7 Comments
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Christine Kendell's avatar

I saw the television production. It's a play that stays with you.

Samuel Adamson's avatar

Yes. Thanks for the comment. Although I don’t think the time tricks work as well on TV as they did on stage, it’s still a wonderful record of those performances.

laura thompson's avatar

This is so interesting, thank you!

And many congratulations on your own new play - have read wonderful things.... really hope to be able to see it.

Samuel Adamson's avatar

Thanks for reading, Laura! It’s an exquisite play.

And thank you so much re. mine — hopefully you can make it but I know life is busy.

As I’m writing: I love your Substack!

laura thompson's avatar

Very much appreciated.

Kate Jones's avatar

Really enjoyed reading this, Samuel. What a brilliant and important play this sounds. I particularly liked this: "It takes courage to write like this – to keep so much unsaid", as well as "the pain of any tragedy – can be conveyed by the ways people emerge from their grief, loss and trauma, or fight them, with camp, with wit, with double entendre." Such truly skilled writers can do all of these things, I think.

Samuel Adamson's avatar

Thanks for reading and commenting, Kate! You’re right, the play is both important and brilliant; and indeed the best writers, like Elyot, can do that Shakespearean thing of wringing comedy out of pain.