Overview
Described
as 'America's greatest living playwright' (Wall Street Journal),
Kenneth Lonergan is internationally acclaimed for his trademark humour and his
genius for capturing the real heart and soul of human interactions. This volume
gathers together three of his landmark plays.
This Is Our Youth (1996) is a wildly funny, bittersweet
and lacerating look at three days in the lives of three affluent young
Manhattanites in the 1980s. Its West End premiere in 2002 was notable for its
successive casts of young Hollywood stars, including Casey Affleck, Matt Damon,
Jake Gyllenhaal, Anna Paquin and Summer Phoenix. 'A rambunctious and witty
play… caustic, cruel, compassionate' The New York Times.
The Waverly Gallery (1999) is a poignant, generous and
frequently hilarious play about a feisty grandmother's last battle against
Alzheimer's disease. More than a memory play, it captures the humour and
strength of a family in the face of crisis. It was a finalist for the 2001
Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and revived on Broadway in 2018 to widespread
acclaim. 'Both one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see in a Broadway
theatre and one of the most profoundly sad' Chicago Tribune.
Lobby Hero (2001) tells the story of a luckless young security guard
trying to get his life together after being thrown out of the navy. But working
in a lobby proves to be no sanctuary from the world, as he is unwittingly drawn
into a murder investigation. The play received its British premiere at the
Donmar Warehouse, London, in 2002, and was also revived on Broadway in 2018.
'Artfully intertwines private and public issues… [Lonergan] has the lightest of
touches and writes with deft humour' Guardian.
Kenneth Lonergan
is an American film director, playwright and screenwriter. He wrote and
directed the films You Can Count On Me, Margaret and Manchester
by the Sea, for which he won the 2017 Academy Award for Best
Original Screenplay. This collection, published alongside the UK premiere of
Lonergan's The Starry Messenger in 2019, also
features an exclusive introduction by the author.
'Lonergan's ear
for the crosscurrents of love and recrimination, of accusation and confession,
is as fine as that of any American dramatist' Washington Post