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The Unreturning
A Northern British coastal town. Three young men are coming home from war.
Their stories, set at different times over a hundred years, are beautifully interwoven in Anna Jordan's The Unreturning, a play that explores the profound effect that war has on young people's lives, and asks – what does coming home really mean? What is home? And when experience has shattered you into a million pieces, will home help to put you together again, or treat you as an ugly truth it does not want to confront?
The Unreturning was premiered at Theatre Royal Plymouth in September 2018, in a co-production between Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth, before touring the UK.
Their stories, set at different times over a hundred years, are beautifully interwoven in Anna Jordan's The Unreturning, a play that explores the profound effect that war has on young people's lives, and asks – what does coming home really mean? What is home? And when experience has shattered you into a million pieces, will home help to put you together again, or treat you as an ugly truth it does not want to confront?
The Unreturning was premiered at Theatre Royal Plymouth in September 2018, in a co-production between Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth, before touring the UK.
- GenresPlays
105 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 20, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 4, 2021
2.5, rounded up.
Although this might play well, it is very disjointed and hard to follow as a reading experience. The three interspersed timelines take some getting used to, and had I not read the synopsis prior to diving in, I would have been even more lost. While many of the individual scenes work and are effective, those are offset by the long, poetic monologue passages given as direct address to the audience, many of which I found hard to parse and make any sense of - which unfortunately also marred the ending. Plus, I just don't really 'like' war-centered writing.
Although this might play well, it is very disjointed and hard to follow as a reading experience. The three interspersed timelines take some getting used to, and had I not read the synopsis prior to diving in, I would have been even more lost. While many of the individual scenes work and are effective, those are offset by the long, poetic monologue passages given as direct address to the audience, many of which I found hard to parse and make any sense of - which unfortunately also marred the ending. Plus, I just don't really 'like' war-centered writing.
June 20, 2019
I really, really enjoyed the play. It took me a while to get into it, to see how the characters fit together. However, the physicality and interconnection of the characters are definitely built for stage and performance. I'm sad I missed the opportunity of seeing it live.
May 24, 2020
Extraordinary 💜🖤
February 11, 2024
Suchhhhh a good play! So gripping
September 29, 2024
Phenomenal writing and the way it deals with the duality of hope and despair in the subject of veteran returning home is truly devastating, I’d love to see this performed live!
April 22, 2025
ugh Anna Jordan
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews