Attempts on her Life
By Martin Crimp
Project Arts Centre
East Essex Street, Temple Bar
April 20 - May 5(Previews: 18 & 19 April)
Nightly at 8.15pm. Saturday matinees 28 April & 5 May at 2.45pm.
Booking: 01 881 9613/4
Through a staggering series of seventeen interconnected scenarios, a group of unnamed characters try to piece together the identity of the mysterious Anne. Martin Crimp’s groundbreaking 1997 play brings us on a whistle-stop journey through the emotional and political landscapes of our time, taking in art, surveillance, pornography, terrorism, genocide and globalization along the way. In making “Her” an elusive, kaleidoscopic myriad of possibilities Crimp’s pre 9/11 postmodern classic explodes into our post 9/11 world. This Rough Magic premiere of Attempts on her Life is pitched between the twin towers of consumer and celebrity culture. A David Lynch-style investigation filtered with pop culture pastiche, Creed’s production morphs between humour and horror involving a punk rock band, alien invasions and 1930’s MGM show tunes along the way.
“It’s moving. It’s timely. It’s distressing. It’s funny. It’s sexy. It’s deeply serious. It’s entertaining. It’s illuminating. It’s cryptic. It’s dark. Let’s meet. Call me.”
Scenario 1 – All Messages Deleted, Attempts on her Life
Attempts on Her Life – an attempt to invent the perfect story for our time. Since its premiere 10 years ago, Attempts on her Life has been translated into more than 20 languages. Perfectly encapsulating today’s frenetic channel hopping pace, Crimp’s play has achieved cult status as a play about the world right now.
“An enigma in motion, a dramatization of obsession and detachment”
Sunday Times
According to director Tom Creed: “Of all the playwrights writing at the moment, Martin Crimp best captures the reality of what it is to live in the world today. He has an extraordinary grasp of the fears that grip us – terrorism, war, capitalism, what our children are getting up to behind our backs, and the fear that the packaging of food isn’t telling us the truth - it’s almost like a cabaret of our hopes and fears…”
Cast includes
Kathy Kiera Clarke, Peter Daly, Ruth Hegarty, Darragh Kelly, Rory Nolan and Hilary O’ Shaughnessy. Directed by Tom Creed. Design by Conor Murphy. Lighting by Sinéad Mckenna. Music and sound by Denis Clohessy. Choreography by Rebecca Walter.
