The Vertical Hour
Encyclopedia
The Vertical Hour is a play by David Hare
. The play addresses the relationship of characters with opposing views on the 2003 invasion of Iraq
, and also explores psychological tension between public lives and private lives. The play received its world premiere at the Music Box Theater
on Broadway
, on November 30, 2006, in a production directed by Sam Mendes
. The premiere cast featured Bill Nighy
, Julianne Moore
in her Broadway debut and Andrew Scott
. It closed on 11 March 2007 after a run of 23 previews and 117 performances.
The play received its UK premiere at the Royal Court Theatre
on 17 January 2008 in a production directed by Jeremy Herrin
. The principal actors were Indira Varma
, Anton Lesser
and Tom Riley. It was the fastest selling new play in the Royal Court's history and was broadcast on BBC Radio Three on May 25, 2008.
, about the Iraq War, but on an intimate scale. In the private conversations of a war correspondent, who covered the conflict, and her boyfriend's father, Hare believes that he presents the theme of national responsibility for war with relevance equal to his epic piece depicting soldiers and statesmen preparing for invasion.
, a former war correspondent during the 1990s Balkan conflicts, and a supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. As the play begins, she is in conference with one of her students, Dennis Dutton, over the merits of one of his writing assignments. During the course of the conversation, Dennis reveals that he is infatuated with Nadia, even though he has a fiancée. Distressed, Nadia dismisses Dennis from her office.
Nadia and her English boyfriend, Philip Lucas, travel to Shropshire to visit Philip's father, Oliver, a physician, so that Nadia can meet Oliver for the first time. Philip tells Nadia that his father is a habitual womanizer and is opposed to the Iraq war. Oliver and Nadia debate the merits of the invasion of Iraq and of intervention by one country into the affairs of another country in general. Nadia justifies the invasion based on the earlier oppression of the Iraqi people, and her observations that the Western powers did nothing to alleviate the suffering of the Balkan peoples in the 1990s. In the play, her character is described as having visited US President George W. Bush
to offer advice on foreign policy related to the Middle East and Iraq. She acknowledges that the aftermath of the invasion was undesirable, but that this did not negate the original rationale. Oliver counters that the US and UK invading forces had no plans for the reconstruction of Iraq and that the rationale for the invasion, purported weapons of mass destruction, was false and unjustified.
During the course of the discussion, the strained relationship between Oliver and Philip is revealed to Nadia. An unspoken attraction develops between Oliver and Nadia, of which Philip is suspicious. Philip clearly tells Nadia that his father is trying to seduce her, which leads to strain between Nadia and Philip. Nadia also learns of Oliver's "open marriage" and extramarital affairs, one of which led to the accidental death of one of Oliver's mistresses. This caused Oliver to give up his London practice and home, and to move to the country in isolation.
The play ends as Nadia is in conference with another student, Terri Scholes, criticising Terri's latest writing assignment for a class. Terri tells Nadia that she plans to leave Yale because her boyfriend has broken up with her. Nadia commiserates that she, too, has recently broken up with a boyfriend. She convinces Terri to wait a day before finalizing her decision to leave Yale, but reveals that she herself will be leaving Yale to return to being a war correspondent.
David Hare (dramatist)
Sir David Hare is an English playwright and theatre and film director.-Early life:Hare was born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex, the son of Agnes and Clifford Hare, a sailor. He was educated at Lancing, an independent school in West Sussex, and at Jesus College, Cambridge...
. The play addresses the relationship of characters with opposing views on the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, and also explores psychological tension between public lives and private lives. The play received its world premiere at the Music Box Theater
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, on November 30, 2006, in a production directed by Sam Mendes
Sam Mendes
Samuel Alexander "Sam" Mendes, CBE is an English stage and film director. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning work on his debut film American Beauty and his dark re-inventions of the stage musicals Cabaret , Oliver! , Company and Gypsy . He's currently working on the 23rd James Bond...
. The premiere cast featured Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
, Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
in her Broadway debut and Andrew Scott
Andrew Scott (actor)
Andrew Scott is an Irish film, television, and stage actor. He received the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs production of A Girl in a Car with a Man and an IFTA award for the film Dead Bodies...
. It closed on 11 March 2007 after a run of 23 previews and 117 performances.
The play received its UK premiere at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
on 17 January 2008 in a production directed by Jeremy Herrin
Jeremy Herrin
Jeremy Herrin is an English theatre director and currently the Deputy Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre in London. He trained as a theatre director at both the Royal Court and the National Theatre...
