People, Places and Things

by Duncan Macmillan

Overview

"Macmillan doesn't shy away from difficult questions about addiction and recovery and, rightly, doesn't answer them ... this is a bold, timely and searching play" - Financial Times

Emma was having the time of her life. Now she's in rehab. Her first step is to admit that she has a problem. But the problem isn't with Emma, it's with everything else. She needs to tell the truth. But she's smart enough to know that there's no such thing. When intoxication feels like the only way to survive the modern world, how can she ever sober up?

People, Places&Things premiered at the National Theatre in 2015 before transferring to London's West End and St. Ann's Warehouse in New York. This edition is published to coincide with the return to the West End in June, 2024

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350519879
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	06/20/2024
Series:	Modern Plays
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	136
Sales rank:	724,129
File size:	537 KB

About the Author

Duncan Macmillan's work has been performed throughout the world, including at the National Theatre, Royal Court, Almeida, Barbican, St Ann's Warehouse, Melbourne Theatre Company, Berliner Ensemble, Hamburg Schauspielhaus, Schauspielhaus Ko¨ln, Burgtheater Vienna, Vesturport, Kansallisteatteri, Nationaltheatret Oslo and in the repertory of the Schaubu¨hne Berlin, as well as the Edinburgh Festival, the Manchester International Festival, Salzburg Festival, Festival d'Avignon and Theatertreffen, in the West End and on Broadway.
His plays include Lungs; People, Places and Things; Every Brilliant Thing; Rosmersholm (adapt. Henrik Ibsen); 1984 (adapt. George Orwell, co-written and co-directed with Robert Icke); City Of Glass (adapt. Paul Auster) and 2071 (co-written with Chris Rapley). Other plays include The Forbidden Zone; Wunschloses Unglu¨ck (adapt. Peter Handke); Reise Durch die Nacht (adapt. Friederike Mayro¨cker). Both 1984 and People, Places and Things were nominated for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards.
Duncan Macmillan's work has been performed throughout the world, including at the National Theatre, Royal Court, Almeida, Barbican, St Ann's Warehouse, Melbourne Theatre Company, Berliner Ensemble, Hamburg Schauspielhaus, Schauspielhaus Köln, Burgtheater Vienna, Vesturport, Kansallisteatteri, Nationaltheatret Oslo and in the repertory of the Schaubühne Berlin, as well as at the Edinburgh Festival, the Manchester International Festival, Salzburg Festival, Festival d'Avignon and Theatertreffen, in the West End and on Broadway. Both 1984 and People, Places and Things were nominated for Best New Play and Rosmersholm was nominated Best Revival at the Olivier Awards.

Editorial Reviews

Duncan Macmillan is not the first dramatist to tackle addiction. What gives his new play exceptional vibrancy, though, is its decision to draw parallels between rehab and theatrical process, and to present the action from the addict's point of view...a vivid tale” —Guardian

“Generous-spirited, with a strong streak of irreverent, darkly humane humour, the play...has a thoughtful, shifting ambivalence that suits a problem where the solutions can only ever be provisional and the amends inadequate” —Independent

“Macmillan doesn't shy away from difficult questions about addiction and recovery and, rightly, doesn't answer them. Is Emma messed up because of her past, the state of the world or the purposelessness of life? Or is she self-absorbed, self-pitying and deceitful? Is the spiritual aspect to Alcoholics Anonymous problematic? And, if it works, does that matter? He is plain about the hard grind of recovery, for everyone involved. And he touches on broader questions about the pros and cons of role-play - in theatre, in therapy and in life...this is a bold, timely and searching play” —Financial Times

From the Publisher