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Anatomy of a Suicide

By Alice Birch
Series: Modern Classics
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4.41 goodreads logo

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Anatomy of a Suicide by Alice Birch presents a powerful, unflinching examination of three generations of women grappling with severe depression and mental illness. The play is structured as a triptych, with the stories of a mother, daughter, and granddaughter unfolding simultaneously on stage and in text, their dialogues intertwining like a musical composition. This innovative format explores the painful legacy passed down across time, offering a profound and emotionally charged insight into familial mental health struggles.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2999
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Recommended for readers and theatre enthusiasts interested in contemporary drama, mental health narratives, and experimental storytelling. Suitable for a mature audience given its challenging and emotional themes.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Alice Birch’s new play is scored like a piece of music ... It is an extraordinary echoing text, full of pain and strange beauty. The three stories play out simultaneously on stage, the dialogue from one scene overlapping with the other two in a manner that borders on the choral ... Birch has provided a text that explores these ideas in a formally invigorating way. The Stage

Anatomy of a Suicide presents three generations of women. For each, the chaos of what has come before brings with it a painful legacy.

A powerful, unflinching look at a family afflicted with severe depression and mental illness. Presented as a triptych of plays performed side by side, this groundbreaking play reverberates with audiences and readers.

Published for the first time in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series, this edition features a brand new introduction by Ava Davies.

Series: Modern Classics

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Michael Billington, The Guardian: "Alice Birch adds to the age-old debate of nature versus nurture with a startling theatrical triptych. The play’s overlapping conversations and intersecting timelines are a compositional marvel comparable to the radical experiments of Caryl Churchill and Sarah Kane. Its essential bravery makes it a therapeutic catharsis for those affected by familial sadness or suicide."

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350200777

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 23 September 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Methuen Drama

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 220g

Pages: 256

Collections

Alice Birch Arts & Culture Non-Fiction Series: Modern Classics

About the Author

Alice Birch's previous work at the Royal Court includes Peckham: The Soap Opera and Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again (RSC). Other credits include: We Want You To Watch (National), The Lone Pine Club (Pentabus), Little Light (Orange Tree), Little on the Inside (Almeida / Clean Break), Salt (Comedie de Valence), Many Moons (Theatre 503), Flying the Nest (BBC Radio 4) and Lady Macbeth (BBC Films / BFI / Creative England). Alice was the co-winner of the 2014 George Devine Award for Revolt. She said. Revolt Again and winner of the Arts Foundation Award for Playwriting 2014.

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