It's Cabaret, we've got our heads down and we're dancing and drinking as fast as we can. The enemy is on its way, but this time it doesn't have guns and gas it has storms and earthquakes, fire and brimstone.... You were the glimmer. At the end of the tunnel. And you went out.
Earthquakes in London is a fast and furious metropolitan crash of people, scenes and decades, as three sisters attempt to navigate their dislocated lives and loves, while their dysfunctional father, a brilliant scientist, predicts global catastrophe. The play deals, through amplified theatricality, with a range of contemporary issues from population growth to climate change.
An all-pervasive fear of the future and a guilty pleasure in the excesses of the present drive Mike Bartlett's epic rollercoaster of a play from 1968 to 2525 and back again.
Earthquakes in London first published in 2010 and has subsequently become a much-produced and widely studied drama text. It is published here as a Student Edition alongside commentary and notes by Bridget Escolme.
The ancillary material is geared at students and includes:
- an introduction outlining the play's plot, character, themes context and performance history - the full text of the play - a chronology of the playwright's life and work - extensive textual notes - questions for further study - an interview with the playwright
By:
Mike Bartlett
Volume editor:
Bridget Escolme (Reader LONDON UK)
Imprint: Methuen Drama
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 198mm,
Width: 129mm,
Weight: 172g
ISBN: 9781350138803
ISBN 10: 1350138800
Series: Student Editions
Pages: 200
Publication Date: 04 November 2021
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Chronology Commentary: Characters and Plot Climate Change Generation and Gender Gaps From the Personal to the Epic: Bartlett’s Political Theatre The play’s first production and reception: the National Theatre, Headlong, Rupert Goold, Miriam Buether. Interview with Mike Bartlett Play Text Further Reading Notes
Mike Bartlett is one of the most prolific playwrights of today. His debut, My Child (Royal Court, May 2007) saw him hailed by The Stage as 'one of the most exciting new talents to emerge in recent times'. He is a winner of the Old Vic New Voices Award for Artefacts (Bush Theatre). In 2009, his play Cock won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, while Contractions was nominated for the TMA Best New Play award. Bartlett was Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Royal Court in 2007, and is currently Associate Playwright at Paines Plough. He has also written seven plays for the radio, including Not Talking for which he won the Writer's Guild Tinniswood and Imison prizes. Bridget Escolme is Professor of Theatre and Performance at Queen Mary, University of London, UK.
Reviews for Earthquakes in London
The theatrical equivalent of a thrilling roller coaster ride. It swoops and twists, rushes and soars, and provides a great shot of adrenaline-fuelled excitement ... the sheer energy and ambition of the piece are irresistible. * Daily Telegraph * Full of ideas and invention ... This demented carnival confirms Bartlett ... as one of our most exciting young playwrights. * Evening Standard *