A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Film Society

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  2w, 4m

"Using the school as a microcosm for South Africa, Baitz explores the psychological workings of repression in a society that has to kill its conscience in order to persist in a course of action it knows enough to abhor but cannot afford to relinquish…

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 4m
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period

Details

Summary
New York critics lavished praise upon this play and called Baitz a major new voice in theatre. Blenheim is a provincial South African private school modeled on the British education machine. It is 1970, a time of complacency for everyone but Terry, a teacher who has lost his job because he invited a Black priest to speak at commencement. Terry tries to involve another Blenheim teacher, but Jonathan cares only about keeping his film society going at all costs even if it means limiting programming to non objectionable films. When Jonathan's mother promises to donate a substantial amount of money to the school if Jonathan is made headmaster, he must choose which side he is on: Terry's or the establishment's.
  • Time Period 1970s
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

"Using the school as a microcosm for South Africa, Baitz explores the psychological workings of repression in a society that has to kill its conscience in order to persist in a course of action it knows enough to abhor but cannot afford to relinquish." - The New Yorker

"What distinguishes Mr. Baitz' writing, aside from its manifest literacy, is its ability to embrace the ambiguities of political and moral dilemmas that might easily be reduced to blacks and whites." - New York Times

"A beautiful, accomplished play." - New York Daily News

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

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Authors

Jon Robin Baitz

Jon Robin Baitz's plays include The Film Society, The Substance of Fire, Three Hotels, A Fair Country, Ten Unknowns, Mizlansky/Zilinsky, a new version of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, which was produced on Broadway in 2001, and The Paris Letter. He is the creator of the hit ABC TV sh ...

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