 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Kicking a Dead Horse" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Kicking a Dead Horse | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Sam Shepard |
| Date premiered | 2007 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Drama |
Kicking a Dead Horse (2007) is an Americanplay written bySam Shepard.[1] It is an example of adramatic monologue for one man for most of the play, until a woman shows up, in all lasting approximately 80 minutes.
Hobart Struther's voyage is interrupted by the death of his horse in a desert. Out of frustration, he kicks it. He stands trying to figure out what to do. Struther made millions by buying cheap paintings and reselling them. In a midlife crisis, he has abandoned his wife and rich life for a trip to understand himself. The former art dealer laments his condition. He must bury the horse. This proves to be very difficult. Next he debates different facets of his personality and life, looking as he mentions several times for authenticity, until every angle seems doomed to failure.
Kicking a Dead Horse premiered at theAbbey Theatre ofDublin in 2007, starring the Irish actorStephen Rea, and then with the same actor at New York'sThe Public Theater and theAlmeida Theatre in London in 2008.
The New York production was directed by Sam Shepard, with sets by Brien Vahey costumes by Joan Bergin, lighting by John Comiskey, sound byDan Moses Schreier; the production stage manager was Barbara Reo, general manager, Nicki Genovese, associate artistic director, Mandy Hackett, associate producer, Jenny Gersten, director of production, Ruth E. Sternberg, presented by the Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, artistic director,
Kicking a Dead Horse is published by Vintage Books, 2008,ISBN 0-307-38682-1,ISBN 978-0-307-38682-3
TheNew York Times theatre review pointed out that the bleak landscape is reminiscent of theTheatre of the Absurd, particularlySamuel Beckett'sWaiting for Godot andHappy Days.[1] The first images of the Shepard play are said to be striking, but there is little development.[1]