Punk Rock (play)
Punk Rock is a play by the British playwright Simon Stephens which premiered at the Royal Exchange in 2009 and transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith directed by Sarah Frankcom. The play concerns a group of private school sixth formers during their A Level mocks exams.
Plot
In the library of a grammar school, eight sixth-formers are preparing for their mock-A Levels and nearing the end of their school lives. There are various sub-plots detailing the various love lines or triangles that emerge through the play.Other productions
- The Australian premiere was on 27 July 2012 performed by pantsguys Productions in association with the Australian Theatre for Young People
- A production of the play was done at the Oxford Playhouse.
- The New Zealand premiere was performed by The Outfit Theatre Company at The Basement Theatre in Auckland from 27 March to 7 April.
- The Welsh premiere of the play was performed at the Arad Goch theatre in Aberystwyth on 18 and 19 May 2012, directed by Rhodri Brady.
- The play made its New York premiere on 29 October 2014 in an MCC Theater production at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. The production was selected as a New York Times Critic's Pick, and earned Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Will Pullen and Japhy Weideman.
- The play made its Edinburgh Fringe return on 24 August 2015 by Theatre Company 'The Pigeon Collective'. The production received a five star review from 'Broadway Baby' and made it into the Top Rated Shows of 2015 at Edinburgh Fringe
- The Fortune Theatre produced this play, opening 27 June 2015, directed by Lara Macgregor.
- The French company Summer Lemonade produced punk rock at Avignon festival in 2019, directed by Marc Derville. It was the first time a Simon Stephens play was produced in Avignon.
- Patalog Theatre Co. premiered the play in Melbourne for the first time professionally at fortyfivedownstairs in December 2019. The play received wide critical acclaim with critics calling it "A masterful re-working. Unmissable.".
Reception
The premiere received generally positive reviews with Variety saying "confirms Simon Stephens as one of the most important and exciting British playwrights working today". The play has also been nominated for the 2010 TMA Best New Play award. It was also well received by The Guardian, the Crikey blog, The Times and others.Some critics have criticised Stephens for unoriginality, however. For example, Leo Benedictus, writing for The Guardian in 2009, said "The critics spot various possible influences such as The History Boys, Another Country, Lord of the Flies, Elephant, If…, Skins, and The Catcher in the Rye."