Plenty

By David Hare

Book Overview

After opening to sometimes bewildered reviews at the National Theatre in 1978, David Hare's wildly ambitious play Plenty established itself as a landmark modern classic in its 1982 New York production, which transferred to Broadway with Kate Nelligan playing Susan Traherne. Counterpointing the experiences of a fiercely intelligent Englishwoman flown into France as a secret agent during the Second World War with her life in the following twenty years, David Hare offers a unique view of post-war history, as well as making a powerful statement about changing values and the collapse of ideals embodied in a single life. 'The richest, certainly the most resonant experience of my theatrical year.' Clive Barnes, Sunday Times 'An explosive theatrical version of a world that was won and lost during and after World War II.' Frank Rich, New York Times Plenty was made into a film from a screenplay by David Hare with Meryl Streep, Charles Dance and John Gielgud. Plenty returned to The Public, New York, in October 2016 with Susan Traherne played by Rachel Weisz.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0571336132
• ISBN13: 9780571336135
• Release Date: March 2017
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.9" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Plenty is David Hare's masterwork.

Every scene of this play ends with Susan's making some sort of decision that may or may not have been the right thing to do. That Hare offers no judgment for the heroine of his play is a testament to the piece's maturity and multi-faceted nature. Susan is a character that we can and cannot relate to, that we do and do not sympathize with, and at the end of the piece we might have come to no conclusion on what sort of person she is. What we have learned, however, is how idealism in a post-war society is not only dangerous but absurd.