The War of the Worlds

by Isley Lynn, Rhum + Clay

Overview

No-one would have believed in the early years of the twentieth century that this world was being watched...

There is nothing more alluring than a good story. When Orson Welles adapted The War of the Worlds, he wanted to create a thrilling radio drama that would 'feel' real. In fact, it felt so real that it caused hysteria amongst a public just getting used to the outside world invading their living rooms via the radio. Fast forward to 2016, and the internet has replaced the radio as the medium through which we make sense of the world. We remain just as susceptible …

Inspired by H.G. Wells' sci-fi novel and Orson Welles' classic radio play, this legendary science fiction thriller is playfully reimagined as a play by Isley Lynn for our era of Fake News and 'alternative facts'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350269958
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	08/12/2021
Series:	Modern Plays
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	490 KB

About the Author

Isley Lynn's play Skin A Cat was awarded Pick Of The Year at Vault Festival 2016 and nominated for four Off West End Awards (Most Promising New Playwright - shortlist, Best New Play, Best Lead Female, Best Director) for its transfer as inaugural production at The Bunker, 2016, then touring nationally throughout 2018. Her contribution to 15 Heroines (The Desert: Canace - A Good Story) earned critical acclaim, and her adaptation of War Of The Worlds in collaboration with Rhum And Clay enjoyed a completely sold out five week run at New Diorama Theatre and will tour nationally. Her play Revolutions is supported by Arts Council England, the MGCfutures Bursary, Old Vic Lab, Arcola Lab, and the Bush Theatre. Isley was the 2014 Script6 winner at The Space with Bright Nights, she received Special Commendation from the 2012 Soho Young Writers Award for Lomography, and Isley's monologue What's So Special was performed as part of The Get Out at The Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs (2014). Her critically acclaimed debut play Lean enjoyed an extended run at the Tristan Bates Theatre (2013). She was twice named Champion of Literary Death Match (Norfolk and Norwich Festival and The Book Club, London). Her European debut Sie Und Wir was performed in German at Werk X, Vienna. Her play Totty, written for Paines Plough and Tamasha's Come To Where I'm From: London, is available for free through the CTWIF app. Isley is a graduate of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme (2012) and Royal Court Invitation Studio Group (2013) and her work has been supported by writing programmes at the National Theatre Studio and Dorfman Theatre, Hightide, Soho Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, the Kiln, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Ovalhouse, Criterion theatre, and the Orange Tree Theatre.
Isley Lynn is an American-born, London-based playwright and poet. They won the 'Charles Wintour Most Promising Playwright Award' at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2023 for their play The Swell, which opened to great acclaim as part of Tom Littler's first season at the Orange Tree Theatre and was also nominated for Best New Play, Best Director and Best Production at the 2023 Offie Awards. Their play Skin a Cat was awarded Pick of the Year at the Vault Festival 2016 and its production at The Bunker later that year led to four nominations for Off West End Awards including Most Promising New Playwright and Best New Play; it then toured nationally in 2018. Other credits include: The War of the Worlds (New Diorama Theatre 2019, international tour 2021); 'Canace' in 15 Heroines (Jermyn Street Theatre 2020); Albatross (Paines Plough and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama at Bute Theatre and Gate Theatre 2018); The Swell (HighTide First Commissions play reading 2018); Sie und Wir (Us and Them) for Werk X in Vienna (2016); Tether (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015); and What's So Special (as part of The Get Out at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs 2014). Her play Bright Nights was a Script6 winner at The Space in 2014.
Rhum + Clay is an award-winning theatre company led by co-Artistic Directors, Julian Spooner and Matt Wells. They desire to make work that ignites the audience's imagination on regional, national, and international stages. Everything that Rhum + Clay produces is developed collaboratively; from set designers to writers, performers and sound artists, everyone is together from day one to offer opinions and build the show together. Off-stage, their education programme is an extension of that creative process, celebrating the unique skills of each participant whilst giving them tools to create better theatre, collaboratively. Their hope is that many of the workshop participants will become future collaborators.

Editorial Reviews

There aren't many writers who conjure stories the way Isley Lynn can. Her innate instinct for achingly human characters in situations rarely – if ever – seen on stage sets her well apart from most young playwrights. These intimate stories leave a huge impact when set on stage, their echoes long reverberating with her audiences.” —The Play's The Thing

From the Publisher