Plays One: Dark River and After October

by Rodney Ackland

I ncludes the plays The Dark River and After October

Rodney Ackland is belatedly acknowledged as a master of the British stage, now captivating new audiences. In The Dark River , set in the late thirties, the flamboyant characters are cocooned in a Thames backwater ignoring the turbulent events of a politically unstable Europe.

After October introduces us to Clive, a young playwright struggling to make ends meet, find love and complete his masterpiece. Not easy whilst being hounded by bailiffs and a feckless family.

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only discovered the plays of Rodney Ackland in the course of research on an actor who had played in one of his works, but I am very happy I did. Ackland reminds me a great deal of Noel Coward--not so much in the wit and surface gaiety of so much of Coward's work, but in his subtle observations and revelations of the inner lives of English folk. One of these two plays, "The Dark River," is described in a critical blurb as "perhaps the one great play of the past half century in English." That's a strong statement, one I'm prepared neither to dispute nor confirm. It's an especially strong statement for such a subtle work. But both it and its companion piece here, "After October," are the works of a very fine artist. I am astonished that his work is not better known.