangerous World Tour. It features Jackson's music, with a book by Lynn Nottage, and direction & choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.

Clyde's is a play by Lynn Nottage that opened on Broadway on November 23, 2021, and closed on January 16, 2022, at the Hayes Theater. The production was directed by Kate Whoriskey and starred Uzo Aduba, Ron Cephas Jones, Edmund Donovan, Reza Salazar, and Kara Young.

<i>Tammy Faye</i> (musical) Stage musical by Elton John and Jake Shears

Tammy Faye is a biographic stage musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Jake Shears and a book by James Graham, based on the life of Tammy Faye Messner.

References

  1. "Decade". Nick Hern Books. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 Billington, Michael (8 September 2011). "Decade - review". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  3. Shenton, Mark (19 July 2011). "Christopher Shinn, Lynn Nottage and John Logan Among Writing Team for Rupert Goold's Decade". Playbill. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  4. Wolf, Matt (20 September 2011). "Onstage in London, Works That Look Back in Time as They Move Forward". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 26 December 2023.