Or,

by Liz Duffy Adams

Or, takes place (mostly) during one night in the life of Aphra Behn, poet, spy, and soon to be first professional female playwright. Sprung from debtors’ prison after a disastrous overseas mission, Aphra is desperate to get out of the spy trade. She has a shot at a production at one of only two London companies, if she can only finish her play by morning despite interruptions from sudden new love, actress Nell Gwynne; complicated royal love, King Charles II; and very dodgy ex-love, double-agent William Scott—who may be in on a plot to murder the king in the morning. Can Aphra save Charles’ life, win William a pardon, resist Nell’s charms, and launch her career, all in one night? Against a background of a long drawn-out war and a counter-culture of free love, cross-dressing, and pastoral lyricism, the 1660s look a lot like the 1960s in this neo-Restoration comedy from the playwright the San Francisco Bay Guardian called “an artist of playful and highly literate imagination, radical instincts, and sardonic but generous humor.”

Premiered Off Broadway at Women’s Project Theater. Subsequent productions at Magic Theater, Seattle Rep, and over fifty more. Workshopped at New Dramatists’ PlayTime and New Georges.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Historical Fiction, Theatre

50 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 2011

Reviews

[nashaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonderful little play! I had so much fun reading this and the love triangle?? square?? BEAUTIFUL (and I never think that)

[Megan Huggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting and kind of incredibly cool play. That sounds vague, but I really enjoyed it. The twists and turns, the fluidity of sexuality, and the nature of authorship are fascinating, and the main character, Aphra, is a brilliantly complex and engaging woman. It's really fun.

[Eric Stutzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Or. Now that's a very little word on which hangs an evening's worth of show. But I will now that little word enlarge and show a vast and unsettled world within that open O and nosing thrust of R." These are the opening lines of Liz Duffy Adam's play 'Or'. This little gem of a play was one whose bright purple cover was lucky enough to grab my attention one summers night whilst I wandered the library. After seeing the cover, I read the summary and was immediately hooked. With a plot that sounded intriguing, an historic setting and lively characters, I was ready for a thoroughly enjoyable night of reading. What followed met my expectations in spades! Adams' writing seemed to leap off the page and into the imagination, and I feel that a lesser playwright could not have done justice to this material. But, before I get ahead of myself, let me briefly explain the story.

"Or, takes place (mostly) during one night in the life of Aphra Behn, poet, spy, and soon to be first professional female playwright. Sprung from debtors’ prison after a disastrous overseas mission, Aphra is desperate to get out of the spy trade. She has a shot at a production at one of only two London companies, if she can only finish her play by morning despite interruptions from sudden new love, actress Nell Gwynne; complicated royal love, King Charles II; and very dodgy ex-love, double-agent William Scott—who may be in on a plot to murder the king in the morning."

The highs of this play far outshine the lows, and far outnumber them as well. First, the cast of characters. This play has featured characters, mentioned above, Aphra, Nell, Charles II, and William. These characters play off of each other in a manner which brings the life that it has in every scene and interaction. Aphra, being the main character that she is, has the most time in the spotlight and holds strong as the anchor of the story. Her dialogue has wit and charm, but also has a sense of weight and gravitas, which lends dependability to her character. Her charm and her hopeless romantic side are what connect her to the other three characters. Nell, actress and lover of Aphra, is a lot more energetic, and has possibly the funniest lines in the entire play, which is saying quite a lot. She is fun to watch and to listen to, and she plays off of the others extraordinarily well. William is likely the most dramatic character, and his stoic nature clashes well with some of the more 'extra' characters in the play. Charles II also falls on the more dramatic side of the play, though he does have his more fun and light moments as well. The dialogue between Charles and Aphra is the best in the play in my opinion, and it has some of the most tender moments to boot.

As far as the things I disliked about this play, the list is quite a bit shorter. For one, I felt that this play was rather short, and that the climactic ending felt rather forced. I felt like there would have or could have been just a bit more to flesh out, but at the same time, I would much prefer a good book or play to be short and sweet than for a good play or book to drag on unnecessarily. I felt that some of the dialogue, primarily with Will was a bit on the nose, but these lines were few in number, and easy to set aside, especially since the rest of the writing in the play is not guilty of this at all.

