The Vertical Hour

"Politics is about the reconciliation of the irreconcilable," says Nadia Blye, a young American war reporter turned academic who teaches political studies at Yale. With her faith in academia beginning to erode and memories from her time in the Balkans and the Middle East haunting her, Nadia travels with her boyfriend, Philip Lucas, to rural England to visit her father, Oliver, who has his own past to reckon with. The challenge of Nadia's encounter with Oliver forces decisions on her that will affect her for the rest of her life.

For thirty-five years, David Hare has written plays that capture the flavor of our times and address the interconnection between our secret motives and our public politics. In The Vertical Hour, he continues his investigation of the morality of international intervention, and of how the war in Iraq impacts the lives of British and American citizens.

"Politics is about the reconciliation of the irreconcilable," says Nadia Blye, a young American war reporter turned academic who teaches political studies at Yale. With her faith in academia beginning to erode and memories from her time in the Balkans and the Middle East haunting her, Nadia travels with her boyfriend, Philip Lucas, to rural England to visit his father, Oliver, who has his own past to reckon with. The challenge of Nadia's encounter with Oliver forces decisions on her that will affect her for the rest of her life.

For thirty-five years, David Hare has written plays that capture the flavor of our times and address the interconnection between our secret motives and our public politics. In The Vertical Hour, he continues his sharp investigation of the morality of international intervention, and of how the war in Iraq impacts the lives of British and American citizens.

David Hare, who was born in Sussex in 1947, is one of Britain's most internationally performed playwrights. He has written over twenty stage plays, among them Plenty, The Secret Rapture, Racing Demon, The Absence of War, Skylight, Amy's View, Via Dolorosa, The Permanent Way and Stuff Happens. He has adapted into English plays by Pirandello, Brecht, Chekhov, Schnitzler, Lorca and Gorky. His television films include Licking Hitler. He has written screenplays for many feature films, most recently the film of The Hours.