Act and Terminal 3 is a double-bill of hard hitting and deceptively simple short plays from Swedish master-playwright Lars Norén, directed by Anthony Neilson.
Lars Norén – playwright, poet and novelist – is thought by many to be the greatest living Swedish writers. For many years Artistic Director of the Riksteatern, the National Touring Theatre of Sweden, his work is hugely influential, interrogating the human psyche in a style that veers between realism and fantasy, with devastating results. An heir to August Strindberg, this is the literary tradition behind the much-acclaimed Nordic-noir drama. “Considered the most important playwright since August Strindberg in his native Sweden.” New York Times
Reimagined in a near future USA in the aftermath of a second civil war, Act is a prescient interrogation of faith, conscience and atrocity and what is excusable during war. In a hospital examination room, a doctor assesses a female prisoner, accused of being a terrorist and now on hunger strike.
Then, storylines intertwine in Terminal 3. A young couple await the birth of their first child, while in the same place two people wait to identify the body of their dead son. What truths emerge from the birth – and death – of a child? How does the birth – and death – of a child affect the lives and relationships of the parents?
Anthony Neilson is one of the most extraordinary – and controversial – dramatists working today. His previous work, including The Prudes, Narrative, Unreachable and Relocated at the Royal Court Theatre, The Wonderful World of Dissocia and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Royal Lyceum Edinburgh and Realism at the Edinburgh International Festival.
The cast will be Barnaby Power, Robert Stocks, Temi Wilkey and Hannah Young.
Act and Terminal 3 will be at the Print Room at the Coronet 1st – 30th June 2018.
