The Bomb: A Partial History

(Paperback)

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THE BOMB A Partial History is a season of plays from leading contemporary dramatists, charting the political history of the Nuclear Bomb and its proliferation from 1940 to the present day. FIRST BLAST (1940 1992) features plays by John Donnelly, Elena Gremina, Amit Gupta, Zinnie Harris & Ron Hutchinson. It is the first year of World War II, and in Whitehall two migr Jewish scientists are waiting for a meeting to get the British establishment to take their nuclear research seriously. The following plays then trace the history of the Labour party wrestling with the decision to build the Atomic Bomb, the Cuban missile crisis from a Russian perspective, Chinas war with India and the subsequent development of Indias bomb, the break-up of the Soviet Union and the unilateral disarmament of Ukraine. SECOND BLAST (1992 2012) features plays by Lee Blessing, Ryan Craig, David Greig, Zinnie Harris, Diana Son & Colin Teevan. A contemporary take on the non-proliferation debate looking at Israel and Irans nuclear capability, the 'axis of evil' speech and its affect on North Korea, the U.K.s continuing reliance on Trident in the post Cold War era, through to the current negotiations with Iran and weapons inspections there.

Reviews

An entertaining, provoking dossier, with admirable nuance and real purpose 4 stars Time Out Bold and political a probing account of the history of nuclear weapons - and their future... a timely attempt to catalyse debate about a subject too often neglected 4 stars Evening Standard The Bomb can only be reviewed as an event. And what an event. Only the Tricycle - the last bastion of powerful political theatre in the UK - could present a five-hour marathon on the development and deployment of the nuclear bomb. And only the Tricycle could make those five hours fly an exercise in creating simple, entertaining and crucial polemical theatre. The Stage A characteristically ambitious and penetrating collection of short plays there isnt a complete dud among them, and the best pieces are superb examples of powerful one-act drama One leaves the theatre thrilled, chilled and deeply fearful about what the future may hold. 4 stars The Telegraph An astonishing achievement that puts the nuclear issue back at the centre of public debate The Tricycle has once again started a debate that our politicians would prefer to suppress. Guardian A vivid, serious examination of one of the most pressing issues of our time. Financial Times Like a highly trained rapid response unit, Nicolas Kents Tricycle Theatre again proves itself adept at seizing the moment with its latest big event the Tricycle once again powerfully dramatises the need to understand our history in order to understand ourselves. Metro Nothings funnier, or more frightening, than the concept of nations entitled to own nuclear weapons on the condition they dont detonate them. Independent One leaves the theatre thrilled, chilled and deeply fearful about what the future may hold. Daily Telegraph
An entertaining, provoking dossier, with admirable nuance and real purpose 4 stars Time Out Bold and political a probing account of the history of nuclear weapons - and their future... a timely attempt to catalyse debate about a subject too often neglected 4 stars Evening Standard The Bomb can only be reviewed as an event. And what an event. Only the Tricycle - the last bastion of powerful political theatre in the UK - could present a five-hour marathon on the development and deployment of the nuclear bomb. And only the Tricycle could make those five hours fly an exercise in creating simple, entertaining and crucial polemical theatre. The Stage A characteristically ambitious and penetrating collection of short plays there isnt a complete dud among them, and the best pieces are superb examples of powerful one-act drama One leaves the theatre thrilled, chilled and deeply fearful about what the future may hold. 4 stars The Telegraph An astonishing achievement that puts the nuclear issue back at the centre of public debate The Tricycle has once again started a debate that our politicians would prefer to suppress. Guardian A vivid, serious examination of one of the most pressing issues of our time. Financial Times Like a highly trained rapid response unit, Nicolas Kents Tricycle Theatre again proves itself adept at seizing the moment with its latest big event the Tricycle once again powerfully dramatises the need to understand our history in order to understand ourselves. Metro Nothings funnier, or more frightening, than the concept of nations entitled to own nuclear weapons on the condition they dont detonate them. Independent One leaves the theatre thrilled, chilled and deeply fearful about what the future may hold. Daily Telegraph

Author Bio

The line up of authors for this project are second to none and include prize winning British and American playwrights. Many of the playwrights featured also wrote plays for the Great Game Afghanistan cycle of plays and have been called back to be inspired by the Nuclear Bomb.