{"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\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Theatre Communications Group\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/21\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781559363624\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 65\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.40w x 0.20d","brand":"Wallace Shawn","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36659786186908,"sku":"9781559363624","price":12.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_3e7ba683-bf00-4821-b85a-b5ad0b9781bf.jpg?v=1603895468","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-designated-mourner-9781559363624","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}