Plenty
David Hare
This landmark drama spans twenty years, tracing the life of Susan Traherne from her time as a courageous resistance agent in Nazi-occupied France to her deep disillusionment in post-war Britain. As she navigates a mundane marriage to a diplomat and the crumbling values of the British Empire, her mental health deteriorates, mirroring the moral erosion of the state. The play is a scathing indictment of a country that failed to live up to the heroism of its wartime past, shifting seamlessly between scenes of high-stakes espionage and the stifling atmosphere of 1950s London society.
Susan Traherne: A former intelligence courier who remains haunted by her wartime experiences, finding the hypocrisy and staleness of post-war English life impossible to endure. Raymond Brock: A career diplomat and Susan's long-suffering husband, who represents the stifling, polite professionalism of the British establishment that Susan eventually destroys. Alice Park: Susan’s bohemian, radical friend who provides a counterpoint to the rigid social structures and remains a tether to Susan’s wartime sense of purpose.
First Performance: 1978, at Lyttelton Theatre (National Theatre), London
Critical sensation that established Hare as a major political voice; later became a successful film starring Meryl Streep.
Original Actors: Kate Nelligan, Stephen Moore