{"product_id":"the-designated-mourner-9781559363624","title":"The Designated Mourner","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"The play nicely combines Pinterian menace with caustic political commentary.\" -\u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Acerbic, elusive, poetic and chilling, the writing is demanding in a rarefied manner. Its implications are both affecting and disturbing.\" -\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In his exquisitely written dramatic lament for the decline of high culture. . . .  Shawn] offers a definition of the self that should rattle the defenses of intellectual snobs everywhere.\" -\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWriter and performer Wallace Shawn's landmark 1996 play features three characters--a respected poet, his daughter, and her English-professor husband--suspected of subversion in a world where culture has come under the control of the ruling oligarchy. Told through three interwoven monologues, the Orwellian political story is recounted alongside the visceral dissolution of a marriage. The play debuted at the Royal National Theatre in London, in a production directed by David Hare, who also directed the film version, starring Mike Nichols and Miranda Richardson. The play's subsequent New York premiere was staged in a long-abandoned men's club in lower Manhattan, directed by Shawn's longtime collaborator Andr  Gregory.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWallace Shawn\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eOur Late Night\u003c\/i\u003e (OBIE Award for Best Play), \u003ci\u003eMarie and Bruce\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAunt Dan and Lemon\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Fever\u003c\/i\u003e, and the screenplay for \u003ci\u003eMy Dinner with Andr \u003c\/i\u003e. His most recent play, \u003ci\u003eGrasses of a Thousand Colors\u003c\/i\u003e, premiered last year in London.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWallace Shawn is the author of \"Our Late Night\" (OBIE Award Best Play) \"Marie and Bruce\", \"Aunt Dan and Lemon\", \"The Designated Mourner\", \"The Fever\", among other plays, and the screenplay for \"My Dinner with André\". He has translated and adapted \"The Threepenny Opera\", \"The Master Builder\" and \"The Mandrake\".\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Theatre Communications Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50420123468050,"sku":"9781559363624","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_77254b56-c0bd-4be3-9790-7b760720706a.jpg?v=1729490286","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-designated-mourner-9781559363624","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}