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Plays 2: Mother Clap's Molly House / The Cut / Citizenship / Pool (No Water) / Product
Mark Ravenhill has established himself as one of the most important playwrights to emerge from the 1990s. Provocative, dark, witty and satirical, his plays consistently probe the debased culture of our times.
This second volume of plays brings together five plays from 2001-07. It includes Mother Clap's Molly House , a black comedy and celebration of human sexuality that premiered at the National Theatre in 2001; Citizenship , a bitter-sweet comedy about growing up that was developed by the National Theatre's Shell Connections programme in 2005; The Cut , a disturbing political fable that opened at the Donmar Warehouse in 2006; Product , Ravenhill's one man satire on the media industry that since its premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2005, has been produced around the world, and Pool (no water) , a shocking examination of the fragility of friendship and the jealousy and resentment inspired by success.
The volume features an introduction by the author and a chronology of his work.
This second volume of plays brings together five plays from 2001-07. It includes Mother Clap's Molly House , a black comedy and celebration of human sexuality that premiered at the National Theatre in 2001; Citizenship , a bitter-sweet comedy about growing up that was developed by the National Theatre's Shell Connections programme in 2005; The Cut , a disturbing political fable that opened at the Donmar Warehouse in 2006; Product , Ravenhill's one man satire on the media industry that since its premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2005, has been produced around the world, and Pool (no water) , a shocking examination of the fragility of friendship and the jealousy and resentment inspired by success.
The volume features an introduction by the author and a chronology of his work.
336 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2008
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About the author
Mark Ravenhill
63 books41 followersMark 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 3, 2021
Mother Clap's Molly House - 4.5 stars.
The best play in the collection, technically speaking. It's an epic gay play, reminiscent of Tony Kushner's Theatre of the Fabulous. It also plays around with time, doubling actors in different time periods to provide another context to interpret them. I'm generally a fan of this technique, in both Caryl Churchill's Cloud 9 and Ella Hickson's Oil it works really well—and this is no exception.
Product - 2 stars.
A dull monologue.
The Cut - 3.5 stars.
A Pinteresque affair. Feels remarkably similar to The Hot House (by Pinter). There's lots of subtext, authority, changes in power dynamic, and unexplained details.
Citizenship - 4 stars.
Social realism meets sexual politics. Probably the most enjoyable play in the collection. I do have a tendancy to enjoy social realism more than other genres though.
pool (no water) - 2 stars.
Perhaps a bit too grim for me. It's trying for dark and brutally honest and edgey, but for me it's just a ridiculously cynical tract on artistic exploitation.
The best play in the collection, technically speaking. It's an epic gay play, reminiscent of Tony Kushner's Theatre of the Fabulous. It also plays around with time, doubling actors in different time periods to provide another context to interpret them. I'm generally a fan of this technique, in both Caryl Churchill's Cloud 9 and Ella Hickson's Oil it works really well—and this is no exception.
Product - 2 stars.
A dull monologue.
The Cut - 3.5 stars.
A Pinteresque affair. Feels remarkably similar to The Hot House (by Pinter). There's lots of subtext, authority, changes in power dynamic, and unexplained details.
Citizenship - 4 stars.
Social realism meets sexual politics. Probably the most enjoyable play in the collection. I do have a tendancy to enjoy social realism more than other genres though.
pool (no water) - 2 stars.
Perhaps a bit too grim for me. It's trying for dark and brutally honest and edgey, but for me it's just a ridiculously cynical tract on artistic exploitation.
October 21, 2018
Mother Clap's Molly House -- 3/5
Product -- 5/5
The Cut -- 4/5
Citizenship -- 2.5/5
pool (no water) -- DNF
Product -- 5/5
The Cut -- 4/5
Citizenship -- 2.5/5
pool (no water) -- DNF
July 12, 2023
It was ok, certainly excellent in places. Overall, suffered from being read right after a very good compilation.
January 13, 2012
I've only read pool (no water) from this selection (yes it should all be in lowercase) but I was absolutely blown away. I performed an edited version of Ravenhill's play for my GCSE Drama exam piece in 2010, but my teacher had already cut the play down to 20 minutes for us, probably due to the somewhat excessive use of the C-word in it (I think my mother would have had a heart attack if she'd heard me say that word when she came to see it)!
As Ravenhill has not assigned lines to particular characters, you could easily have 4 or more people performing in this play, and the flexibility of it was astounding. Now I've been able to read the full play I understand the context and the plot far more; the astounding story of a group of junkie women (and/or men) willing their seriously injured co-artist and friend to die for the benefit of their art has so many layers and twists, even though it is only a short play. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would recommend to anyone who enjoys absurdist/anti-illusionist/avante-garde theatre. Check out the YouTube clips of the original cast (Frantic Assembly) in their performance and rehearsal of this superb piece of work!
As Ravenhill has not assigned lines to particular characters, you could easily have 4 or more people performing in this play, and the flexibility of it was astounding. Now I've been able to read the full play I understand the context and the plot far more; the astounding story of a group of junkie women (and/or men) willing their seriously injured co-artist and friend to die for the benefit of their art has so many layers and twists, even though it is only a short play. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would recommend to anyone who enjoys absurdist/anti-illusionist/avante-garde theatre. Check out the YouTube clips of the original cast (Frantic Assembly) in their performance and rehearsal of this superb piece of work!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews