Handbag

by Mark Ravenhill

"In Shopping and Fucking, Mark Ravenhill made theatre relevant to the Thatcher generation. Now he's put videos and Net-surfing in Faust. And it's no less stunning" (Guardian)



Twenty-eight years before The Importance of Being Earnest, a young woman gives birth to a baby boy. Is it an accident when Nanny places him in a handbag and her unpublished novel into the pram? In 1998 a new baby is stolen and an academic discovers an unpublished novel of more than usual revolting sentimentality. From Victorian wet nurses to 90s sperm banks, Mark Ravenhill's play examines the role of parenting in an age of diverse sexualities, biological engineering and Tinky Winky's handbag."There are few stage authors writing more interestingly than Mark Ravenhill . . . He is - it is now yet more evident - a searing, intelligent, disturbing sociologist with a talent for satirical dialogue and a flair for sexual sensationalism" (Financial Times)

Genres: Plays, Theatre

88 pages, Paperback

First published December 3, 1998

About the author

Mark Ravenhill (born 7 June 1966) is an English playwright, actor and journalist.

His plays include Shopping and Fucking (first performed in 1996), Some Explicit Polaroids (1999) and Mother Clap's Molly House (2001). He made his acting debut in his monologue Product, at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He often writes for the arts section of The Guardian. He is Associate Director of London's Little Opera House at The King's Head Theatre.

Reviews

[Samuel Luther · Rating 3 out of 5]

too many characters, too messy. kind of is the point to be messy, but i found it to the point of being hard to follow along. i think the central ideas i managed to get? but it wasn’t as enjoyable as his other plays.

[Michael A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

felt like the mcdonalds of plays but i love mcdonalds

[simple_journey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly confusing with random crossing timelines. A little surreal. Interesting commentary on the crippled state of human interaction and relationships when paired with sex, drugs, and abuse trauma.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Ravenhill's deconstruction of "The Importance of Being Earnest" takes on classism, sexism and homophobia with a bracing irreverence. The accident that inspires Wilde's play is counterpointed with two couples — one gay, one lesbian — whose efforts to co-parent a child are complicated by each couple's involvement with an inopportune pick up. It's not for the fainthearted, but it's well worth the effort to get past any initial squeamishness.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for my acting class. I'm doing a scene from it for my final this semester. It was certainly an intense read. Definitely going to go back a re-read it a few more times to get a better understanding because I feel like there were some things I missed the first time around