Product Description

A two-play edition featuring Anthony Neilson's companion plays, The Wonderful World of Dissocia (2004) and Realism (2006), both produced by the National Theatre of Scotland. Produced originally for the 2004 Edinburgh International Festival, The Wonderful World of Dissocia wowed critics and audiences alike. This is a hugely original play, both magical and moving, that confirmed Anthony Neilson as one of major voices in contemporary British Theatre. The entire original cast and creative team have been reunited for this keenly anticipated revival. Lisa Jones is on a journey. It's a colourful and exciting off-kilter trip in search of one lost hour that has tipped the balance of her life. The inhabitants of the wonderful world she finds herself in - Dissocia - are a curious blend of the funny, the friendly and the brutal. As Neilson himself put it, 'If you like Alice in Wonderland but there's not enough sex and violence in it, then Dissocia is the show for you'. Realism premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2006. It follows the life of one man during an ordinary day but veers off from the commonplace to become a deliriously surreal trip inside his wayward imagination. It was described by the Guardian as a 'bold and utterly distinctive all-singing, all-dancing show, like nothing else you'll ever see'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108122 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Review
'A brilliant and troubling new drama - as radical as anything we have seen at this year's festival.' (on Dissocia) Guardian 'In an unusually strong year for drama at the EIF, Dissocia stands comparison with the very best.' The Times 'Deserves to be considered a modern classic' Daily Telegraph

About the Author
Anthony Neilson is an Artistic Associate of National Theatre of Scotland and a creator of pioneering, taboo-breaking new work. He writes and directs witty, bold and compassionate plays that explore unchartered psychological territories.

Customer Reviews

A work of genius
I read this with my friends who do a drama degree and we immediately fell in love with this play. Dissocia is set in a fantasy world that is as funny and beautiful as it is dark and dangerous. It's a wacky, witty often surprisingly powerful look into the issue of mental illness. I've never laughed so much on the first read through of a play, nor been so enthralled by the imagination in the writing, or so shocked by an author's boldness in tackling such sensitive issues.
You'll never read anything like it, but ultimately Anthonty Neilson himself puts it better than I ever could - "If you like Alice in Wonderland but there's not enough sex or violence in it, then Dissocia is the show for you."

Realism is an equally witty and inspired look at the extraordinary in an ordinary man's life and whilst it does not have the same narrative strength as Dissocia and may be a little bawdy for some tastes it is still a striking and often wickedly funny piece of 'In yer face' theatre.

Two terrific plays in one book. Essential readind for those interested in the theatre.

Brilliant
The writing and invention in this play is a joy. NOT for the faint-hearted amateur group to perform, but if you have the nerve.....it's a mixture of Alice in Wonderland and Wind in the Willows, but definitely for adults because it's edgy, dark, exciting, innovative and...yep..brilliant.
I would love to have this slightly abridged so that it could be performed in 1-act festival - but I can't get hold of the author and his agent doesn't respond. Any ideas?

wonderful world
Unique, funny, poignant, theatrical. Does what a playtext should: makes you want to see the production. We need more individual voices like Anthony Neilson.