Bull

by Mike Bartlett

Two jobs. Three candidates. This would be a really bad time to have a stain on your shirt...

A savage, acid-tongued new play by Mike Bartlett, one of the UK's most exciting and inventive young writers, and the author of the off-Broadway smash hit Cock . Razor sharp and blackly comic, Bull is a savage and insightful play about office politics or playground bullying, depending which side you're on. Genuinely thrilling, daring and inventive, acclaimed playwright Bartlett probes the dark side of the modern workplace.

Bull enjoyed its US premiere in spring 2013 at 59E59 Theaters's "Brits Off-Broadway" festival.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Contemporary

64 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2013

About the author

Michael Bartlett is a British playwright. Mike Bartlett was born on 7 October 1980 in Abingdon, Oxford, England. He attended Abingdon School, then studied English and Theatre Studies at the University of Leeds. In October 2013, Mike won Best New Play at The National Theatre Awards for his play Bull, beating plays from both Alan Ayckbourn and Tom Wells.

(source)

Reviews

[Tanishia Gearing · Rating 4 out of 5]

So mean

[Charlie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really intriguing play. The dramatic situation is ridiculously simple with very little plot whatsoever, perhaps even a bit too simplistic, but the rhythm of the dialogue is satisfying, kind of coming in waves. It's very similar to his play Cock, stylistically.

Although the characters are vivid, they're not necessarily believable. A certain amount of dramatic condensing is to be expected, but one person as cruel as Isobel is perhaps believeable, where two stretches credulity. This is not a casually cruel sales environment, like Glengarry Glenn Ross. It's revelling in playground sadism, ripping the wings off a beetle.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Three people interacting before a meeting where one of them will be laid off. I do not know how realistic this play is to how a workplace could actually look in this situation, but I don’t think that theatre needs to be realistic. Taking the need to find the realism out of this piece, I don’t think there is anything super redeeming here, but then again I don’t think theatre needs to be redemptive.
Isobel’s monologues at the end are interesting. The whole play is interesting. It’s mean for sure. A lot of mean with very little explanation. Even in Isobel’s monologues it doesn’t feel like there is reason for the meanness, but I think that is the point of the play honestly. Fun to spend an hour reading the truly mean words these people had to say to one another.

Edit:
I am amending my review of this play slightly to note that I did not consider enough how this play would be performed. This might be a very interesting, cut-throat play to sit in the audience for. It is also important to note that this office place nightmare is happening during the Great Recession in 2009ish and through that context it is so much easier to empathize with these cutthroat characters. If they lose this job, they won’t get another one.

[Tuti · Rating 3 out of 5]

not my favourite play by mike bartlett… it’s rather one fast paced scene of bullying at the workplace than a play. and it having no twist is just… no twist?
but maybe it works better on stage than read if the production is great.

[Patrick Neylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mike Bartlett is a good playwright – King Charles III was brilliant; Love Love Love adequate – but Bull is a nasty little play. It's meant to be, of course, and the dialogue is pacy and well-written, but its world view is juvenile and the story arc flat.

I'm sure there are companies where such brutal appraisals do happen, where staff are not just immoral but sadistic, and where bosses openly reward back-stabbing and deceit. But the degree to which Isobel and Tony revel in their cruelty, and to which Thomas is pathetically inadequate, stretches credulity. Thomas could never have been hired by such a company in the first place.

I might expect such a simplistic view of business from a 14-year old who's just developed a social conscience and has discovered that capitalism, like, really evil dude, but I can imagine the teacher smiling condescendingly at such naivete.

And the twist? There is no twist. It grinds remorselessly, savagely onwards towards its conclusion, which was signalled on page 1.

[Simon Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this in one sitting, and that's really not an achievement when you get down to reading this script cause it's SO WELL PACED. My friend had been talking about this one for a while and today I had a spare hour so I took the dive, I was not disappointed.

