Enron (Modern Plays)

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This describes a fetid cesspit of humanity at its worst, filled with toxic masculinity, crass behaviour and obnoxiousness as standard. I mean, I know that they were an energy and commodities trading company but I'm still not really sure what they did. Michael Billington, critic for The Guardian, dubbed Brantley's comments an "obtuse and hostile review", [7] stating that " Enron 's fate was sealed the moment Brantley's review appeared [. Charting the notorious rise and fall of the eponymous company and its founding partners Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, Lucy Prebble's Enron is a pulse-racing and rage-inducing parable, exploring the limits of greed.

Enron was premiered in Reykjavik City Theatre in September 2010, in Dublin as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival in October 2010 and in Helsinki (Helsinki City Theatre) in November 2010. In The New York Times review of the Broadway production, Ben Brantley wrote, contrary to some other critics, "even with a well-drilled cast that includes bright Broadway headliners like Norbert Leo Butz and Marin Mazzie, the realization sets in early that this British-born exploration of smoke-and-mirror financial practices isn’t much more than smoke and mirrors itself.

It's definitely not for everyone (as witnessed by how badly the play bombed on Broadway, closing after less than a month, even with the lovely Norbert Leo Butz in the leading role) but for those with an open mind and a willingness to go with the flow, ENRON is unlike anything in modern theatre. this book is one that i had to read for a level english literature and i didn't expect top enjy it as much as i did (i susually enjoy the poetry elements of the course rather than drama) but i thought that this play was very well written and that prebble's writing was pretty much incredible.

It was definitely a unique way of telling a real live event and it definitely got the point across about how this company ended up where it ended up. I read this in an English Seminar Junior year and loved how it bridged the gap between my two majors — the play doesn’t allow for too many intricacies of the scandal, but it is an excellent high-level into one of crazier fallouts in our lifetime. In contrast to David Mamet's unlikeable character who seem to thrive on their negativity, Prebble sees hers as playing out a farce.In recent times, a rash of financial world-based stories has cropped up, The Wolf of Wall Street being the first that comes to mind. I mean, this is the issue with reading a play in general, and I'm sure that seeing this staged with some really great actors would make this a more engaging experience.

It highlights the characters of Kenneth Lay (chairman and CEO), Jeffery Skilling (COO), and Andrew Fastow (CFO), their interactions, their roles in creating the scandal, and their reactions when it all came crashing down. Enron won the 2009 Theatrical Management Association award for Best New Play and was also nominated for Best Performance in a Play (Samuel West). The people in here are so bad as to be one-dimensional caricatures, which I suppose is partly the point Prebble is making.

But as was true of the company of this play's title, the energy generated here often feels factitious, all show (or show and tell) and little substance. EAT THE RICH, SELFISH W*NKERS, TOO CAUGHT UP IN THEIR TESTOSTERONE FUELED LIES TO NOTICE THE REAL LIVES IMPACTED. With a winning mix of classical drama and sharp satire, Prebble tells the story of Jeffrey Skilling, the former president and man behind the collapse of the Texan energy comapny in 2006. Inspired by real-life events and using music, dance and video, ENRON explores one of the most infamous scandals in financial history, reviewing the tumultuous 1990s and casting a new light on the financial turmoil in which the world currently finds itself.

It transferred to the Noel Coward Theatre in January 2010 and will run there until 14 August before embarking on a UK tour. The dialogue is crackling, with a lot of really great lines, but the people who are saying them don't ever really feel fully formed. Lucy Prebble's hugely ambitious play, covering the rise and fall of the Texan energy company, Enron, is an exhilarating mix of political satire, modern morality and multimedia spectacle. Not only is this an exceptionally conceived story, it taught be a huge amount about financial systems and the banking crisis.

They did something to do with creating shadow companies to make it appear as if they didn't have any debt? I'm glad that my library had a digital recording of the production when it ran in LA because even though I would have enjoyed it if I read the script, I don't think I would have appreciated it more were it not for the recording to know how it was played out. It was one of the most successful smoke and mirror shows in business history so it makes sense that Lucy Prebble's play would be built upon the thrill of the illusion, creating a spectacle so large and impossible to hate that it gave the world rose tinted glasses. How many pieces of drama about business fraud do you know have Jurassic Park references, android accountants, 3 blind mice, messiah imagery and raptors?