A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Rest

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  3w, 4m

A retirement home in northern Idaho is being shut down, and only three residents and a bare-bones staff remain. When a record-breaking blizzard blows into town and an elderly resident disappears into the storm, everyone is brought to face their own mortality.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Not Applicable
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior, Teen (Age 14 - 18)
Accolades
Accolades
  • Samuel D. Hunter is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship
    Samuel D. Hunter is the 2012 recipient of the Whiting Award for Drama
Rest

Details

Summary
A retirement home in northern Idaho is being shut down, and only three residents and a bare-bones staff remain. When a record breaking blizzard blows into town and an elderly resident disappears into the storm, everyone is brought to face their own mortality.
History
Rest made its world premiere at South Coast Repertory Theatre on March 28, 2014. Directed by Martin Benson, the production featured Lynn Milgrim, Hal Landon Jr., Richard Doyle, Sue Cremin, Libby West, Rob Nagle and Wyatt Fenner.
The residents:
ETTA – Early to mid-eighties, female.
TOM – Eighties, male.
GERALD – 91, male.

The staff:
FAYE – Thirties, female.
GINNY – Thirties, female.
JEREMY – Forties, male.
KEN – 20, male.
  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day, New Millennium/21st Century
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Highly recommended… [a] delicate balance of tragedy, comedy, hysteria and desperation.” – Chicago Sun-Times

“[A] warmhearted drama… unsentimental compassion for ordinary folk and their various approaches to mortality and other scary inevitabilities. The results are both tender and unsparing.” – Chicago Reader, Read More

“Deeply compassionate… Hunter’s play does traffic in life’s realities, of which Alzheimer’s is among the most painful. The main questions of this play — can we ever find peace in our old age, and is  such a quest even desirable? — are crucially important, and Rest also hints at the complexities that flow from the way we outsource elder care to for-profit businesses, who find themselves caught between profit and compassion.” – Chicago Tribune, Read More

“[A] bracing look at love and loss.” – Stage and Cinema Theatre, Read More

“Extraordinary… an experience to behold.” – LA Splash, Read More

“Highly recommended… [a] delicate balance of tragedy, comedy, hysteria and desperation.” – Chicago Sun-Times, Read More

“Mixes quirkiness with poignancy in a drama that elicits steady laughter.” – Los Angeles Times, Read More

“Hunter is such a skilled (and often humorous) writer that when he puts credible misfits in weird situations, we’re willing to follow him anywhere.” – Times of San Diego, Read More

“Theatrical gold… a theatrical voice of paramount importance.” – Huntington Beach Independent, Read More

Videos

  • Excerpts from "Rest" by Samuel D. Hunter youtube thumbnail

    Excerpts from "Rest" by Samuel D. Hunter

  • Playwright Samuel D. Hunter talks about "Rest" youtube thumbnail

    Playwright Samuel D. Hunter talks about "Rest"

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

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Authors

Samuel D. Hunter

Samuel D. Hunter grew up in Moscow, Idaho and lives in New York City with his husband and daughter. His full-length plays include The Whale (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, GLAAD Media Award, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations for B ...

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