The Pitchfork Disney

by Philip Ridley

Overview

The Pitchfork Disney heralded the arrival of a unique and disturbing voice in the world of contemporary drama. Manifesting Ridley's vivid and visionary imagination and the dark beauty of his outlook, the play resonates with his trademark themes: East London, storytelling, moments of shocking violence, memories of the past, fantastical monologues, and that strange mix of the barbaric and the beautiful he has made all his own.

The Pitchfork Disney was Ridley's first play and is now seen as launching a new generation of playwrights who were unafraid to shock and court controversy. This unsettling, dreamlike piece has surreal undertones and thematically explores fear, dreams and story-telling. First produced in 1991, it has gone on to be recognised as the annunciation of Ridley's dark and seductive world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472508041
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	05/21/2015
Series:	Modern Classics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	128
File size:	988 KB

About the Author

Philip Ridley is a contemporary artist, poet, novelist, film-maker and one of the country's most celebrated living playwrights. Ridley has been described as 'probably a genius' (Time Out) and 'the best British playwright of the last 20 years' (Aleks Sierz, author of In-Yer-Face Theatre). His plays include Ghost From A Perfect Place, Mercury Fur, The Fastest Clock in the Universe, and Vincent River.
Philip Ridley was born and grew up in the East End of London. He studied painting at St Martin's School of Art. He has written many highly regarded and hugely influential stage plays: the seminal The Pitchfork Disney (published as a Methuen Modern Classic), The Fastest Clock in the Universe (winner of a Time Out Award, the Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, and the Meyer-Whitworth Prize), Ghost from a Perfect Place (nominated for The Evening Standard Best New Play Award), Vincent River (nominated for the London Festival Fringe Best Play Award),the highly controversial Mercury Fur, Leaves of Glass, Piranha Heights (nominated for the WhatsOnStage Mobius Award for Best Off West End Production), Tender Napalm (nominated for the London Fringe Best Play Award), Shivered (nominated for the Off-West End Best New Play Award), Dark Vanilla Jungle (winner of an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award), Radiant Vermin, Tonight With Donny Stixx and Karagula (nominated for the Off-West End Best New Play Award), plus several plays for young people (collectively known as The Storyteller Sequence): Karamazoo, Fairytaleheart, Moonfleece (named as one of the 50 Best Works About Cultural Diversity by the National Centre for Children's Books), Sparkleshark, and Brokenville, as well as Feathers in the Snow, and Daffodil Scissors. He has also directed three feature films from his own screenplays: The Reflecting Skin – winner of eleven international awards – The Passion of Darkly Noon (winner of the Best Director Prize at the Porto Film Festival), and Heartless (winner of The Silver Meliers Award for Best Fantasy Film). In 2012 What's On Stage named him a Jubilee Playwright (one of the most influential British writers to have emerged in the past six decades). Philip has won both the Evening Standard's Most Promising Newcomer to British Film and Most Promising Playwright Awards. The only person ever to receive both prizes.

Editorial Reviews

It's one hell of a play, Philip Ridley's The Pitchfork Disney . . . There's a deep artistry here and a searing vividness of imagination that leaves audiences shocked and subtly changed.” —Scotsman

From the Publisher

It's one hell of a play, Philip Ridley's The Pitchfork Disney . . . There's a deep artistry here and a searing vividness of imagination that leaves audiences shocked and subtly changed.

Scotsman

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