Edward Bond’s Dea – World Premiere

“To be sane or not to be sane, that is the question – and if not, then be mad and all that follows.”

In his new play Edward Bond takes from the Greek and Jacobean drama the fundamental classical problems of the family and war, to vividly picture our collapsing society.

The war is raging, Dea, a heroine, has committed a terrible act and has been exiled. When she meets someone from her past she is forcefully confronted by the broken society that drove her to commit her crimes

Edward Bond is internationally regarded as the UK’s greatest and most influential playwright. He is the author of some sixty plays, among them Saved (1965), the production of which was instrumental in the abolition of theatre censorship in the UK.

His other plays include The Pope’s Wedding (Royal Court Theatre, 1962), Early Morning (Royal Court, 1968), Lear (Royal Court, 1971), The Sea (Royal Court, 1973), The Fool (Royal Court, 1975), The Woman (National Theatre, 1978), Restoration (Royal Court, 1981) and The War Plays (RSC at the Barbican Pit, 1985). To this date, his plays have been produced in more than 60 countries. He has formed particular relationships with French theatre (which led to The Paris Pentad) and the Birmingham Theatre Company, Big Brum, for whom he has written ten plays.

Edward Bond on his new play:

“In the coming days we will be tested as never before. Our weapons are now so powerful we cannot win wars as we did in the past. The defeated will simply recover and press the button. The boundaries between countries and people are broken. We must learn to live together or it is certain we will die together. Like great societies of the past we have outgrown our situation in the world. We will be tested everyday, and it may come to seem every moment. The media are heard everywhere but their hubbub drowns the truth. Can drama show us our situation and what strengths we have to survive in it? If it cant, nothing can. We will be tested.”