'When the barman pointed to the cordoned-off area I was like, who are all these old people at our reunion?'

It's been thirty years since former flames Alex and Jason last saw each other. With their carefree university days long behind them, the student reunion seems the perfect opportunity to reconnect, revive and relive their heyday. But as they flirt with reigniting their passion - even if just for one night - will the march of time get in the way?

Deborah Bruce's Raya is a witty and tender play about whether or not we can ever turn back - or stop - the clocks. It opened at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs, London, in June 2021, directed by the theatre's Artistic Director, Roxana Silbert.

Deborah Bruce's other plays include Godchild, The Distance and The House They Grew Up In.

About the Author
Deborah Bruce is a writer and theatre director. Her plays include: Dixon and Daughters (Clean Break/National Theatre, 2023); Raya (Hampstead Theatre, 2021); The House They Grew Up In (Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 2017); The Distance (Orange Tree Theatre and Sheffield Crucible, 2014; a finalist for the 2012-13 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize); Same (National Theatre Connections Festival 2014); and Godchild (Hampstead Theatre, 2013).

Reviews

'A bewitching drama about marriage under the microscope... Bruce has created a fascinatingly multilayered character here... [she] keeps the story moving forward with mysteries and buried secrets... Raya keeps you hooked with its clear-sighted wit and tenderness'

* The Times *

'Well done Deborah Bruce for acknowledging the crisis that grips every woman at some point in their lives in a way that doesn't feel icky... [a] grown up new play'

* Telegraph *

'An enjoyably twisty 80-minute rollercoaster'

* Evening Standard *



Book Information
ISBN 9781839040061
Author Deborah Bruce
Format Paperback
Page Count 80
Imprint Nick Hern Books
Publisher Nick Hern Books