Subtitled'A Gay Fantasia on National Themes',Angels in America is Tony Kushner's epic,Pulitzer Award-winning two-part drama of homosexuality and the AIDS epidemic in 1980's America.
First performed in the UK at the National Theatre in 1992,Angels in America was revived at the National Theatre in 2017 with an all-star cast including Andrew Garfield playing Prior Walter,Denise Gough playing Harper Pitt,Nathan Lane playing Roy Cohn,James McArdle playing Louis Ironson and Rusell Tovey playing Joe Pitt.
Steeped in metaphor and allegory Angels in America is a landmark American drama considered to be one of the most important works of twentieth-century drama. It has become one of the most studied American plays,with over 30,000 copies of both parts sold in the UK alone and has been filmed for television by Mike Nichols,with Al Pacino,Meryl Streep - and Emma Thompson as the eponymous Angel.
Publisher: Nick Hern BooksISBN: 9781848426313Number of pages: 352Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'The finest drama of our time,speaking to us of an entire era of life and death as no other play within memory. In its sweep and imagination,it defines the collapse of a moral universe during the Reagan years in an unforgettable way,transcending its specific time in the richness of its portrait of an America Lost,perhaps to be regained... It's a pretty funny play,too. How we still need it! It ranks as nothing less than one of the greatest plays of the twentieth century'
'A true theatrical epic... Kushner's writing dazzles. Its sheer imaginative reach can be exhilarating and it's studded with devilish humour. Instead of appearing dated,it seems pointedly topical in its scrutiny of intolerance,immigration,religious values and national ideals'
'A start-to-finish sensation... the core themes,about the price paid for denial,and the cost of change and acceptance,the end-times sense of foreboding many feel about the state of the planet too,still pulse with urgency; the emotions sear afresh'
'The scope and vision are enough to make you gasp and cheer... seeing it now is like a vigorously entertaining history lesson. It is a reminder of just how terrifying and tragic the times were,of all the people who died terribly and needlessly,but also a vibrant hymn to the ragged soul of humanity itself,in all its messy,complicated imperfection... Kushner's achievement is to make his characters so compelling that the massive themes he pins around them - the relationship between man and God,the power of the numinous,the root of good and moral in a shifting,dangerous world,the role of progress and change - sit comfortably alongside the unfolding of their stories'
'Epic in every conceivable sense of the word... though valuable as an evocative history play,Kushner's work is still a powerful call to arms. The challenges of progress,immigration and integration,prejudice,global warming,and religious and national identity are still urgent topics,here often brilliantly and waspishly articulated... a monumental achievement'
'Big on ideas,ambition and scope... it liberatingly plays with form: conventional scenes of domestic realism defiantly throw off those shackles with abandon to enter hallucinatory realms of fantasy,mystery and mysticism... where once it might have been stating radical positions,Angels in America now plays like a raw,truthful documentary of where we've come from,and serves as a necessary reminder of those bleak times before AIDS became a treatable disease'
'Both a document of the Aids crisis and an enduringly relevant commentary on US politics... what really hits one is the expansiveness of Kushner's imagination and the rich opportunities he creates for actors'
'Probably the great American play of the late 20th century'
'One of the greatest achievements in American theatre during the twentieth century... epic in every sense of the word... a once-in-a-lifetime experience that should not be missed'
'An astonishing piece of theatre,madly inventive and driven by deep compassion... the portrait of a fractured America feels no less resonant today; the inquiry into where true progress lies feels no less urgent... the play's themes emerge through a kaleidoscope of richly varied characters,all wrestling with their own angels and demons'
'This revival confirms its place in the pantheon of dramas that stretch toward the heavens. In the case of Angels in America,the sky is not the limit,and no work of theater since has quite matched its reach... (has) a boundless imagination and a moral rage that roam,at length and at large,where few playwrights have dared to tread... the climate of fear and anger Mr. Kushner summoned feels,if anything,even more pervasive today than it did when Angels first opened... Mr. Kushner's words (have) a Shavian wit and ferocity rooted in the most visceral of feelings... the heroes of Angels are human. This still-singular play fans their anger,confusion and hopefulness into a flame of genuine divinity'
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