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That Face

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  4w, 2m

Polly Stenham

Polly Stenham's first play is a hard-hitting, intense and visceral dissection of children who become parents to their parents.

That Face

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 2m
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 2007 Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright Award
    Nominee: 2009 Olivier Award for Best New Play

Details

Summary

Mia is at boarding school. She has access to drugs. They are Martha's. Henry is preparing for art college. He has access to alcohol. From Martha. Martha controls their lives. Martha is their mother. This is a family at the breaking point. Mia and Henry have long been dealing with their mother's addictions, but after a prank goes wrong at Mia's boarding school, their situation goes from comically bad to utterly ridiculous. When their estranged father arrives to sort things out, they must face the reality that their well-to-do family may have combusted beyond repair.

That Face is a part of the Manhattan Theatre Club spring 2010 season in New York City. The show originally played London's Royal Court in 2007 and was subsequently seen in the West End.

Reviews and awards

Winner! 2007 Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright Award

"One of the most astonishing debuts I have seen in more than 30 years" - Daily Telegraph

History
That Face was first presented at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, London, on 20 April 2007.
Keywords

    Media

    "One of the most astonishing debuts I have seen in more than 30 years" - Daily Telegraph

    "Her 90-minute play has a quality of emotional desperation one more often associates with mature American dramatists like Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee than with cool young Brits." - Guardian

    "...this intensely moving, skilfully crafted piece...Stenham isn't just promising. She has already delivered on it, and she would deserve the acclaim even if she were twice her age." - Daily Express

    "The startling paradox of That Face, however, is that there is so much vigour in the writing, so much passion in the playing, that one leaves the theatre feeling strangely exhilarated." - Daily Telegraph

    "The play jumps straight into the deep end of the pool. Enter at your own risk." - New York Post

    Licensing & Materials

    • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

    Scripts

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    Authors

    Polly Stenham

    Polly Stenham
    Polly Stenham is a playwright, screenwriter and director. Her plays include That Face at the Royal Court, for which she was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright 2007 and the 2008 Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright. The play transfe ...
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