''Rafts and Dreams'' is a play by English playwright Robert Holman that was first performed in 1990, and published in 1991.

Plot

Beginning as a seeming domestic drama, ''Rafts and Dreams'' shows the relationship between obsessive-compulsive mysophobe Hetty and her soldier husband Leo, and their neighbour Neil – a victim of childhood sexual abuse who is now studying to be a doctor. However, when Leo and Neil remove a tree stump from Leo's garden they find an underground lake under all London which expands to flood the entire world. Leo makes a raft from their living room and as they float they meet the wife of the man who abused Neil.

Productions

''Rafts and Dreams'' was first presented at the Royal Court Theatre in 1990. The production was directed by

John Dove John Dove (−1664/65) was a parliamentary politician during the English Civil War and Interregnum. He has sometimes been numbered amongst the regicides; however, although he sat as a Commissioner in the trial of Charles I at the Painted Chamber ...

and the cast was: Neil Bell – Jonathan Cullen
Hetty – Adie Allen
Leo – Jason Watkins
Jo – Natasha Pyne
Alex – Ilan Ostrove
Woman – Maureen Hibbert
In 2003 the play was revived at the

Royal Exchange, Manchester The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

in a production directed by Tim Stark.

Critical reception

“While digging up the roots of a tree in the garden, Neil, Leo and Hetty uncover a vast underground lake which floods away the world. With Leo at the tiller of his sawn-away living room, the trio begin a voyage over the earth's watery surface … Rafts and Dreams is a surrealist fantasy at its most thought-provoking, a play whose best bits manage (in both senses) to work like a dream.” – Paul Taylor, The Independent.

Encore Theatre Magazine ''Encore Theatre Magazine'' is an online magazine relating to contemporary theatre published in the United Kingdom. History ''Encore Theatre Magazine'' begun publication in May 2003. It was inspired by the defunct magazine of the same title (' ...

'' described the play as “one of the great post-war British plays.”

Plot

Productions

Critical reception

References

Further reading