Beaumont Theater

The prolific and talented British writer David Hare had been away from the New York stage for far too long. While his plays had not been seen here since The Secret Rapture was on Broadway in 1989, he had gone on to do some of his best work at the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, including a much-lauded trilogy of plays that tackle three contemporary British institutions: the Church, the criminal justice system and Parliamentary politics. We were thrilled to bring David Hare back to New York with the first and most universal play of this trilogy, RACING DEMON, which received all four major "Best Play" Awards when it was first done at the Royal National. In this marvelously entertaining and bracingly intelligent play, we view the current tensions within the Chruch of England, as personified by a team of Anglican priests in the inner city who are struggling to hold onto their dwindling parishioners. You might not expect a play about clergymen to pack such a wallop, but RACING DEMON offers a heart-breaking and thoughtful debate about divine and human love as well as the nature of faith.