Overview

I just think you shouldn’t put people on pedestals that’s all. It makes them seem perfect when they’re not. Martha McDonald was a world-famous singer – Grammy Hall of Fame resident, poster girl for revolution, and writer of one of the most iconic songs of the 1970s. Until she disappeared. For many years she hasn’t written or sung a single note. Hidden from public view deep in the Californian Mountains, Martha guards a secret that, if revealed, will change everything. And only one other person holds a key to this enigma: her estranged daughter, Anna. Anna is desperately trying to escape the long shadow of her mother’s fame and legacy. Will exposing the secret liberate her – and her mother – or might it destroy them both? Hannah Patterson’s intriguing play explores the impact that success and celebrity have on relationships and why honesty is not always the best policy. Platinum received its world premiere at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs on 9 December 2016.

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9781350036574

Table of Contents

Reviews

What begins as a riff on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? morphs into a modern-day Doll's House. * New York Times on Playing With Grown Ups * The lighthearted title of Playing with Grown Ups disguises a darker core. Set over the course of a single evening, Hannah Patterson's ... play ... casts a nonjudgmental eye on a 40-year-old first-time mother who finds no pleasure in parenting ... There are echoes of A Doll's House and a refreshing lack of preachiness. * Time Out New York on Playing With Grown Ups * [An] enjoyable and thought-provoking four-hander ... There is something for everyone in this sharply observed comedy, which tackles everything from middle-aged regret and the myth of having it all to the question of whether fulfilment lies in a pile of nappies. It is potential dynamite and there are moments when this piece fizzes with comedy, as well as emotion ... The play is smartly funny and intelligent, and dares to confront a taboo: that not every woman falls head over heels in love with her baby, and that sometimes work may be more alluring and fulfilling than motherhood. * Guardian on Playing With Grown Ups * Engaging new writing that asks the important question can women have it all? without providing a simplistic answer. * Daily Telegraph on Playing With Grown Ups * Patterson's sharp, funny script twists the knife into twenty-first-century life, bleak in its portrayal ... of a generation of women struggling with the reality of feminism's legacy. * Stage on Playing With Grown Ups *

What begins as a riff on Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? morphs into a modern-day Doll’s House. * New York Times on ""Playing With Grown Ups"" * The lighthearted title of Playing with Grown Ups disguises a darker core. Set over the course of a single evening, Hannah Patterson’s ... play ... casts a nonjudgmental eye on a 40-year-old first-time mother who finds no pleasure in parenting ... There are echoes of A Doll’s House and a refreshing lack of preachiness. * Time Out New York on ""Playing With Grown Ups"" * [An] enjoyable and thought-provoking four-hander ... There is something for everyone in this sharply observed comedy, which tackles everything from middle-aged regret and the myth of having it all to the question of whether fulfilment lies in a pile of nappies. It is potential dynamite and there are moments when this piece fizzes with comedy, as well as emotion ... The play is smartly funny and intelligent, and dares to confront a taboo: that not every woman falls head over heels in love with her baby, and that sometimes work may be more alluring and fulfilling than motherhood. * Guardian on ""Playing With Grown Ups"" * Engaging new writing that asks the important question ""can women have it all?"" without providing a simplistic answer. * Daily Telegraph on ""Playing With Grown Ups"" * Patterson’s sharp, funny script twists the knife into twenty-first-century life, bleak in its portrayal ... of a generation of women struggling with the reality of feminism’s legacy. * Stage on ""Playing With Grown Ups"" *

What begins as a riff on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? morphs into a modern-day Doll's House. New York Times on Playing With Grown Ups The lighthearted title of Playing with Grown Ups disguises a darker core. Set over the course of a single evening, Hannah Patterson's ... play ... casts a nonjudgmental eye on a 40-year-old first-time mother who finds no pleasure in parenting ... There are echoes of A Doll's House and a refreshing lack of preachiness. Time Out New York on Playing With Grown Ups [An] enjoyable and thought-provoking four-hander ... There is something for everyone in this sharply observed comedy, which tackles everything from middle-aged regret and the myth of having it all to the question of whether fulfilment lies in a pile of nappies. It is potential dynamite and there are moments when this piece fizzes with comedy, as well as emotion ... The play is smartly funny and intelligent, and dares to confront a taboo: that not every woman falls head over heels in love with her baby, and that sometimes work may be more alluring and fulfilling than motherhood. Guardian on Playing With Grown Ups Engaging new writing that asks the important question can women have it all? without providing a simplistic answer. Daily Telegraph on Playing With Grown Ups Patterson's sharp, funny script twists the knife into twenty-first-century life, bleak in its portrayal ... of a generation of women struggling with the reality of feminism's legacy. Stage on Playing With Grown Ups

Author Information

Hannah Patterson's theatre credits include Come To Where I’m From (Paines Plough/Southbank Centre), Playing With Grown Ups (Theatre503/Brits off Broadway), MUCH (Cock Tavern), which she is adapting for film and Giving (Hampstead Theatre Downstairs).

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