''Strawberry Fields'' is a theatre play written by Stephen Poliakoff and staged at the Cottesloe, National Theatre in March 1977. ''Strawberry Fields'' was the first ever National Theatre production at the Cottesloe, the NT’s ‘black box’ studio theatre (now Dorfman). It starred

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...

, Stephen Rea and

Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a Scottish film, television, radio and stage actor. Early life Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson) and Ronald Cranham, a London-bor ...

and was directed by the film director

Michael Apted Michael David Apted, (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was a British television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the '' Up'' documentary series (1964–2019). He later directed '' Coal Miner's ...

. The play was also presented at the

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...

in New York in 1978.

Storyline

''Strawberry Fields'' brings together a group of distinctive characters who have little in common other than the cause that they support and is set against the question of how seemingly harmless individual characters might, in given socio-historical circumstances, get drawn into extreme beliefs and, indeed, violent action. Described by Robin Nelson as ‘journey play’ that ‘has a claustrophobic cauldron atmosphere, adding tension to what at the outset appear to be innocuous events. It is a kind of inverse Easy Rider rather than a play in which the built environment entraps the characters.’ Nelson referred to the CBC Radio review which described the play, “it’s “Alice in Wonderland” with guns and sexual nostalgia, sort of a fairy tale cross between Pinter and Easy Rider" ''Strawberry Fields'' has had many productions since, especially across Europe. It was made into a television film version in West Germany, which was transmitted on Channel 4 in 1985. The playtext was issued in 1977 by Methuen.

References

{{reflist * Wagner, Anton (1999). "Establishing Boundaries, English-Canadian Theatre Criticism". ''

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university cale ...

'' * Poliakoff, Stephen (1 December 2006). “Plays: Vol1 - Clever Soldiers, Hitting Town, City Sugar, Shout Across the River, American Days, Strawberry Fields". '' Methuen Contemporary Dramatists'' * Coveney, Michael (June 1977)."Strawberry Fields". ''Plays and Players'', p. 24. 1977 plays