Absolute Hell

by Rodney Ackland

Condemned as a "libel on the British people" when it was first produced in 1951, Absolute Hell is set in a decaying West End drinking club at the end of the Second World War. The 1995 production at the Royal National Theatre starred Judi Dench and was directed by Anthony Page.

Genres: Plays, LGBT, Queer, Theatre, Gay

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1945

Reviews

[Bettie]

Bettie's Books

The rating, any status updates, and those bookshelves, indicate my feelings for this book.

[Amy]

Loved this, but because it is so British in tone and set in 1945 with all that entails in the way of language (and slang) I don't think it is performable in US regional theatre. That said, it is a brilliant script with wonderful (and surprisingly contemporary) characters - considering that it was originally written in 1951-ish.

[Harry McDonald]

This is SUCH a good play. Camp as Christmas and the characters more than rise to the occasion. A libel on the British people? Please, I *wish* I knew people this interesting.

I wrote about the recent revival at the National Theatre here: https://harryrmcdonald.wordpress.com/...

[Cara Patel]

I think I will give this play another go once I've seen it performed. I found it difficult to create the characters in my head because there was so many, and I think that seeing it would give me a better idea of the tone.