''20 Cigarettes'' is a play and radio play written by
Marcy Kahan.
It was performed between 15 August and 30 August 2007 at the
Soho Theatre
The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces.
The the ...
for the
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth th ...
. The theatre developed the play in response to the introduction of the
smoking ban in England
A smoking ban in England, making it illegal to smoke in all enclosed work places in England, came into force on 1 July 2007 as a consequence of the Health Act 2006. Similar bans had already been introduced by the rest of the United Kingdom: in Sc ...
, asking how smoking forms part of our identity.
[Marlowe, Sam]
"20 Cigarettes"
''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', London, 22 August 2007. Retrieved on 03 November 2018.
Synopsis
Oscar Klavier has been a smoker since his mother introduced him to cigarettes as a schoolboy. As a middle-aged man, the women he loves gives him an ultimatum: she will only marry him if he gives up smoking. To help him quit, a therapist encourages him to discuss the 20 most emotionally important cigarettes of his life.
[Marlowe, Sam]
"20 Cigarettes"
''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', London, 22 August 2007. Retrieved on 03 November 2018.
Production history
Kahan was commissioned by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
to write the radio play, and then in 2007 to rewrite the play for the stage by the
. The production was directed by Toby Frow.
Following the introduction of the smoking ban, the theatre had to ask special permission for the actors to light up on stage.
.
The cast of the 2007 National Youth Theatre production was (in alphabetical order):
* Helen Beaumont
* Jesse Blidner
* Simon Brown
* Cassie Clare
* James Cooper
* Helen Duff
*