I would recommend this to anyone wishing to dip their toes in plays, especially modern plays. I feel like most people hear the word play and immediately think of Shakespeare and the thous, thees and hitherto's, so this would be a good stepping point. It was rather short, as I had previously mentioned, and the writing is not needlessly complex or abstract. The scenes flow well, and it is a perfect play to be read in one sitting. I'm hoping to find a recording of one of the live performances, as I do with all plays, as, in the end, a play is meant to be performed on the stage. This is a fun work, and I am perfectly happy to recommend this to anyone as well as give it a four star rating!

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a person who has read her fair share of literary texts. I will say that this is what made the play easy to read for me. Think of it this way, you are reading a play that is staged in the 1770's which you know was a far cry from what everything is like now, and then throw in "old English" on top of it, you might find that understanding all of the concepts that are presented within might be hard.

However literary analysis aside, I overall thoroughly enjoyed this quick read and would highly recommend as a read for anyone who like that idea of a lady spy, turned poet, turned playwright. It is a quick read and will likely leave you laughing and wondering what could happen next until the very last page has been turned.

[M Pod · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a hell of a good time reading Or. It is sweet and clever and sexy with gorgeous language and vivid characters. I especially loved Aphra and Nell's interactions...

The main characters are based on historical figures but I had absolutely no problem connecting with them and their relationships (and I am woefully dense when it comes to historical figures!). Though I imagine if you have any love for/interest in Aphra Behn, Nell Gwyn or Charles II, you will absolutely love seeing them here.

I really want to see a stage production of this now.

[Aaron Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is cute. It's one of those theatre pieces about the theatre that have the ability to charm theatre people but aren't really for an audience of non-theatre people. The players here – Charles II, Aphra Behn, Nell Gwynne – are of interest to folks who know about Restoration drama, but are not really of much interest otherwise. Still, it's cute as a portrayal of Aphra Behn even if it doesn't have much else to recommend it.

[Savanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this play last year, and loved it, so I just had to read the script too!

[sezen]

A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World'ü okudum aslında, bunu değil ama Goodreads'te yok diye bunu işaretliyorum.

[Mikennah Oleson · Rating 5 out of 5]

mwah mwah mwah I love you aphra mwah

[Sam Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this play for a class and became obsessed with it. It's so clever, so subversively queer, so charming and so hopeful.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liz Duffy Adams's scintillating restoration comedy about restoration comedy writer Aphra Behn is a delight from start to finish. The play, whose heightened language seamlessly blends seventeenth and twenty-first century English, is a sexy, philosophical farce that tickles the brain as well as the funny bone without ever stooping to didacticism or preaching. This is a superbly constructed play, with treble-cast actors and tightly choreographed entrances and exits, but as much as it impresses with its technical skill, what I enjoyed the most was the exuberance with which the characters embrace their new-found freedom from the oppression of the previously Puritanical regime and re-invent themselves. Healthy self-affirmation of this sort is usually left to teen soap operas an after-school specials, and it takes a truly unique and special piece to make it feel hard-earned and genuine rather than precious. Fortunately, this play is both unique and special.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an absolutely delightful little play!!

Or, (an homage to the tradition of plays during the 16th and 17th centuries having subtitles) imagines one day in the life of 17th century playwright Aphra Behn, who may or may not actually have been a spy. This one-act play for 3 actors is a light, intelligent, fun update of the restoration comedy, imagining Aphra as the lover of Charles II, Nell Gwynne (the actress who would become his muse), and a double agent, William Scot - all at the same time. People hide each other in closets, it references itself, it references history - so much fun!

I discovered it (and the playwright) by accident when looking for some new contemporary audition material - it's not particularly monolgue-heavy, but it's a quick read and it's a whole lot of fun.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone else might love this. Just not my cup of tea.

[Angelique · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would really have to see it performed, but didn't find it particularly funny or brilliant on the page...that's not to say it's neither!

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

1m/2w (doubling) -- I think it could be done with a full cast of 7 too.