Punk Rock (play)

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Punk Rock
Written by Simon Stephens
CharactersWilliam Carlisle
Lilly Cahill
Bennett Francis
Cissy Franks
Nicholas Chatman
Tanya Gleason
Chadwick Meade
Lucy Francis
Dr Richard Harvey
Date premiered2009
Royal Exchange Theatre
Place premiered England
Original language English

Punk Rock is a play by the British playwright Simon Stephens which premiered at the Royal Exchange in 2009 [1] and transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith directed by Sarah Frankcom. The play concerns a group of private school sixth formers during their A Level mocks exams. [2]

Contents

Plot

In the library of a grammar school, eight sixth-formers are preparing for their mock-A Levels and nearing the end of their school lives. There are various sub-plots detailing the various love lines or triangles that emerge through the play.

Characters

CharacterOriginal Cast, 2009Revival Cast, 2010Welsh Cast, 2012New Zealand Cast, 2012Australian Cast, 2012Australian Cast, 2014Spanish Cast, 2014New York Cast, 2014New Zealand Cast, 2015Edinburgh Cast, 2015Montreal Cast, 2016Spanish National Tour Cast, 2017New Zealand Cast, 2017French Cast, 2019Australian Cast, 2019
William Carlisle Tom Sturridge Rupert Simonian Samuel HarrisNathan MudgeSam O'SullivanAndrew CreerVíctor de la Fuente Douglas Smith Jared KirkwoodOliver MatjaszOliver PriceJesús Lavi / Víctor de la FuenteShauwn KeilMaël GallandBen Walter
Bennett Francis Henry Lloyd-Hughes Edward FranklinChristopher HarrisJordan MooneyGraeme McRaeBevan PfeifferSamy KhalilWill PullenTaylor BarrettStefan CollinsNicholas LepageJuan FrendsaMila FatiRomain TarnaudKarl Richmond
Chadwick Meade Harry McEntire Mike NobelJohn ClarkRyan DulieuGabriel Dean FancourtDacre Montgomery-HarveyÁlvaro Quintana Noah Robbins Hamish AnnanLewis NortonPatrick ParkFernando Sainz de la MazaKasey BengeCharles Peccia GallettoLaurence Boxhall
Lilly Cahill Jessica Raine Laura Pyper Leah CarrollSarah GrahamDarcie Irwin-SimpsonJessica PatersonMaría Romero Colby Minifie Ripeka TempletonJane HoganRebecca BauerCristina GallegoMolly WeaverClara Courty ZancaZoe Hawkins
Cissy FranksSophie WuRuth MilneJeni LloydMorgan AlbrechtMadeleine JonesStephanie PanozzoCarolina Yuste Lilly Englert Ailis Oliver-KerbyDebbie AshleyMadeline HarveyCristina Bertol / Ana EscriuAlexandra TaylorManon NobiliRuby Duncan
Nicholas ChatmanNicholas BanksNicholas BanksKemario Ellington George Mason Owen LittleLuke FewsterAlejandro ChaparroPico AlexanderAndrew CoshanElliot GardnerRyan DohertyAxel Novo / Jota HayaMaia Diamond

(Nichola Chatman)

Marc DervilleFlynn Smeaton
Tanya GleasonKatie WestKatie WestRebecca OrmrodElizabeth McMenaminRebecca MartinHarriet Gordon-AndersonHelena MocejónAnnie FunkeLana WaltersJosie WebsterVictoria HallKatia BorladoAshleigh LowJehanne PollossonAnnie Shapero
Lucy FrancisEmma WarbutonJuliet YorkEmily DybleRosie Hayden / Caitlin Roscherr / Jaimee McCannClementine MillsElle Harris-Sophie ShapiroSinead FitzgeraldClaire ElkinsAnnabella Papaioannou/Megan Roche-Aishani Pole-Natalia Saavedra-Ingram & Pippa Asome
Dr Richard HarveySimon WolfeSimon WolfeLiz Tustin (Dr Rachel Harvey)Devlin BishopPaul HooperDavid J Rose Ariadna Gil, Chani Martín, Eugenio Villota David Greenspan Ross JohnstonChris GreenSaro SaroyanTana PaynoAnnie Ruth (Dr Judith Harvey)-Jessica Clarke

Other productions

Reception

The premiere received generally positive reviews with Variety saying "confirms Simon Stephens as one of the most important and exciting British playwrights working today". The play has also been nominated for the 2010 TMA Best New Play award. It was also well received by The Guardian, [18] the Crikey blog, [19] The Times [20] and others.

Some critics have criticised Stephens for unoriginality, however. For example, Leo Benedictus, writing for The Guardian in 2009, said "The critics spot various possible influences such as The History Boys, Another Country, Lord of the Flies, Elephant, If…, Skins, and The Catcher in the Rye." [18]

Legacy

Identity Crisis

Punk Rock inspired Identity Crisis, a drama and philosophy project, exploring the play's themes with young people in London and Manchester. [21]

Teaching

Punk Rock is frequently used in Drama education in sixth form and sometimes at GCSE level in England, as well as a few other places around the world. There have been multiple student productions of the play, some of which the play's author, Simon Stephens, has attended.

References

  1. "'Punk Rock' at The Royal Exchange, Manchester". Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  2. "Punk Rock". Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  3. "Haptic Theatre Company". www.facebook.com.
  4. "punk rock | ATYP". www.atyp.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012.
  5. "Punk Rock: The Oxford Playhouse". Oxford Mail. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  6. Wenley, James. "REVIEW: Punk Rock (Outfit Theatre Company)". Theatre Scenes: Aotearoa New Zealand Theatre. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  7. "Punk Rock". Ticket Source.
  8. "Productions". www.thenomadicplayers.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011.
  9. ".: Divadlo DISK :". Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  10. Brantley, Ben (14 December 2014). "Don't Let Those Neat Uniforms Fool You". The New York Times.
  11. "2014 Nominations". www.lortelaward.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015.
  12. "Punk Rock by Simon Stephens: 5 star review by Bennett Bonci". broadwaybaby.com.
  13. "PUNK ROCK - A chance to understand them: so beautiful, so evil, so vulnerable". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  14. "Punk Rock". avignonleoff.com (in French). Archived from the original on 19 October 2019.
  15. "Punk Rock". www.billetreduc.com.
  16. "Punk Rock | Patalog Theatre | Australia". Patalog Theatre Co.
  17. Keyte, Melinda (10 December 2019). "Punk Rock, fortyfivedownstairs (VIC)". ArtsHub Australia.
  18. 1 2 Leo, Benedictus (10 September 2009). "What to say about... Punk Rock by Simon Stephens". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  19. Bradford Syke, Luke. "REVIEW: Punk Rock". Crikey. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  20. "The Times".[ dead link ]
  21. "Identity Crisis". Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.