The Plaza Hotel, New York, 28 November 1966.
Truman Capote, literary star and author of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood, is hosting his famous Black and White Ball. With the Vietnam War ongoing, the writer brings Washington power-brokers, Hollywood stars, society hostesses, fashion editors and pop artists, poets and musical celebrities to the party of the century.
One hour before the ball begins, Capote holes up in his room for an hour. The Ballad of Truman Capote is the resulting monologue, a tragi-comical memory play depicting the highs and lows of the invented life, and the price of fame.
Writer and director Andrew O’Hagan said: “As an author, Truman Capote caught something essential about the 20th century. I’ve always been fascinated by him. He was a great stylist, a courageous little human being, and a witness to some of the great events and personalities of the age. So I wanted to get him onstage. I want audiences to have an intimate hour with one of the most original, funny, and troubling characters of recent times. We live in the age of self-invention, and here he is — the Inventor of Self-Invention.”
