Shocking and beautiful, a powerful play about the impact of a soldier's injury in a foreign conflict on his family back home.
Wounded in the war in Iraq, a young farmer-turned-soldier returns home with injuries that have extraordinary consequences. Lust, temptation, sibling rivalry and the pressures of the past combine with the struggle to maintain a rural existence.
Jonathan Lichtenstein's play The Pull of Negative Gravity was first staged at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, as part of the 2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It received a Fringe First Award.
'heartbreaking'
— Guardian
'lean, taut dialogue, gasp-inducing plot twists and spot-on characterisation... an uncomfortable yet absolutely essential piece of work'
— Fest Magazine
'There are hazards in any drama dealing with the aftermath of war, in this case the Iraq conflict as experienced by a farming family in Wales. But Lichtenstein's sensitive handling of his serious subject matter... gives this play a strong shape and an emotional honesty... It's a mark of Lichtenstein's eloquence that we are caught up in the action, sharing their devastation and desperation, as they confront the awfulness of the effects of brutal modern warfare'
— Independent
Edinburgh Fringe First Award
About the Author :
Jonathan Lichtenstein's previous work includes Station, seen at the Soho Theatre, London, in 2000 and two radio plays for BBC Radio 4. He heads up the Theatre Department at the University of Essex.
Review :
'Heartbreaking'
'Lean, taut dialogue, gasp-inducing plot twists and spot-on characterisation... an uncomfortable yet absolutely essential piece of work'
'There are hazards in any drama dealing with the aftermath of war, in this case the Iraq conflict as experienced by a farming family in Wales. But Lichtenstein's sensitive handling of his serious subject matter... gives this play a strong shape and an emotional honesty... It's a mark of Lichtenstein's eloquence that we are caught up in the action, sharing their devastation and desperation, as they confront the awfulness of the effects of brutal modern warfare'
