Product Description

On 15 September 2008, capitalism came to a grinding halt. As sub-prime mortgages and toxic securities continued to dominate the headlines well into 2009, this spring the National Theatre asked David Hare to write an urgent and immediate work to be staged this autumn that sought to find out what had happened, and why. Capitalism works when greed and fear are in the correct balance. This time they got out of balance. Too much greed, not enough fear. Meeting with many of the key players from the financial world, David Hare, author of "The Permanent Way and Stuff Happens", has created "The Power of Yes": a compelling narrative, as enlightening as it is entertaining. It's like a ship which you're being told is in apple-pie order, the decks are cleaned, the metal is burnished, the only thing nobody mentions, it's being driven at full speed towards an iceberg. Not so much a play as a jaw-dropping account of how, as the banks went bust, capitalism was replaced by a socialism that bailed out the rich alone. "The Power of Yes" opened at the National Theatre, London, in September 2009.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18959 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

About the Author
David Hare is one of Britain's most internationally performed playwrights. He was born in Sussex in 1947. Thirteen of his plays have been presented at the National heatre, including a trilogy about the Church, the Law and the Labour Party - Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges and The Absence of War - which was presented in repertory in the Olivier Theatre in 1993. Ten of his best-known plays, including Plenty, The Secret Rapture, Skylight, The Blue Room, Amy's View, The Judas Kiss, Via Dolorosa - in which he performed - and The Vertical Hour have also been presented on Broadway.

Customer Reviews

The Poer of Yes
I had been to see the play at the National Theatre and wanted to recall some of the detail. The book is an excellent playscript and has the stage directions from the production. As I purchased it shortly after the play it was all very vivid. It was better to buy this through Amazon than pay full price at the National Theatre bookshop.
Since reading 'The Power of Yes' I have bought 'The Habit if Art' and 'Enron' before seeing the productions. I think this will make the experience even more worthwhile.The Power of Yes: A Dramatist Seeks to Understand the Financial Crisis

Hare has a Hit
My experience of David Hare plays is that they are often hit and miss: for every "Plenty" or "Amy's View" you get a "My Zinc Bed" or "Breath of Life"--and the writing in the plays is not significantly better or worse, just some of the plays "work" better than others. Mr. Hare's most recent play before this one, "Gethsemane," I found VERY disappointing, but this new one, "The Power of Yes," seems a return to form. If you liked "The Permanent Way" and "Stuff Happens" then don't hesitate to pick this one up. Again Hare constructs his narrative from public records and interviews he recently conducted--this time adding himself as a character on stage to tie the material together. The result is informative, entertaining and compelling. He even manages to add a little personal conflict when a Financial Journalist implicitly compares him to Fred Goodwin of RBS and other bankers who refuse to take criticism: "When you write a play and the critics say it's crap. Do you accept it?"

Ultimately the image of Hare interviewing the billionare who met with Alan Greenspan both before and after the financial crisis will stay with you:

Soros: When we met...it was before the crisis, and...he said, 'Markets are imperfect but they bring such benefits that you have to live with the fact that from time to time they collapse, so you just pick up the bits.' But then I saw him again recently--after the crisis...He said 'What I said in June no longer applies.' Yes, but even at the first lunch,...when he said, 'The benefits of the market are so great that you have to live with the price,' even then I had an answer...I said, 'Yes, but Alan, the people who end up paying the price are never the people who get the benefits.'