Ghost from a Perfect Place is the third stage play

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 by Philip Ridley

Philip Ridley

Philip Ridley is a British artist working with various media.- Biography :Ridley was born in Bethnal Green, in the East End of London, where he still lives and works. He studied painting at St. Martin’s School of Art and his work has been exhibited throughout Europe and Japan...

. It premiered at the Hampstead Theatre

Hampstead Theatre

Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...

 in London in 1994. The part of Travis Flood was played to much acclaim by the veteran, classical actor John Wood

John Wood (English actor)

John Wood, CBE was an English actor.-Biography:Wood was born in Derbyshire and studied law at Jesus College, Oxford where he was president of the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Changing to drama, Wood became known as a stage actor, appearing in numerous West End productions as well as on...

.

The play caused a great deal of controversy at its première due to a scene where an old East London gangster, played by Wood, is tortured by a gang of girls. The theatre critic of The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

, Michael Billington

Michael Billington (critic)

Michael Keith Billington is a British author and arts critic. Drama critic of The Guardian since October 1971, he is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts; most notably, he is the authorised...

, described the play as "pornographic." As with most of Ridley's work, however, the critical response was deeply divided, with Sheridan Morley

Sheridan Morley

Sheridan Morley was an English author, biographer, critic, director, actor and broadcaster. He was the eldest son of actor Robert Morley and grandson of actress Dame Gladys Cooper, and wrote biographies of both...

 describing it as "a masterpiece" and John Peter, of The Sunday Times

The Sunday Times

The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...

, declaring, "Ridley's work is an acquired taste and it looks like I'm getting it."

This play, along with Ridley's The Pitchfork Disney

The Pitchfork Disney

The Pitchfork Disney is the first stage play by the multi-talented artist Philip Ridley. It was premiered at the Bush Theatre in London, England in 1991...

and The Fastest Clock In The Universe are now generally regarded as seminal works in the development of the so called in-yer-face theatre

In-yer-face theatre

In-yer-face theatre describes drama that emerged in Great Britain in the 1990s. This category coined by British theatre critic Aleks Sierz is the title of his book, In-Yer-Face Theatre, first published by Faber and Faber in March 2001...

that emerged in Britain during the mid-1990s.