The story is simple, three people - two jobs. The way it is told is actually quite simple too, and yet I was completely gripped and couldn't stop thinking about staging and who I'd want to see play the parts. It's all in the pacing, and I mean that. Not a word is wasted, everything is either attack or defense or set up for a trap. It's so efficiently written and that makes reading never feel dull, I can only imagine what watching would be like.

I will say that the pacing maybe made the story feel very fast and a little un-fleshed out, but when I look at the script I can't really find a reason for making it longer. It almost adds to a kinda universal feeling. The characters aren't really developed characters, but that's part of the efficiency which the whole piece gives off.

Cut-throat, sharp and fast. Get it read.

[Andrew Pollard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, sharp, pretty horrible, job’s a good’un. The dialogue is far better rendered than the characters, who are all stretched a little too far in their respective directions to really ring true, or to allow the play the nuance it seems to be shooting for.

Is this bullying or is it just the cutthroat world of sales and market capitalism? Well, it's obviously both, but also extra obviously bullying. And, once you've gathered that, it essentially becomes an exhibition of scripting and performance. I'm sure a good cast could make this really gripping, but it isn't much of a thinker

[Emilia Robson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this play! Lovely and short and snappy, with some fantastic characters and a sense of tragicomedy throughout which was hugely effective. I particularly enjoyed the domestic atmosphere of the play - essentially it’s just three people not wanting to be fired from a job, with one of them clearly pulling the short straw. Also, the way Isobel and Tony are written is so great; they are compete arseholes to Thomas (particularly Isobel) and it’s so tragically brilliant. This play is fantastically written (Mike Bartlett is fabulous) and I loved it!

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most compelling and electifying plays I have read in a long time, the dialogue is so spot on and it is so incredibly sensitively written. Bull is an hour of straight sadistic, precisely aimed manipulation and the audience are forced to watch on as one man is completely broken down. The characters are so deliciously evil, it was just delightfully excruciating to consume.

[Jessica Ogram · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved Isobel’s monologue was it’s one I use for my auditions but other then that I didn’t like it. I didn’t connect with the story I or characters, other than feeling sorry for Thomas. I didn’t know what was happening until Carter or whoever it was entered but even then I was lost. Maybe the version I had wasn’t the finished product as it just didn’t seem right.

[Rumman Sikdar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly well paced, a wonderfully horrible hour where my dislike for the antagonists grew with every page. I've worked in sales environments not too far away from the toxicity Bartlett introduces us too

[laura nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

the critics call this an 'excrutiatingly uncomfortable 55 minutes' and by god are they right. capitalistic survival of the fittest - I read it in its entirety while crucifying myself on a stair master, and I can't think of a more fitting place to have done so.

[Aleigha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still searching for the "why"...

[Sufiyaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

jeeez so brutal

[Kiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant brilliant brilliaaaaant ✨✨✨ super clever, very funny, gripping, great character creation, Isobel especially kills me. One of the best modern plays I’ve read.

[Guy Conroy-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, but very mean

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Prarthana Kudtarkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most discomfort I've felt in a while. Wonderful piece of writing.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it for class and enjoyed it.
All the characters are awful

[sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

you can only survive capitalism if you're a raging c*nt

[Ruby Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

definitely some good monologues for my drama a level

[em · Rating 3 out of 5]

very fast paced. very mean.

[Memph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play will always hold a special place in my heart.

[Nicholas Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brutal.

[hebiscuit]

So so good! Loved rereading this, characters are so fierce and awful.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a weird fucking play. Meh. 3 stars.

[Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

یکی از بی‌رحمانه‌ترین موقعیت‌هایی بود که تاکنون در یک نمایشنامه خوانده‌ام
مصداق دقیق با پنبه سر بریدن
شخصیت ایزابل یک هیولای واقعی بود

[kayla michelle pisano ✮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a grower. I would like to see it on stage.

[Pandaleopard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utter fucking rage bait

[jazzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

every play written post-2000 is just a long conversation.