. The principal actors were Indira Varma
Indira Varma
Indira Varma is an English actress. Her first major role was in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love. She has gone on to appear in the television series Rome and Human Target.-Early life and background:...
, Anton Lesser
Anton Lesser
Anton Lesser is a British actor. He attended Moseley Grammar School and the University of Liverpool before going to RADA in 1977 where he was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor of his year....
and Tom Riley. It was the fastest selling new play in the Royal Court's history and was broadcast on BBC Radio Three on May 25, 2008.
Principal Roles
| Role | Premiere Cast, 30 November 2006New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... , Music Box Theater Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to... |
UK Premiere Cast, 17 January 2008London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , Royal Court Theatre Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre... |
|---|---|---|
| Nadia Blye | Julianne Moore Julianne Moore Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards.... |
Indira Varma Indira Varma Indira Varma is an English actress. Her first major role was in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love. She has gone on to appear in the television series Rome and Human Target.-Early life and background:... |
| Oliver Lucas | Bill Nighy Bill Nighy William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof... |
Anton Lesser Anton Lesser Anton Lesser is a British actor. He attended Moseley Grammar School and the University of Liverpool before going to RADA in 1977 where he was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor of his year.... |
| Philip Lucas | Andrew Scott Andrew Scott (actor) Andrew Scott is an Irish film, television, and stage actor. He received the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs production of A Girl in a Car with a Man and an IFTA award for the film Dead Bodies... |
Tom Riley Tom Riley Tom Riley is an English film, television, and theatre actor.Tom was involved in drama in his home town of Maidstone, Kent, since the age of four and spent his school years writing and directing plays... |
| Dennis Dutton | Dan Bittner | Joseph Kloska |
Theme
Hare considers the work to be a companion piece to his play Stuff HappensStuff Happens
Stuff Happens is a play by David Hare, written in response to the Iraq War. Hare describes it as "a history play" that deals with recent history.The title is inspired by Donald Rumsfeld's response to widespread looting in Baghdad:...
, about the Iraq War, but on an intimate scale. In the private conversations of a war correspondent, who covered the conflict, and her boyfriend's father, Hare believes that he presents the theme of national responsibility for war with relevance equal to his epic piece depicting soldiers and statesmen preparing for invasion.
Synopsis
Nadia Blye is a professor at Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, a former war correspondent during the 1990s Balkan conflicts, and a supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. As the play begins, she is in conference with one of her students, Dennis Dutton, over the merits of one of his writing assignments. During the course of the conversation, Dennis reveals that he is infatuated with Nadia, even though he has a fiancée. Distressed, Nadia dismisses Dennis from her office.
Nadia and her English boyfriend, Philip Lucas, travel to Shropshire to visit Philip's father, Oliver, a physician, so that Nadia can meet Oliver for the first time. Philip tells Nadia that his father is a habitual womanizer and is opposed to the Iraq war. Oliver and Nadia debate the merits of the invasion of Iraq and of intervention by one country into the affairs of another country in general. Nadia justifies the invasion based on the earlier oppression of the Iraqi people, and her observations that the Western powers did nothing to alleviate the suffering of the Balkan peoples in the 1990s. In the play, her character is described as having visited US President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to offer advice on foreign policy related to the Middle East and Iraq. She acknowledges that the aftermath of the invasion was undesirable, but that this did not negate the original rationale. Oliver counters that the US and UK invading forces had no plans for the reconstruction of Iraq and that the rationale for the invasion, purported weapons of mass destruction, was false and unjustified.
During the course of the discussion, the strained relationship between Oliver and Philip is revealed to Nadia. An unspoken attraction develops between Oliver and Nadia, of which Philip is suspicious. Philip clearly tells Nadia that his father is trying to seduce her, which leads to strain between Nadia and Philip. Nadia also learns of Oliver's "open marriage" and extramarital affairs, one of which led to the accidental death of one of Oliver's mistresses. This caused Oliver to give up his London practice and home, and to move to the country in isolation.
The play ends as Nadia is in conference with another student, Terri Scholes, criticising Terri's latest writing assignment for a class. Terri tells Nadia that she plans to leave Yale because her boyfriend has broken up with her. Nadia commiserates that she, too, has recently broken up with a boyfriend. She convinces Terri to wait a day before finalizing her decision to leave Yale, but reveals that she herself will be leaving Yale to return to being a war correspondent.