Contractions (2014)
Performances: Tuesday 21 to Saturday 25 January 2014, Prompt Corner
Contents
Introduction
“Emma. Come in. Sit down. How are you?"
Emma has started a new job. Her sales figures are excellent. Darren works there too, and they’ve had a bit of a thing.
She thinks she’s in love. Her manager thinks she’s in breach of contract.
In a succession of interviews between Emma and her manager, we enter a workplace in which everything seems recognisable, but little is; where the inherent messiness and unpredictability of human emotions are viewed by management as an inconvenient nuisance. In this otherwise streamlined, super-efficient structure, two employees falling in love could really upset the apple cart. But what do you do? It’s hard finding alternative employment these days with a blot on your record and no reference. Jobs like this don’t just grow on trees. Not these days. There are hundreds of applicants for every job.
Since its first production at the Royal Court in 2008, Mike Bartlett’s short play has rapidly become acknowledged as a modern classic. It’s taut, disturbing, extremely funny and has a huge deal to say about how we live and how we work in a world where the boundaries between private and public, personal and professional are blurring beyond recognition. You’ll never see work in quite the same way again.
Cast
- The Manager - Caroline Doyle
- Emma - Camilla Harding
Crew
Reviews
Some review quotes go here
Gallery
Reminiscences and Anecdotes
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See Also
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References
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