Apologia

by Alexi Kaye Campbell

A disastrous family reunion is the occasion for a sharp and perceptive look at what has happened to 60s idealists and their children. The follow-up to Alexi Kaye Campbell's award-winning debut play, The Pride.

Kristin Miller is an eminent and successful art historian. As a young mother she followed her politics and vocation, storming Parisian barricades and moving to Florence. Her birthday should be a time for celebration but, when her two sons deliver their versions of the past, everyone must confront the cost of Kristin’s commitment to her passions.

Apologia premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in June 2009.

'raw and very funny... confirms Campbell's standing as a fresh and sensitive voice' Evening Standard

'sharp, funny, wise and humane, Alexi Kaye Campbell is a writer to cherish' Telegraph

Genres: Plays

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2010

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

The current London revival of Campbell's 2009 play impelled me to read this, although I admired his breakthrough piece, The Pride, very much as well. The play seems a mite dated, which is more a factor of the whirlwind changes wrought in the past 8 years (and largely, the past 8 months), than any inherent deficiency. And if the mixed reviews it's garnered can be trusted, it plays as a bit schematic and 'programmed'; characters often appear as mouthpieces for various polemical opinions, rather than flesh-and-blood people. However, I was enormously entertained reading it - it is quite a witty piece of writing, and I would love to see it performed - although I couldn't help thinking Annette Bening would be the ideal choice to play the central mother figure, rather than Stockard Channing. I also found it fascinating that in the current production the two sons (who are very different) are played by the same actor, since they never share the stage at the same time - what a tour de force that would be for any actor.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading around the London theater scene in preparation for teaching the literature of drama in London in Fall, and this title came up. First performed in 2009, this play is both specific and universal, about ambition and loss, parenting and independence, identity and expectations. I am hoping to take my students to see the play with Stockard Channing in Fall.

[Ali Jimenez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for university and I didn’t have great expectations, but I like d it more than I imagined!!! It has something exotic and weird that really impressed me, actually I read it in less than 24 hours… I recommend it!!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DVlNx1Xje...

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING

[Carenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyable and would love to see it performed at some point

[Cara Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's crazy, I wasn't expecting to be so hooked to this but I literally finished it in less than 24 hours. My only complaint is that the way the lines are written can get a bit weird at times when the characters are meant to be talking over each other. Great play though.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

diverting but heavy handed