The Pitchfork Disney (Modern Classics) - Softcover

Ridley, Philip

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1472514009 ISBN 13: 9781472514004

Publisher: Methuen Drama, 2015

Synopsis

'Ridley's play, with its surreal fantasies, has an edgy, alarming potency of its own, the writing unfettered by any expectations of how a play should be.' - Guardian

Against a backdrop of post-apocalyptic dreams, blood-hungry dogs and labyrinthine nightmares, Presley and his twin sister, Haley, eat chocolate and tell each other stories in order to fend off their darkest fears. Everything will be okay as long as they stay together, inside. But then, one night, Presley sees a beautiful stranger through the window – 18-year-old Cosmo Disney – and, while Haley sleeps, unbolts the front door and lets him in.

First produced in 1991, The Pitchfork Disney heralded the arrival of a unique and disturbing voice that single-handedly changed the face of British drama. Vivid and visionary, Philip Ridley's unsettling and dreamlike play offers a prophetic exploration of fear, sexual paranoia, and living in 'alternative worlds'.

Published in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series, Ridley's breakthrough work is introduced by Aleks Sierz (author of In-Yer-Face Theatre).

About this title

About the Author

Philip Ridley was born and grew up in the East End of London. He studied painting at St Martin's School of Art. He has written many highly regarded and hugely influential stage plays: the seminal The Pitchfork Disney (now published as a Methuen Modern Classic), The Fastest Clock in the Universe (winner of a Time Out Award, the Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, and the Meyer-Whitworth Prize), Ghost from a Perfect Place, Vincent River (nominated for the London Festival Fringe Best Play Award), the highly controversial Mercury Fur, Leaves of Glass, Piranha Heights (nominated for the WhatsOnStage Mobius Award for Best Off West End Production), Tender Napalm (nominated for the London Fringe Best Play Award), Shivered (nominated for the OffWestEnd Best New Play Award), Dark Vanilla Jungle (winner of an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award), Radiant Vermin (now published as a Methuen Modern Classic), Tonight With Donny Stixx, Karagula (nominated for the OffWestEnd Best New Play Award), The Beast of Blue Yonder, The Poltergeist (winner of the OffWestEnd OnComm Award for Best Live Streamed Play) and Tarantula; plus several plays for young people (collectively known as The Storyteller Sequence): Karamazoo, Fairytaleheart, Moonfleece (named as one of the 50 Best Works About Cultural Diversity by the National Centre for Children's Books), the seminal Sparkleshark (the first of the Connections Festival plays – all written for young people – to be staged professionally by the National Theatre), and Brokenville; also, Feathers in the Snow (shortlisted for the Brian Way Best Play Award).

Edition details

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1472514009
• ISBN 13: 9781472514004
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128