13

by Mike Bartlett

Work out what you want and go for it with all your conviction and don't care if you seem outrageous or stupid... All that's needed, in the end, is belief. An identical, terrifying dream haunts Londoners in the midst of economic gloom and ineffective protest. Whilst the prime minister considers a preventive war, a young man returns home with a vision for the future. Coincidences, omens and visions collide with political reality in this epic new play from the writer of Earthquakes in London . Set in a dark and magical landscape, it depicts a London both familiar and strange, a London staring into the void. In a year which has seen governments fall as the people take to the streets, 13 explores the meaning of personal responsibility, the hold that the past has over the future and the nature of belief itself.

Genres: Plays, Theatre

142 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2011

About the author

Michael Bartlett is a British playwright. Mike Bartlett was born on 7 October 1980 in Abingdon, Oxford, England. He attended Abingdon School, then studied English and Theatre Studies at the University of Leeds. In October 2013, Mike won Best New Play at The National Theatre Awards for his play Bull, beating plays from both Alan Ayckbourn and Tom Wells.

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Reviews

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the 6th Bartlett play I've read recently, and the first one I really didn't care for; he seems to be trying to replicate the success of 'Earthquakes in London', merely substituting the Iran nuclear conflict for climate change as subject matter. Bartlett definitely works better on a small scale canvas ('Bull' and 'Cock'); this has far too many ill-defined characters, and too much pseudo-religious mumbo-jumbo that degenerates into a frankly boring political diatribe in the 2nd act.