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The Herd
Acclaimed actor Rory Kinnear's debut play is a witty and heartfelt look at a family falling apart – and pulling together – when life doesn’t turn out quite the way they imagined.
It's Andy Griffith's twenty-first birthday. Not that he's counting. But his mother Carol is. Counting the minutes until he arrives, counting the unexpected guests, counting the times that something like this has happened before.
Rory Kinnear is an actor and playwright. He has played Hamlet and Iago at the National Theatre, Angelo in Measure for Measure at the Almeida, and Bolingbroke in Richard II for the BBC. The Herd is his first play.
It's Andy Griffith's twenty-first birthday. Not that he's counting. But his mother Carol is. Counting the minutes until he arrives, counting the unexpected guests, counting the times that something like this has happened before.
Rory Kinnear is an actor and playwright. He has played Hamlet and Iago at the National Theatre, Angelo in Measure for Measure at the Almeida, and Bolingbroke in Richard II for the BBC. The Herd is his first play.
105 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 26, 2013
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About the author
Rory Kinnear
31 books9 followersRory Michael Kinnear is an English actor and playwright who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 18, 2019
Actor / director Rory Kinnear makes an admirable debut as a playwright with this family-dynamic drama (somewhat laced with humor).
Parents (one estranged), one child grown (with boyfriend), and grandparents are joined together on the occasion of a birthday for another grandchild... who we do not see during the course of the play. He is being cared for elsewhere (his disability is extreme) while those anticipating his return are suddenly facing pain from the past.
For the most part here, 'character is plot'. Being an actor himself (and a good one), Kinnear has a clear advantage when it comes to writing good roles for actors. Each individual is given equal time when it comes to moments to shine - and stating his / her case. The play also benefits from a number of concise two-character scenes.
What rises above everything else, however, is the way Kinnear captures (through the dialogue) the experience of constant care being given over a 20-year period... and the riot of feelings - and the intense need for strength - that accompany that.
(At times, some of what's on the page seems a bit too ordinary - nevertheless, my rating could possibly easily rise by way of seeing an actual performance.)
Parents (one estranged), one child grown (with boyfriend), and grandparents are joined together on the occasion of a birthday for another grandchild... who we do not see during the course of the play. He is being cared for elsewhere (his disability is extreme) while those anticipating his return are suddenly facing pain from the past.
For the most part here, 'character is plot'. Being an actor himself (and a good one), Kinnear has a clear advantage when it comes to writing good roles for actors. Each individual is given equal time when it comes to moments to shine - and stating his / her case. The play also benefits from a number of concise two-character scenes.
What rises above everything else, however, is the way Kinnear captures (through the dialogue) the experience of constant care being given over a 20-year period... and the riot of feelings - and the intense need for strength - that accompany that.
(At times, some of what's on the page seems a bit too ordinary - nevertheless, my rating could possibly easily rise by way of seeing an actual performance.)
November 30, 2024
Great family drama with fantastic 2 person scenes and good parts for older actors too.
May 14, 2018
Charming Family Drama with great lines and a good heart.
June 14, 2022
A play I'd never heard of before, other than on the spec I teach. A tense kitchen sink domestic drama with a sad end that stayed with me for days.
September 11, 2015
This is a really good play about a family who has had to deal with a son with a condition that requires constant care. This play has brought up really interesting moral questions (like is it okay or acceptable to say that it would be better for everyone if the son died). I kind of missed a climax from the story, and the twist in it was really predictable.
July 8, 2014
My god, that's a brutal ending. Even knowing it before I began.
I would have hated seeing this onstage and sitting there shell-shocked when the lights come up.
I would have hated seeing this onstage and sitting there shell-shocked when the lights come up.
October 2, 2015
The intensity of a lifetime is squished into 104 pages..... This playwright captures the pain and intensity of life, of marriage, relationships, disabilities, loss, aging.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews