The Dark Earth and the Light Sky

Synopsis

Deep in the Hampshire countryside Edward Thomas scrapes a living; disaffected husband, exhausted father and tormented writer. Then in 1913 he meets American poet Robert Frost and everything changes. As their friendship blossoms Edward writes, emerging from his cocoon of self-doubt into one of the most influential poets of the twentieth century. On the verge of success he makes the drastic decision to enlist, confounding his friends and family. The Dark Earth and the Light Sky delves into the life of this enigmatic and complex character in an era of change and destruction.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 16 November 2012

What a beautiful and unexpected play this is by Nick Dear, a study of the friendship between the Welsh poet Edward Thomas and his American counterpart Robert Frost, with contributions from Thomas’s wife, Helen, and their friend, the children’s author Eleanor Farjeon (sister of the revue writer Herbert Farjeon, and author of the hymn “Morning Has Broken”) who was probably in love with the bard. It reminds me of Howard Brenton’s perfervid Bloody Poetry, a weekend party with the Shelleys and Lord Byron, but there’s a quite different, lingering elegiac atmosphere in Richard Eyre’s gorgeous production, which evokes birdsong in the trenches, light in the G...

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Latest User Review

lis wade - 29 December 2012:

Massively disappointed in this - Found it all much more precious than I expected; however the evening was mainly marred by Hattie Morahan's performance. The shrillness with which she attempted to convey distress and instability reached such a pitch that by the time the dead Thomas's effects were openedthere was nowhere left for her to go other than dropping to a ludicrous bellowing which was even less convincing. Pip Carter's performance by contrast was sensitive and measured. ...

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