Continental Divide: two plays by David Edgar

Continental Divide: two plays by David Edgar

Two linked plays - Mothers Against and Daughters of the Revolution - by the UK's leading political playwright, investigating the machinations of the Democratic and Republican parties in America. In this two-play cycle set against the background of a bitterly fought American governor's election, David Edgar explores what has happened to the revolutionary fervour which took hold of both the Right and the Left in the 1960s, and how it has been carried over into the politics of today. The plays were jointly commissioned and produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. They were first performed in Ashland, Oregon, as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in March 2003 before transferring to Berkeley Repertory Theatre in November 2003. Continental Divide received its UK premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in March 2004. It subsequently played at the Barbican, London, as part of the BITE Festival, in March 2004.

'Edgar's main theme is how precisely the US got where it is today.. In the big, bold Daughters of the Revolution, he uses a political thriller to show how the 1960s radical bady-boomers turned into today's bland conformists... Its companion piece, Mothers Against, dealing with the Republican side of the same west-coast election is a total triumph... The action takes place in the Vine county home the weekend before a crucial televised debate... Edgar has always been good at the process of politics... Together the two plays are a tremendous achievement... Although rooted in the US, the plays have obvious resonance elsewhere'

* Guardian *

David Edgar is a leading UK playwright, author of many original plays and adaptations. He also pioneered the teaching of playwriting in the UK, founding the Playwriting Studies course at Birmingham University in 1989. His plays include: Here in America (Orange Tree Theatre, 2024); Trying It On (UK tour, 2018); A Christmas Carol, adapted from the story by Charles Dickens (Royal Shakespeare Company, 2017); If Only (Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 2013); Written on the Heart (RSC, 2011); a version of Ibsen's The Master Builder (Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 2013); Arthur and George, adapted from the novel by Julian Barnes (Birmingham Rep & Nottingham Playhouse, 2010); Testing the Echo (Out of Joint, 2008); A Time to Keep, written with Stephanie Dale (Dorchester Community Players, 2007); Playing With Fire (National Theatre, 2005); Continental Divide (US, 2003); The Prisoner's Dilemma (RSC, 2001); Albert Speer, based on Gitta Sereny's biography of Hitler's architect (National Theatre, 2000); Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (Birmingham Rep, 1996); Pentecost (RSC, 1994); The Shape of the Table (National Theatre, 1990); Maydays (1983); The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (RSC, 1980); Destiny (1976); and The National Interest (1971). His work for television includes adaptations of Destiny, screened by the BBC in 1978, The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs, televised by the BBC in 1981, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, televised by Channel 4 in 1982, as well as the plays Buying a Landslide (1992) and Vote for Them (1989). He is also the author of the radio plays Ecclesiastes (1977), A Movie Starring Me (1991), Talking to Mars (1996) and an adaptation of Eve Brook's novel The Secret Parts (2000). He wrote the screenplay for the film Lady Jane (1986). He is the author of How Plays Work (Nick Hern Books, 2009; revised 2021) and The Second Time as Farce: Reflections on the Drama of Mean Times (1988), and editor of The State of Play: Playwrights on Playwriting (2000). He was Resident Playwright at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1974-5 (Board Member from 1985), Fellow in Creative Writing at Leeds Polytechnic, Bicentennial Arts Fellow (US) (1978-9) and was Literary Consultant for the RSC (1984-8, Honorary Associate Artist, 1989). He founded the University of Birmingham's MA in Playwriting Studies in 1989 and was its director until 1999. He was appointed Professor of Playwriting Studies in 1995.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781854597786
ISBN 10	1854597787
Title	Continental Divide: two plays
Author	David Edgar
Series	Nhb Modern Plays
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Nick Hern Books
Year published	2004-03-11
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable