National Anthems

This show has now closed, click here for a listing of current and future London shows

Play Opened 8 February 2005, Closed 23 April 2005

Old Vic Theatre The Cut, Waterloo, London

Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, in the late 1980s. Arthur and Leslie Reed, newcomers to the area, are clearing up after a party. Suddenly one of their neighbours, Ben Cook, arrives on the doorstep unannounced to introduce himself. But what seems at first like a friendly visit gradually turns into something very different.

As the night wears on the tensions within the Reeds' marriage slowly come to the surface, while Ben's failed ambitions and damaged past push his bitterness and suppressed violence to the limit. The party games increase in intensity and the emotional barriers come tumbling down, culminating in a devastating clash of wills, values and bodies.

Played in real time, Dennis McIntyre's raw and shocking play is at once a searing critique of suburban values and a hard-hitting parable about American materialism. Shot through with wit, pain and anger, it paints a powerful and honest portrait of male competitiveness, status anxiety, and the fragile nature of a marriage built on the worship of consumer goods rather than love.

The following book is available to buy online: National Anthems by Dennis Mcintyre

In 1988 National Anthems was staged at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Connecticut, directed by Arvin Brown and starring Kevin Spacey, Tom Berenger and Mary McDonnell. For this production of National Anthems at The Old Vic theatre - the play's British Premiere - Kevin Spacey will again play the role of 'Ben Cook'. He is joined by Mary Stuart Masterson and Steven Weber.

Kevin Spacey: "Mesmersing... he doesn't just occupy the stage, he seizes it... a dazzling performance" The Guardian

"He's on fine form... in Dennis McIntyre's laughter-laced satire" The Daily Mail