Vincent River

by Philip Ridley

Last December 17-year-old Davey saw something that he can't forget. Yesterday, 54-year-old Anita was forced to flee the flat she'd lived in all her adult life. They have never met. Yet both know, sooner or later, their paths will have to cross.

Genres: Plays, Fiction

72 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2000

Reviews

[Matthew Akers · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great play. Intense and tragic. Ended quickly and a little odd.

[Hannah Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gay man is brutally murdered in the late 90s/ early 00s. In the wake of his death, his mother and lover angrily meet for the first time, sparking debates about family, homophobia, and violence.

[Guilherme Antônio · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5/5

[Romeo Channer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ridley is so damn good. Chilling two-hander. Feels like a ghost story the way Anita and Davey are both haunted by Vince.

[Chuck O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two abused people suffer desperate grief as they mourn a common love. A commentary on the causalities that come when society demands obedience to sexual norms. Ridley takes a political theme, the violent intolerance towards sexual hunger outside of heteronormative marital sex, and crafts a visceral story. The shadow of middle age and the innocence of youth are both sacrificed. There are no happy endings or easy answers and that feels correct in a Puritanical world satisfied with what it defines "normal"; demonizing the different. Vincent River serves as the namesake of the aggrieved and metaphor for a passage too far to cross. Another sadly beautiful story from Philip Ridley.

[Chris Patrick Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really outstanding one act play. This was my first experience with Philip Ridley's work and it's made me eager to read more. A calculated play that delves into the particulars of it's inciting event in such an interesting and thought-provoking way, bound to leave you thinking on the drive home.