Mouthpiece

by Kieran Hurley

Salisbury Crags. Twilight. A woman takes a step forward into the air. A teenage boy pulls her back. Two lives are changed forever.

Libby whiles away her days in New Town cafes and still calls herself a writer - but she's not put pen to page for years. Declan is a talented young artist struggling with a volatile home life. As they form an uneasy friendship, complicated by class and culture, Libby spots an opportunity to put herself back on track, and really make a difference.

She needs Declan's story. In all its messy, painful detail.

But does she have the right to it?

When does poverty portrayal become poverty porn?

[Playscript]

Genres: Plays

80 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2018

About the author

Kieran Hurley is an award-winning writer, performer and theatre maker based in Glasgow. His theatre work includes The Enemy (National Theatre of Scotland), Mouthpiece (Soho Theatre & Traverse Theatre), Square Go (Paines Plough), A Six-Inch Layer of Topsoil and the Fact it Rains (Perth Theatre), Heads Up (Show And Tell), An Injury (Ovalhouse Theatre), Rantin (National Theatre of Scotland), Beats (Show and Tell & Soho Theatre), Chalk Farm (ThickSkin), Hitch. His film work includes Beats (Sixteen Films/Wild Bunch/Altitude/BFI/Creative Scotland) and radio includes Edinburgh (BBC Radio 4).

Reviews

[Rachel Baldie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would kill to see a production of this

[Amo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure what to think… went through a lot of different emotions. Very meta. Hm… I wonder if the authors strategy works out like that, because doesnt he somehow confirm his own criticism on the end? Depends on what context the play is performed in i guess. What ive been wondering the whole time while reading: if the character distribution were different, a workingclass girl and a middle aged author, ohh ohh ohh that would be more difficult, wouldntt? How come Hurley chose the other constellation and what does that say about our reading experience, would we judge the other one more, probably yes.

[Tracey Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Playscript of a show that stormed the Edinburgh Fringe: powerful, provocative text about who owns stories.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my Uni theatre module.

[Konstanze]

uni read

[Nicola Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this because I had to perform it for an exam. It’s a good book if you enjoy Scottish dramas and/or if you are into playwrights✨
🌶️2/5