A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE
Blue Remembered Hills
Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w, 5m
Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter's acclaimed classic captures the traumas of childhood beneath the apparently innocent surface.
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Cast Size
2w, 5m -
Duration
60 minutes (1 hour) -
Target Audience
Adult, Teen (Age 14-18)
Details
Summary
This deceptively simple tale relates the activities of seven English children played by adults on a summer afternoon during World War II. In a woods, a field and a barn, they play, fight, fantasize and swagger. Their aggressions, fears, hostilities and rivalries are a microcosm of adult interaction. Easy going Willie tags along as burly Peter bullies Raymond and is challenged by fair minded Paul. Plain Audrey is overshadowed by Angela's prettiness and wreaks her anger on the boys. All of them gang up on the terrified "Donald Duck" who, abused by his mother and ridiculed by his peers, plays a dangerous game of pyromania with tragic results.
Blue Remembered Hills was originally broadcast in 1979 as part of the BBC's Play for Today series.
Performing Groups
- Time Period 1940s/WWII
- Features Period Costumes
- Duration 60 minutes (1 hour)
- Cautions
- Mild Adult Themes
Media
"...for all its smallness, it remains one of the most disturbing plays ever written, as if Potter were examining the seed of human cruelty through a microscope." - The Guardian, Read more
"Blue Remembered Hills dupes us into seeing childhood as we really saw it when we were there – in Potter’s words, ‘full to the brim of fear, horror, excitement, joy, boredom, love, anxiety" - Exeunt, Read more
Licensing & Materials
- Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.