Oh, to be in England (Oberon Modern Plays) - Softcover

David Pinner

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184943056X ISBN 13: 9781849430562

Publisher: Oberon Modern Plays, 2011

Synopsis

Like Pinner's contemporaneous 1973 Stalin play The Teddy Bears' Picnic, Oh, To Be In England was unproduceable at the time of its writing because of its unapologetic skewering of political extremism in the UK. Unlike The Teddy Bears' Picnic, which finally ran in 1990 to press acclaim, Oh, To Be In England has remained lost. After thirty-five years, it is now receiving its world premiere after thirty five years. Frighteningly prescient, and tragically current, Oh, To Be In England is a dark comedy examining what it means to live in an ex-empire in economic free-fall, and the political and personal extremism that results when all other belief is lost. A middle-aged Englishman, bred to believe in his innate superiority as a birthright of class, race, and gender, loses his job in the City. Left floundering impotently in a world that is no longer cricket, his family, security, and sanity follow close behind.

About this title

Review:

David Pinner's 1976 play powerfully demonstrates how the patriotic clichés of our literary tradition can become a veritable lifeline for the diehard Anglocentric... Pinner s dialogue is intelligent and witty. --Emily Hawes, Time Out

About this edition

• Publisher: Oberon Modern Plays
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 184943056X
• ISBN 13: 9781849430562
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96