Labour of Love

(Paperback)

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Description

Labour MP David Lyons cares about modernisation and "electability"... his constituency agent, Jean Whittaker cares about principles and her community. Set away from the Westminster bubble in the party's traditional northern heartlands, this is a clash of philosophy, culture and class against the backdrop of the Labour Party over 25 years, as it moves from Kinnock through Blair into Corbyn... and beyond

This razor-sharp political comedy from James Graham was produced by Michael Grandage Company and Headlong and received its world Premiere at the Nol Coward Theatre in September 2017.

Reviews

It is in fact startlingly funny, peppered with one-liners and jokes... -- What's On Stage
In the last five years James Graham has established himself as British playwriting's prolific new wunderkind, and here he once again probes the thorny relationships that are the essence of political life. **** -- The Evening Standard
...diligently researched and informative...in its brightest moments this nearly three-hour show is an inventive hybrid of Much Ado About Nothing, Yes Minister and Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along. -- The Evening Standard
...unexpectedly proven to be box office gold. -- Time Out
At the age of 35, James Graham is currently Britain's busiest playwright. With his new play Labour of Love, he continues to stake his claim to be one of its very best. -- What's On Stage
And what makes this such a good and gripping piece of theatre is that it doesnt preach us sermons about press ethics but leaves us to draw our own conclusions ...It strikes me as a first-rate play...**** * Ink review, Guardian *
Graham is so good at this kind of thing, mining recent political and social history to create compelling theatre...**** * Ink review, The Stage *
What's striking is just how coherent this up-to-the-minute response is. **** -- The Telegraph

Author Bio

James Grahams plays include: This House (National Theatre and West End- Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award nominated for Best Play), Ink (Almeida Theatre), Monster Raving Loony (Theatre Royal Plymouth and Soho Theatre), The Vote broadcast live onto television on the night of the general election 2015 (Donmar Warehouse), Privacy (Donmar Warehouse and Public Theater New York), The Angry Brigade (Theatre Royal Plymouth and Bush Theatre) and the book for the Finding Neverland musical on Broadway. As Writer in Residence at the Finborough Theatre his plays include Edens Empire winner of the Catherine Johnson Best Play Award The Man, and Sons of York. Writing for TV includes: Coalition (Channel 4), Prisoners Wives (BBC1) and Caught In a Trap (ITV1). Writing for film includes: X Plus Y. He is currently working on Gypsy Boy for BBC Films, and a film adaptation of 1984.