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The Cement Garden

By Ian McEwan
Series: Modern Plays
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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
The Cement Garden follows four children left to their own devices after the death of their parents, as they build an isolated, self-fashioned family amidst a stifling summer. Ian McEwan's debut novel delves into themes of coming-of-age, emerging sexuality, and the complex perceptions of a fourteen-year-old mind.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
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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?

Ideal for readers drawn to psychological drama, coming-of-age tales, and British literary fiction, as well as those interested in stage adaptations exploring childhood perspectives.

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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

“I did not kill my father, but sometimes I felt I had helped him on his way. And but for the fact that it coincided with a landmark in my own physical growth, his death seemed insignificant compared with what followed. I am only including the little story of his death to explain how my sisters and I came to have such a large quantity of cement at our disposal.”

In the relentless summer heat, four children retreat into an isolated world left to them by their parents and attempt to create their own version of a family. Ian McEwan’s first novel, The Cement Garden, written in 1978, explores coming-of-age, burgeoning sexuality, and the distortions of a fourteen-year-old mind.

David Aula and Jimmy Osborne’s stage adaptation approaches the horror of the story through the innocent eyes of children, and encourages an audience to remember the games, irreverence, and shadows of their youth: to remember and reinvent their sense of invincibility.

The Cement Garden received its world premiere as part of Vault Festival Waterloo, on 28 January 2014.

Series: Modern Plays

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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?

Praised for its pervasive sense of unease, The Cement Garden has been called "adventurous and youthfully energetic," with a "playful adaptation" featuring inventive touches that compellingly capture the story's layered depth. Critics from Time Out London, whatsonstage.com, and The Times commend its offbeat and engaging approach.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781472583833

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 February 2014

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Methuen Drama

Contributors:

  • Adapted by Jimmy Osborne
  • Adapted by David Aula

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 10.0mm

Width: 126.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 120g

Pages: 104

Collections

Arts & Culture Ian McEwan Non-Fiction Series: Modern Plays

About the Author

Jimmy Osborne’s play Meat was staged at Theatre503 in June 2012 in a joint production by FallOut Theatre and Theatre503. He is one of the writers selected for the 4Screenwriting 2013 Programme run by Channel 4, developing an original serial for television. His short play, This is Jack, Leave a Message, Alright? won a national BBC Writersroom competition and has been performed in London and Sydney. Jimmy’s collected short plays have recently been published as Transmission. He is a graduate of the Royal Court Theatre’s Young Writers Programme. David Aula is a director and an actor. He was educated at Cambridge University. His directing credits include Mummies and Daddies (White Bear Theatre, FallOut); Something/Nothing (The Colour House Theatre, Black and White Rainbow); An Oak Tree (ADC Theatre, FallOut); Three Sisters (ADC Theatre, ADC); Hamlet (European Tour, ETG); the first-ever stage adaptation of Ian McEwan's The Cement Garden (Judith E. WIlson Drama studio, FallOut) and After the End (Corpus Playrooms, FallOut). He was the Assistant Director to Simon Evans on Madness in Valencia (The White Bear and Trafalgar 2, Black and White Rainbow) and The Misanthrope (The White Bear, Black and White Rainbow). His acting credits include Alceste in The Misanthrope (The White Bear, Black and White Rainbow); Nostalgia (Alma Tavern, Bristol, directed by Anna Harpin), Hypnotist in An Oak Tree (ADC Theatre, FallOut); Tupolski in The Pillowman (ADC Theatre, FallOut, directed by Abigail Rokison); Polonius in Hamlet (European Tour, ETG), and Cornelius in Cymbeline (Cambridge Arts Theatre, Marlowe Society, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn).

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