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The Drowned World
Winner of the George Devine Award for 2002, published to tie in with the opening at the Traverse Theatre at the Edinburgh Festival
And that is why we can't have these/Fatally radiant creatures/Walking round the place/Reminding us how clumsy/And mean-spirited/And graceless/And cowardly/And shapeless/And flabby and foul we all are.
In a drowned world - how far will you go to save your own skin? In this vicious tale of love, revolt and beauty, Gary Owen presents a vision of a world divided between citizens and non-citizens, where friends betray one another and where surfaces matter more than love or kinship."A blazing new talent" Guardian
"A blast of brilliant theatrical writing straight from the heart of post-modern Wales" Scotsman
And that is why we can't have these/Fatally radiant creatures/Walking round the place/Reminding us how clumsy/And mean-spirited/And graceless/And cowardly/And shapeless/And flabby and foul we all are.
In a drowned world - how far will you go to save your own skin? In this vicious tale of love, revolt and beauty, Gary Owen presents a vision of a world divided between citizens and non-citizens, where friends betray one another and where surfaces matter more than love or kinship."A blazing new talent" Guardian
"A blast of brilliant theatrical writing straight from the heart of post-modern Wales" Scotsman
- GenresPlays
92 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2002
19 people want to read
About the author
Gary Owen
63 books15 followersGary Owen is a Welsh playwright and screenwriter. His recent plays include Violence and Son which had its premiere at the Royal Court in June 2015, and Iphigenia in Splott for which he won the James Tait Black Prize for Drama.
His other works include Love Steals Us From Loneliness, Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco, The Shadow of a Boy, (winner of Meyer Whitworth and George Devine awards), The Drowned World (winner of Fringe First and Pearson Best Play awards), Ghost City, Cancer Time, SK8, Big Hopes, In the Pipeline, Blackthorn, Mary Twice, Amgen:Broken, Bulletproof, and Free Folk. His adaptations include Spring Awakening and Ring Ring, a new version of La Ronde, for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; and Dickens' A Christmas Carol for Sherman Cymru. He is a Creative Associate at Watford Palace Theatre, where his plays We That Are Left, Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian, and Perfect Match have been produced, and Associate Artist at Sherman Cymru. Gary also co-created and co-wrote two seasons of Baker Boys, an original series for BBC Wales. Work in 2016 includes Jeramee, Hartleby and Oooglemore, a play for toddlers at the Unicorn Theatre, to be directed by Tim Crouch; and Mrs Reynolds a’r Cena Bach, a Welsh adaptation of Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian for Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru.
His other works include Love Steals Us From Loneliness, Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco, The Shadow of a Boy, (winner of Meyer Whitworth and George Devine awards), The Drowned World (winner of Fringe First and Pearson Best Play awards), Ghost City, Cancer Time, SK8, Big Hopes, In the Pipeline, Blackthorn, Mary Twice, Amgen:Broken, Bulletproof, and Free Folk. His adaptations include Spring Awakening and Ring Ring, a new version of La Ronde, for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; and Dickens' A Christmas Carol for Sherman Cymru. He is a Creative Associate at Watford Palace Theatre, where his plays We That Are Left, Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian, and Perfect Match have been produced, and Associate Artist at Sherman Cymru. Gary also co-created and co-wrote two seasons of Baker Boys, an original series for BBC Wales. Work in 2016 includes Jeramee, Hartleby and Oooglemore, a play for toddlers at the Unicorn Theatre, to be directed by Tim Crouch; and Mrs Reynolds a’r Cena Bach, a Welsh adaptation of Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian for Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 1, 2025
So tricky to rate! For me this was more like poetry - I found it hard to imagine how it would translate as a play. But as poetry it is written so beautifully. I found myself easily lost in the strange story and fable.
Some parts went a little bit away with the fairy’s, but overall I liked the concept and the ambiguity of it. Clever.
Some parts went a little bit away with the fairy’s, but overall I liked the concept and the ambiguity of it. Clever.
June 1, 2008
The world has turned upside down. Ugly is in and beauty is a criminal offence.
The author examines the desire for beauty versus the need to belong. One man's grasping for that elusive beauty turns the very thing he yearns for into a female version of himself. The language is poetic and evocative. The themes may be dealt with in an overly simplisic manner but I still enjoyed this piece.
The author examines the desire for beauty versus the need to belong. One man's grasping for that elusive beauty turns the very thing he yearns for into a female version of himself. The language is poetic and evocative. The themes may be dealt with in an overly simplisic manner but I still enjoyed this piece.
April 20, 2011
This play absolutely took my breath away. Shocking and yet at the same time so real. A look into human nature and how far people will go to get what they want.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews