''Breathing Corpses'' is a 2005 play by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Laura Wade Laura Wade is an English playwright. Early life Wade was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire. She grew up in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, where her father worked for a computer company. After completing her secondary education at Lady Manners School i ...

which first premiered at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

Plot

The play traces backwards, starting from the discovery of a corpse of a man named Jim in a hotel room by the seemingly cursed and talkative hotel maid Amy. Each successive scene explains the previous scene: it follows the story of Jim, and the corpse of a young woman whom Jim found himself in his storage warehouse, which drove him to suicide in the first place.Review in Independent 8 March 2005
/ref>Review in Guardian 1 March 2005
/ref>

Premiere

The play premiered in 2005 at the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

where it was very well received. For the play Laura Wade won the

Critics' Circle Theatre Award The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, originally called ''Drama'' Theatre Awards up to 1990, are British theatrical awards presented annually for the closing year's theatrical achievements. The winners, from theatre throughout the United Kingdom, ar ...

for Most Promising Playwright 2005 and the Pearson Playwrights Best Play Award and George Devine Award. The production was also nominated for an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre.

Performance history

After its initial premiere it has since been produced in Sydney 2006, The Hague 2007 and most recently Melbourne 2016. The British regional premiere was at Alma Tavern Theatre, Bristol 2007 presented by

Plain Clothes Theatre Productions Plain Clothes Theatre Productions is a Bristol-based theatre company producing contemporary plays from around the globe. Formed in 2003 by artistic director Sam Berge the company has produced work in London, Bristol, Cheltenham, Toronto and Vanco ...

. It subsequently toured to the Cheltenham Everyman Studio. The production won ''Venue'' magazine's Best Play of 2007. The American premiere, produced b
Luna Theater Company
at Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, Oct 2007 with the Chicago premiere being produced by Steep Theatre Jan 2008, directed by

Robin Witt Robin Witt is an American theater director. She is an ensemble member at both the Griffin Theatre and Steep Theatre Company in Chicago. Witt's notable productions include Enda Walsh's ''The New Electric Ballroom'' at A Red Orchid Theatre, Dennis K ...

References

2005 plays British plays {{2000s-play-stub