
The Approach
Mark O'Rowe(Author)
Nick Hern Books (Publisher)
Published on 1. February 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
80 pages
978-1-84842-743-3 (ISBN)
Description
Listen carefully ...
Three women.
Three conversations.
As the details of what they share begin to diverge, we realise that a subtle game of survival is being played.
Both psychological puzzle and quietly devastating tragedy, The Approach explores the inner lives of Anna, Cora and Denise as they desperately try to make sense of their world.
What will their conversations reveal? And what does each of them have to hide?
Three women.
Three conversations.
As the details of what they share begin to diverge, we realise that a subtle game of survival is being played.
Both psychological puzzle and quietly devastating tragedy, The Approach explores the inner lives of Anna, Cora and Denise as they desperately try to make sense of their world.
What will their conversations reveal? And what does each of them have to hide?
Reviews / Votes
'A play of intense juxtapositions, of silence and anger, facade and vulnerability, distance and communion. Intensely thoughtful, the piece presents itself as an expression of relationships and human identity. It is impossible to come away from it without reflecting on the barriers, physical and mental, that can hinder real human interaction' * Edinburgh Reporter * 'Beautiful and heart-wrenching' * The Skinny * 'An intense experience like trying to pick apart the puzzle of an overhead conversation... an exquisitely nuanced exploration of complex relationships where past traumas and resentments have put up frustrating barriers to genuine closeness' * BritishTheatre.com * 'Deeply engaging... O'Rowe's thought-provoking script deals in a theatrical and dramatic simplicity that serves as a counterpoint to its textual complexity... will linger long in the memory' * The Arts Review * 'A cryptic work about memory and connection... an intricate puzzle of a play, The Approach holds your attention like a transfixing riddle, rationing out clues and folding in on itself artfully' * Irish Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84842-743-3 (9781848427433)
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 Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Person
Mark O'Rowe is an Irish playwright whose plays include Howie the Rookie (Bush Theatre, London, 1999), From Both Hips (Fishamble, 1997), Made in China (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 2001), Crestfall (Gate Theatre, Dublin, 2003), Terminus (Abbey Theatre, 2007), Our Few and Evil Days (Abbey Theatre, 2014), The Approach (Landmark Productions, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, 2018) and Reunion (Landmark Productions, Galway International Arts Festival, 2024). His version of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler was staged by the Abbey Theatre in 2015.
His screenplays include Broken (2012), based on the novel by Daniel Clay, Perrier's Bounty (2009), Boy A (2007), based on the novel by Jonathan Trigell, and Intermission (2004).
Author photo by Ros Kavanagh
His screenplays include Broken (2012), based on the novel by Daniel Clay, Perrier's Bounty (2009), Boy A (2007), based on the novel by Jonathan Trigell, and Intermission (2004).
Author photo by Ros Kavanagh