Overview

It's the 2000s. We're in a faraway country. Rachel, a stellar American political strategist, and Caro, her British data expert, have been hired to fight a ferocious election, in a place where it's hard to tell what's real and what's fake. They think they're here to teach the Eastern Europeans how to do democracy, but it turns out they're here to learn. And when Rachel's former political partner turns up on the rival side, their showdown threatens to change global politics, from Warsaw to Wisconsin. Forever. The New Real is David Edgar's epic, panoramic play about how the political fault-line was redrawn. It is an origin story, for right now. It was first performed in 2024 by the Royal Shakespeare Company in association with Headlong at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, directed by Holly Race Roughan. 'Edgar's writing has a vigour, a swagger, a taut, tense texture that portrays men and women in the white heat of ambition, duplicity, conscience and tortured idealism' Sunday Times 'There is no more incisive commentator on politics currently working in British theatre' The Times 'A dramatic simulacrum of the past two decades of western politics, David Edgar's play explores some pressing questions where the real-world stakes could not be higher' — Guardian 'Welcome brain food... flashes of insight into the giant forces that shape our present... witty as well as intelligent' — The Times 'Sharply topical and beautifully crafted... gripping, intelligent... beautifully plotted, full of betrayals, reversals, blind spots and unintended outcomes, with the consequences of human flaws playing out on the widest scale imaginable' — The Stage 'An epic and important piece' — WhatsOnStage 'A fast-paced political thrill ride, with some wonderful humour... a play that you cannot take your eyes off' — The Stage 'One of those few brave plays to confront the politics of our world head on' — Morning Star

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9781839043703

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Reviews

'A dramatic simulacrum of the past two decades of western politics, David Edgar's play explores some pressing questions where the real-world stakes could not be higher' * Guardian * 'Welcome brain food... flashes of insight into the giant forces that shape our present... witty as well as intelligent' * The Times * 'Sharply topical and beautifully crafted... gripping, intelligent... beautifully plotted, full of betrayals, reversals, blind spots and unintended outcomes, with the consequences of human flaws playing out on the widest scale imaginable' * The Stage * 'An epic and important piece' * WhatsOnStage * 'A fast-paced political thrill ride, with some wonderful humour... a play that you cannot take your eyes off' * The Stage * 'One of those few brave plays to confront the politics of our world head on' * Morning Star *

Author Information

David Edgar is a leading UK playwright, author of many original plays and adaptations. He also pioneered the teaching of playwriting in the UK, founding the Playwriting Studies course at Birmingham University in 1989. His plays include: The New Real (Royal Shakespeare Company / Headlong, 2024); Here in America (Orange Tree Theatre, 2024); Trying It On (UK tour, 2018); A Christmas Carol, adapted from the story by Charles Dickens (Royal Shakespeare Company, 2017); If Only (Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 2013); Written on the Heart (RSC, 2011); a version of Ibsen's The Master Builder (Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 2013); Arthur and George, adapted from the novel by Julian Barnes (Birmingham Rep & Nottingham Playhouse, 2010); Testing the Echo (Out of Joint, 2008); A Time to Keep, written with Stephanie Dale (Dorchester Community Players, 2007); Playing With Fire (National Theatre, 2005); Continental Divide (US, 2003); The Prisoner's Dilemma (RSC, 2001); Albert Speer, based on Gitta Sereny's biography of Hitler's architect (National Theatre, 2000); Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (Birmingham Rep, 1996); Pentecost (RSC, 1994); The Shape of the Table (National Theatre, 1990); Maydays (1983); The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (RSC, 1980); Destiny (1976); and The National Interest (1971). His work for television includes adaptations of Destiny, screened by the BBC in 1978, The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs, televised by the BBC in 1981, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, televised by Channel 4 in 1982, as well as the plays Buying a Landslide (1992) and Vote for Them (1989). He is also the author of the radio plays Ecclesiastes (1977), A Movie Starring Me (1991), Talking to Mars (1996) and an adaptation of Eve Brook's novel The Secret Parts (2000). He wrote the screenplay for the film Lady Jane (1986). He is the author of How Plays Work (Nick Hern Books, 2009; revised 2021) and The Second Time as Farce: Reflections on the Drama of Mean Times (1988), and editor of The State of Play: Playwrights on Playwriting (2000). He was Resident Playwright at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1974-5 (Board Member from 1985), Fellow in Creative Writing at Leeds Polytechnic, Bicentennial Arts Fellow (US) (1978-9) and was Literary Consultant for the RSC (1984-8, Honorary Associate Artist, 1989). He founded the University of Birmingham's MA in Playwriting Studies in 1989 and was its director until 1999. He was appointed Professor of Playwriting Studies in 1995.

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