A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

Blue Remembered Hills

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  2w, 5m

Dennis Potter

Dennis Potter's acclaimed classic captures the traumas of childhood beneath the apparently innocent surface.

Blue Remembered Hills

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    60 minutes (1 hour)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary

This deceptively simple tale relates the activities of seven English children played by adults on a summer afternoon during World War II. In a woods, a field and a barn, they play, fight, fantasize and swagger. Their aggressions, fears, hostilities and rivalries are a microcosm of adult interaction. Easy going Willie tags along as burly Peter bullies Raymond and is challenged by fair minded Paul. Plain Audrey is overshadowed by Angela's prettiness and wreaks her anger on the boys. All of them gang up on the terrified "Donald Duck" who, abused by his mother and ridiculed by his peers, plays a dangerous game of pyromania with tragic results.

Blue Remembered Hills was originally broadcast in 1979 as part of the BBC's Play for Today series.

  • Time Period 1940s / WWII
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration 60 minutes (1 hour)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"...for all its smallness, it remains one of the most disturbing plays ever written, as if Potter were examining the seed of human cruelty through a microscope." - The Guardian, Read more

"Blue Remembered Hills dupes us into seeing childhood as we really saw it when we were there – in Potter’s words, ‘full to the brim of fear, horror, excitement, joy, boredom, love, anxiety" - Exeunt, Read more

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:

Authors

Author

Dennis Potter

Community

Now Playing

Community Experiences