''Hitchcock Blonde'' is a play by British playwright Terry Johnson which debuted in April 2003 in London and later moved to London's West End. It was also staged in the United States.

Plot

The play takes place in three time periods: 1919, when a short film featuring a blonde woman was shot which later fascinated

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

; 1960, during the filming of Hitchcock's classic '' Psycho''; and 1999, when a

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly ...

professor and one of his students, another blonde woman, discover the 1919 film and re-examine Hitchcock's work through its lens.

Productions

The play premiered in April 2003 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 ...

, London, and later moved to the Lyric Theatre in London's West End. Its American premiere was at the

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Direc ...

in Costa Mesa, California in February–March 2006. Its New Zealand premiere was at the

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre on Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. Since 1989 the theatre has hosted the long running play ''The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by author, playw ...

in Dunedin in July 2006. It was also staged at the

Alley Theatre The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at L ...

in Houston, Texas from 23 February to 18 March 2007. A revival of the play for its tenth anniversary ran at the

Hull Truck Theatre Hull Truck Theatre is a theatre in Kingston upon Hull, England, which presents drama productions, and also tours. In March 2022, the theatre's original premises on Coltman Street, Hull, was recognised by a blue plaque to coincide with the theatr ...

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

, UK from 1–16 February 2013.

Reception

''Hitchcock Blonde'' received mixed reviews. Paul Taylor of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' noted that only in "a few sequences idthe show exert the requisite fascination" and parts of the play "strain dcredulity". Sean Mitchell of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' acknowledged "some fine writing" in the play and summed it up as " brainy bit of titillation, salted with some deep thoughts on Hollywood's dark powers and the unseemly genius of the famously morbid British director itchcock. Jasper Rees of

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

called the play "hugely absorbing". Steven Oxman of

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

said it "possesses a sharp visual impact but a dull emotional and intellectual one."

References

{{reflist 2003 plays Plays by Terry Johnson