Love (2016 play)

Last updated
Love
Written by Alexander Zeldin
Date premiered6 December 2016
Place premiered Dorfman Theatre, National Theatre, London
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama

Love (stylized as LOVE) is a 2016 British play written by Alexander Zeldin. [1] It is about a group of families who have been placed in temporary accommodation in the run-up to Christmas.

Contents

Production history

The play premiered in the Dorfman Theatre at the National Theatre, London running from 6 December 2016 to 10 January 2017, before transferring to The Studio at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 26 January to 11 February 2017. The production later transferred the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch from 25 to 28 October 2018.

A BBC film adaptation was first broadcast on BBC 2 on 8 December 2018.

The play made its North American debut at the Park Avenue Armory running from February 25 until March 25, 2023. [2]

Plot

The story of two families living in a temporary British housing accommodation.

Critical reception

The Guardian wrote "It is filled with observant compassion but at first I found myself craving more political anger." [1]

The Daily Beast called Love "The most powerful piece of theater currently being staged in New York." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Lloyd Webber</span> English theatre composer (born 1948)

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber, is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Izzard</span> British comedian and actor (born 1962)

Eddie Izzard, also known as Suzy Izzard, is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Mirren</span> English actor (born 1945)

Dame Helen Mirren is an English actor. She is the recipient of numerous accolades and is the only performer to have achieved both the American and the British Triple Crowns of Acting. Mirren has received an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, a Tony Award and a Laurence Olivier Award for portraying the same character in The Audience, three British Academy Television Awards for her performance as DCI Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Children's and Family Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jude Law</span> English actor

David Jude Heyworth Law is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary César and was named a knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billie Piper</span> English actress and former singer (born 1982)

Billie Paul Piper is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest female singer to enter the UK Singles Chart at number one; her follow-up single "Girlfriend" also entered at number one. In 1998, Piper released her debut studio album, Honey to the B, which was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Her second studio album, Walk of Life, was released in 2000 and spawned her third number one single, "Day & Night". In 2003, Piper announced that she had ended her music career to focus on acting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Nighy</span> British actor

William Francis Nighy is an English actor. He started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with The Illuminatus! in 1977. There he gained acclaim for his roles in David Hare's Pravda in 1985, Harold Pinter's Betrayal in 1991, Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1993, and Anton Chekov's The Seagull in 1994. He received a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance in Blue/Orange in 2001. He made his Broadway debut in Hare's The Vertical Hour in 2006, and returned in the 2015 revival of Hare's Skylight earning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West End theatre</span> Mainstream professional theatre staged in and near the West End of London

West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London. Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Okonedo</span> Nigerian actress (born 1968)

Sophie Okonedo is a British actress and narrator. Okonedo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019, both for services to drama. The recipient of a Tony Award, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, three BAFTA TV Award, Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benedict Cumberbatch</span> English actor (born 1976)

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Film Awards and four Golden Globes. In 2014, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2015, he was appointed a CBE at Buckingham Palace for services to the performing arts and to charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Hollander</span> British actor (born 1967)

Thomas Anthony Hollander is a British actor. As a child Hollander trained with the National Youth Theatre and was later involved in stage productions as a member of the Footlights and was president of the Marlowe Society. He later gained success for his roles on stage and screen, winning a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as nominations for a Tony Award and Olivier Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Stevens</span> British actor (born 1982)

Daniel Jonathan Stevens is a British actor. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV acclaimed period drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2012). He also starred as David in the thriller film The Guest (2014), Sir Lancelot in the adventure film Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014), The Beast/Prince in Disney's live action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (2017), Lorin Willis in the biographical legal drama Marshall (2017), Charles Dickens in the biographical drama The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) and Russian Eurovision singer Alexander Lemtov in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020). From 2017 to 2019, he starred as David Haller in the FX series Legion. In 2018, he starred in the Netflix horror-thriller Apostle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Walter</span> British actress (born 1950)

Dame Harriet Mary Walter is a British actress. Known for her extensive work in numerous Royal Shakespeare Company productions, Walter has received an Olivier Award as well as nominations for a Tony Award, five Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Redmayne</span> English actor (born 1982)

Edward John David Redmayne is an English actor. Known primarily for his roles in biopics, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards.

Talawa Theatre Company is a Black British theatre company founded in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Craig</span> English actor (born 1968)

Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. He gained international fame by playing the fictional secret agent James Bond for five installments in the film series, from Casino Royale (2006) up to No Time to Die (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ewan McGregor</span> Scottish actor

Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Flynn</span> British actor and musician (born 1983)

John Patrick Vivian Flynn is a British actor and singer-songwriter. He has starred as Dylan Witter in the Channel 4 and Netflix television sitcom Lovesick, and portrayed David Bowie in the film Stardust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoebe Waller-Bridge</span> English actress, screenwriter and producer (born 1985)

Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge is an English actress, screenwriter and producer. As a creator, head writer, and star of the comedy series Fleabag (2016–2019), she won three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes and a British Academy Television Award. She received further Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for writing and producing the spy thriller series Killing Eve (2018–2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michaela Coel</span> British actress and screenwriter

Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson, known professionally as Michaela Coel, is a Ghanaian-British actress, filmmaker, singer, and composer. She is best known for creating and starring in the E4 sitcom Chewing Gum (2015–2017), for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance; and the BBC One/HBO comedy-drama series I May Destroy You (2020) for which she won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress in 2021. For her work on I May Destroy You, Coel was the first black woman to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.

The Jungle is a play written by Joe Robertson and Joe Murphy, founders of the Good Chance Theatre Company, and directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin. The play follows the lives of characters living in the Calais Jungle migrant camp. The play won the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Theatre, and the 2018 BroadwayWorld UK Award for Best New Production of a Play.

References

  1. 1 2 Billington, Michael (December 14, 2016). "Love review – engrossing homelessness drama leaves us enraged". The Guardian .
  2. Vincentelli, Elisabeth (February 24, 2023). "His Shows Take On Big Issues. They're Also Good Yarns". The New York Times .
  3. Teeman, Tim (March 2, 2023). "'LOVE' Is Stark, Powerful—and the Best New Play in New York". The Daily Beast via Yahoo!.