A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Man (Graham)

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  2any gender (adult)

James Graham

In this interactive comedy, a freelancer working on his taxes builds the memory of his year by pulling receipts from audience members.

The Man (Graham)

Request licence
Get the Script
  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2any gender (adult)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

Graham presents an affectionate and funny portrait of a year in the life of one nervous self-employed man, pieced together from receipts, shopping and commercial transactions. With a web of narratives, the play’s structure is innovative and flexible; in performance, each receipt triggers a unique story as the actor plucks the receipts from the audience’s hands at random.

Ben has been dreading his self-assessment form, with every transaction evoking the good times and the bad – memories of things gone wrong, gone right, journeys taken, relationships that have begun and ended. Prompted by frequent calls to the Inland Revenue helpline, Ben relives the humiliations, successes and tragedies of the last twelve months, stitching together his memories of the Tax Year 2009/2010 from tiny scraps of paper.

History
The Man premiered at Finborough Theatre in London on 25 May 2010. Directed by Kate Wasserberg, the production featured a revolving host of actors, including Samuel Barnett, Leander Deeny, James Graham, Michelle Luther, George Rainsford, Stephanie Thomas and Lizzy Watts.
Keywords
Performing Groups
BEN
INLAND REVUE – sitting in the audience or an offstage voice
  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting A bare stage or simple set with a desk. The present.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes

Media

“A touching and funny monologue about a young man’s attempts to get to grips with life.” – The Stage

★★★★ “Highly original… [a] picture of a nervous but likable individual coping with the populated solitude of city life.” – The Guardian

★★★★ “What would a year’s worth of receipts, the kind of bundle you’d need to complete a self-employed tax-return, say about your life, if you were to pile them up and sift them all through?… That’s the beautifully simple idea at the heart of James Graham’s ingenious, touching and wryly intelligent new play” – The Daily Telegraph

“In this sophisticated and innovative new play, tax really isn’t all that taxing.” – WhatsOnStage

★★★★ “Perhaps what’s most impressive, though, is the way that Graham takes an arid, theatically unpromising activity and finds in it scope to unpack all kinds of youthful confusions, dashed hopes, shrewd insights and mixed feelings. What has he to declare? Talent – tons of it.” – The Daily Telegraph

Videos

  • James Graham and Samuel Barnett discuss The Man youtube thumbnail

    James Graham and Samuel Barnett discuss The Man

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £85 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
Get the Script

Authors

James Graham

James Graham

James Graham is a playwright and screenwriter.

His recent work includes the play Dear England, commissioned by the National Theatre, about Gareth Southgate’s transformation of the national team. After a sold-out run at the National in 2023, the play transferred to the West End ...

View full profile

Now Playing