A remarkable new play about Cold-War betrayal and the quest for justice
1953. In McCarthy's America, Jakob and Esther Rubenstein are betrayed and punished for an act of industrial espionage. Could this be the greatest miscarriage of justice of the twentieth century?
1975. New York. Matthew Maddison meets Anna Levi in front of an art gallery photograph of Jakob and Esther sharing one final kiss before they part. Young, radical and falling in love, together they seek justice for the past.
Inspired by a true story, The Rubenstein Kiss explores the mysterious corridors of history to reveal the anguish of a family and a quest for atonement.
Publication coincides with the play's premiere at London's Hampstead Theatre on 17 November 2005.
'a commendably assured first play ... vividly captures the interlocking nature of sexual and ideological passion' Guardian
'This is a bracingly ambitious piece, encompassing the tension between personal and political morality, between idealism and pragmatism, and the power of the past to shape individuals. Astutely and compassionately, Phillips explores each bend in the road that led to the Rubensteins' deaths ... A stimulating debut work of real scope.' The Times
Reihe
Auflage
Sprache
Verlagsort
Verlagsgruppe
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Zielgruppe
Für Beruf und Forschung
Adult: General
Dateigröße
ISBN-13
978-1-4081-4181-6 (9781408141816)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
James Phillips is a writer and director.
Plays include: The White Whale (Slung Low/Leeds) The Rubenstein Kiss (Hampstead); City Stories (St James); Hidden in the Sand (Trafalgar Studios); The Wind in the Willows (Latitude/ Theatre503); Time and the City (Slung Low/Hull); Bobby and the Chimps (Florida); The Little Fir Tree (Sheffield Theatres).
The Rubenstein Kiss won the John Whiting Award and the TMA Award for Best Play.
Directing credits include: The Rubenstein Kiss, Hidden in the Sand, City Stories, Frankie and Johnny at the Claire de Lune (Sound Theatre); Macbeth (Sheffield Crucible); Trettondagsafton (National Academy in Stockholm); Touched (Soho Theatre). His first professional production, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme at the Pleasance, London, won an award from NESTA, the national endowment for the arts. He was an Associate Director of Sound Theatre, London. He is a selector for the National Student Drama Festival.
TV credits include: If We Dead Awaken (Channel 4/Touchpaper). His first film script, The Watching Tree, is being produced by Blonde to Black Productions.
His first book of documentary photography, Nicosia: The Last Dividing Line, was published in Cyprus in 2013.
His photographs can be seen at www.jamesphillips.net.
