PornographyPornography looks at the events of the first week of July 2005 (the G8 summit, Live 8, the announcement of the 2012 Olympics and the 7/7 bombings) through the perspectives of eight anonymous individuals, including a terrorist. The play can be performed by any number of actors with the scenes presented in any order. This flexibility means that it is ideal for student groups: containing four monologues, two duologues and fifty-two self-contained anecdotal speeches. This Student Edition offers a study of the meaning, context and performance choices available in this subtle and political play. The in-depth commentary explores the play's themes, its kaleidoscopic structure and the play's production history, looking at both the German and UK premieres. The editor, Jacqueline Bolton, incorporates previously unpublished interviews with Simon Stephens and the directors and dramaturgs associated with the early productions. The commentary reveals the play's performance possibilities, as well as discussing its accomplished form, innovative structure and compassionate impetus. It also includes a chronology of the playwright's life and work, an introduction giving the background to the play, commentary on themes, characters, language and style, notes on individual words and phrases in the text, questions for further study and bibliography and further reading. |
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Common terms and phrases
27 October accessed 27 October actors al-Qaeda asks Baudrillard bed to help Blue Mountain coffee bomber bombings breakfast British capitalism character cigarette Coldplay Computer History Museum concert Cross St Pancras David Derby economic face feel global Hammersmith happened I’ve ibid Images of hell interview iPod Iraq Jacqueline Bolton Jamaican Blue Mountain Jason Jonathan July King’s Cross King’s Cross St Lenny Lisa Live London look Lyric Hammersmith Margaret Thatcher Methuen Drama Metro morning Muslim narrative neoliberal night o’clock Olympics organisation people’s performance Pink Floyd play play-text play’s Playwright Pornography Pornography review premieres production Reprinted in Theatre Scene Four Scene Seven Sean Holmes Sebastian Coe Sebastian Nübling Simon Stephens sister Snoop Dog sorry Spirit of Terrorism St Pancras stage directions Stephens’s talking television tell Theatre Record There’s things train Triford tube station watch woman Yeah