A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Stuff Happens

Full-Length Play, Satire/Political Satire  /  3w, 19m

David Hare

American Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's famous response to the looting of Baghdad, at a press conference of April 11, 2003, provides the title for this highly controversial play about the extraordinary process leading up to the invasion of Iraq.

Stuff Happens

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 19m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 2006 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Off-Broadway Play
    Nominee: 2006 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play

Details

Summary

"Stuff happens and it's untidy, and freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things."

The American Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's famous response to the looting of Baghdad, at a press conference on April 11, 2003, provides the title for this new, highly controversial play about the extraordinary process leading up to the invasion of Iraq. How does the world settle its differences, now that there is only one superpower? What happens to leaders risking their credibility with skeptical publics?

From events that have dominated international headlines, David Hare has fashioned both a historical narrative and a human drama about the frustrations of power and the limits of diplomacy.

History
Stuff Happens premiered at the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre in London on September 1, 2004. The play debuted off-Broadway at the Public Theater on March 28, 2006.
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
GEORGE W. BUSH – President of the United States
DICK CHENEY – Vice President of the United States
DONALD RUMSFELD – American Secretary of Defense
COLIN POWELL – Secretary of State
CONDOLEEZZA RICE – National Security Advisor
PAUL WOLFOWITZ – Deputy Secretary of Defense
TONY BLAIR – Prime Minister of United Kingdom
HANS BLIX – Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission
GEORGE TENET – Director of Central Intelligence
LAURA BUSH – First Lady of the United States
JACK STRAW – Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
JONATHON POWELL – Downing Street Chief of Staff
ALASTAIR CAMPBELL – Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy
MICHAEL GERSON – White House Director of Speechwriting
SADDAM HUSSEIN – President of Iraq
DAVID MANNING – UK Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council/ British Ambassador to the United States
SIR RICHARD DEARLOVE – Head of the British Secret Intelligence Service
JOHN NEGROPONTE – United States Ambassador to the United Nations
JEREMY GREENSTOCK – Chairman of the Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee
IGOR IVANOV – Foreign minister of Russia
SERGEY LAVROV – Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations
DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN – Minister of Foreign Affairs
JEAN-DAVID LEVITTE – Ambassador of France to the United States
JOHN MCCAIN – Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee
MOHAMED ELBARADEI – Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency
DAN BARTLETT – Head of the White House Communications Team
JACQUES CHIRAC – President of France
ROBIN COOK – Leader of the House of Commons
ARI FLEISCHER – White House Press Secretary
JEREMY PAXMAN – British Journalist
  • Time Period New Millennium/21st Century
  • Setting Various locations, November 2000 – April 2004.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“An exhilarating account of the genesis of the current war in Iraq.” – The New Yorker

“The most significant theatrical artifact yet to grow from our catastrophic times.” – Newsday

“The most feverishly anticipated play in London in recent memory.” – The New York Times

“His best political play yet... An exhilarating account of the genesis of the current war in Iraq.” – The New Yorker

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

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Authors

David Hare

David Hare
David Hare has been called "one of the great post-war British playwrights." Along with co-founding Portable Theatre Company and Joint Stock Theatre Group, he served as Resident Dramatist at the Royal Court Theatre in London and Resident Dramatist at the Nottingham Playhouse. ...
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