''The God of Hell'' is a play by American playwright

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

. The play was written in part as a response to the events of

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

. The plot concerns

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

dairy farmer Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

Frank and his wife Emma, and how their peaceful middle-American life is destroyed by Mr. Welch, a mysterious, ultra-patriotic government employee in pursuit of Frank's old friend, Haynes. ''The God of Hell'' was first produced at

The Actors Studio Drama School The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

Theater in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It was

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

by Lou Jacob, and starred

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut ...

as Welch,

Randy Quaid Randy Randall Rudy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor known for his roles in both serious drama and light comedy. He was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in '' The Last Detail'' ...

as Frank,

J. Smith-Cameron Jean Isabel Smith (born September 7, 1957), credited professionally as J. Smith-Cameron, is an American actress. She spent a majority of her career in theatre but began transitioning to film and television later in life. She is known for her suppo ...

as Emma, and Frank Wood as Haynes. Previews began October 29, 2004, with the official opening on November 16, 2004. The show closed on November 28, 2004. In October 2005, the play received its European premiere at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mi ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, and featured

Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include ''Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), ''Bob & Rose'' (2001) and ''Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress ...

as Emma, Ben Daniels as Welch,

Stuart McQuarrie Stuart McQuarrie (born 19 March 1963) is a Scottish actor who has starred in several acclaimed films, including '' Trainspotting'' and ''28 Days Later''. Besides numerous film and TV appearances McQuarrie has performed extensively in theatre th ...

as Frank and

Ewen Bremner Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in '' Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel '' T2 Trainspotting''. Early life Bremner was born i ...

as Haynes.''God of Hell'', a CurtainUp London review
/ref> The play received its Australian premiere on April 7, 2007. Directed by Robyn Mclean, it was acted by Russel Newman as Frank, Paul Bertram as Haynes, Ripely Hood as Mr. Welch and Annie Cossins as Emma and stage managed by

Simon Fox Simon Andrew David Fox (born 12 July 1949) is an English rock drummer, who played in different rock bands during the 1970s and the 1980s, most notably the progressive rock group Be-Bop Deluxe. His earliest band was Hackensack, during the 19 ...

Notes

Plays by Sam Shepard 2004 plays Plays about the September 11 attacks Plays set in Wisconsin {{2000s-play-stub

See also

Notes