“In combat medicine, there’s this moment … after a disaster, after a shooting-there’s this moment, the vertical hour, when you can actually be of some use.” Hare’s play premiered on Broadway in 2006 starring Julianne Moore as the American Nadia Blye, a former war correspondent who now teaches political science at Yale. On a short trip to England accompanied by her boyfriend, she will find herself in a new war zone, as she is introduced to his father, a renowned British doctor, Oliver, whose culture and thoughts about the world become an unforeseen surprise and a great challenge for her and her relationship with the family. Nadia feels that it is the USA’s duty to solve the problems of other countries, and regards the invasion of Iraq as an obligation. In contrast, Oliver has been against the war from the very beginning, and considers it to be a catastrophic and bungled operation. This is an intelligent text about international politics and how people from different continents view the world differently. A packed play with good roles about politics, love and ethics.
