Damages

Synopsis

Every paper wants a scoop. Every celebrity wants exposure. But when the scoop is a kid's TV presenter's bare breasts it's not just reputations that could end up damaged. And there's more to these breasts than meets the eye... A scandalous image of a high-profile TV personality has emerged in the newsroom of a notorious daily rag. With the deadline rapidly approaching a team of conflicted high-flyers battle against the clock and each other as they attempt to solve a menacing moral conundrum. All is not quite as it seems and the ensuing comical chaos exposes the cynical ethics and darker forces that shape our celebrity-centric press. Played in real time, Damages is a fiercely witty satire of the tabloid food chain and the ravenous appetites that sustain it. Is it in the public interest just because it interests the public?

Our Review:

7 June 2004

Every few years we get the journalist play. Heaven knows, given the dominance of the press and its volatile relationship with society's public and private faces, there's enough ammunition to source a dozen or more. The Grand-Daddy of them all, of course, still remains The Front Page, Hecht and MacArthur's virulently cynical expose of hacks and their values.

Steve Thompson's highly entertaining, if old fashioned first play works along similar lines, peeling back the layers to show us just how dodgy the purveyors of moral righteousness can be themselves with `Between the Lines' kind of humour.

Thompson's predators are a trio of tabloid hacks - elderly Chief Sub, Howard, self-appointed `guardian of style'; Lister, a pugilistic, chip-carrying, Scot; and Bas, a greenhorn who's managed to get himself appointed Night Editor. Enter also legal advice in the shape of Amanda Drew's sharp-tongued lawyer Abigail, on tap to weed out potential legalistic infringements.

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (172.158.35.99) - 2 July 2004:

A play that examines important issues without preaching or 'taking sides' - what a breath of fresh air ! Someone treating theatre-goers as grown-ups - about time too ! Wonderfully staged, with great performances, it's a cracking night out....

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