Crash

Crash is a contemporary, satirical comedy, probing the feelings behind and reaction to the economic crisis and the people who caused it. The play follows a reunion of sorts, but on the basis of the characters' current situations, their common ground is at best elusive. Nick is a Securities Trader for Goldman Sachs and collector of art. Humphrey is an artist with ethics and a cheque he's not sure he should cash. And Christine is the beautiful girl they both loved, but Humphrey married. All together again, in Nick's Elizabethan mansion, getting ready to celebrate the unveiling of a new sculpture. But under the surface Humphrey is angry. Angry in the same way that the whole world is angry, angry about how people like Nick seem to have got away with causing a financial meltdown that affected everyone, but still manage to bank their bonuses. William Nicholson is the Tony and Academy award nominated author of Shadowlands and screenwriter on Gladiator and Elizabeth: The Golden Age as well as an acclaimed novelist. His new play seethes with the fury of a nation duped, alongside some sharp political humour about art, Collateralised Debt Obligations and ramblers.

'William Nicholson's first stage play for a decade takes the banking crash and wraps it in rhetoric and pained humanity, in a neat four-hander with a satisfying cataclysm.' Libby Purves, The Times, 21.10.10 'It's a cracker, a play for grown-ups' Libby Purves, The Times, 21.10.10 'It's what would happen if David Hare grew more heart, or Rattigan came back. I loved it.' Libby Purves, The Times, 21.10.10 'William Nicholson's new play, his first in over 10 years, shines a powerful spotlight into the fog of acrimony still swirling around the banking community.' Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telgraph, 22.10.10

William Nicholson is a BAFTA, Oscar and Tony nominated playwright, screenwriter and novelist. His plays include Shadowlands, The Retreat from Moscow, Katherine Howard and Map of the Heart. His screenplays include Gladiator, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Firelight and Crime of the Century.