{"product_id":"9781783195862","title":"Barker: Plays Eight","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Trojan legend and the character of Helen form the basis for \u003ci\u003eThe Bite of the Night\u003c\/i\u003e. As with all Barker’s mythical and historical works, it is overlaid and undermined by a contemporary narrative, in this instance the search for the origin of the erotic undertaken by the redundant university teacher Dr Savage and his nihilistic student, Hogbin. Through all twelve Troys, Savage and Helen struggle with a passion both intellectual and physical, and the idea of beauty is refined to a terrifying degree.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn Brutopia\u003c\/i\u003e Barker’s controversial portrait of the humanist Thomas More is shaped around his strained relationship with his daughter Cecilia, here discovered to be the author of a counter-text to her parent’s infamous \u003ci\u003eUtopia\u003c\/i\u003e. Cecilia’s wit and cruelty mark her out as one of Barker’s least compromising and heroic young women.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Forty\u003c\/i\u003e is a significant departure from Barker’s dramatic practice, his investment in language reduced to a few phrases which punctuate\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003edetailed scenes of conflict and solitude. Physical movement, and intense concentration on gesture show the author’s flair for visuality in\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ea new and surprising way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe theme of sacrifice features increasingly in Barker’s theatre, and in \u003ci\u003eWonder and Worship in the Dying Ward\u003c\/i\u003e it is a mother’s refusal to apologize for an act of passion – notwithstanding the dire consequence for her own child – that is at the heart of the argument. Set in a home for terminally-ill patients, many of whom create a hilarious chorus around\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ethe protagonists, \u003ci\u003eWonder and Worship in the Dying Ward\u003c\/i\u003e shows Barker’s imagination in its most startling form.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oberon Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47152400466160,"sku":"9781783195862","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781783195862_p0.jpg?v=1763723329","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781783195862","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}