'It had been a while. I was really nervous. I mean, it's not really like riding a bike. Sex. It's far more complicated.'

Phil and Alice are in love - familiar, flawed, ordinary love. They are on a journey, but this journey doesn't have an A to Z.

Jack Thorne's The Solid Life of Sugar Water is an intimate, tender play about loss, hurt and rediscovery. It previewed at The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth, and premiered at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in a co-production between Graeae Theatre Company and Theatre Royal Plymouth.

About the Author

Jack Thorne's plays for the stage include The Solid Life of Sugar Water (Graeae and Theatre Royal Plymouth, 2015); Hope (Royal Court, London, 2015); adaptations of Let the Right One In (National Theatre of Scotland at Dundee Rep, the Royal Court and the Apollo Theatre, London, 2013/14) and Stuart: A Life Backwards (Underbelly, Edinburgh and tour, 2013); Mydidae (Soho, 2012; Trafalgar Studios, 2013); an adaptation of Friedrich Du rrenmatt's The Physicists (Donmar Warehouse, 2012); Bunny (Underbelly, Edinburgh, 2010; Soho, 2011); 2nd May 1997 (Bush, 2009); When You Cure Me (Bush, 2005; Radio 3's Drama on Three, 2006); Fanny and Faggot (Pleasance, Edinburgh, 2004 and 2007; Finborough, 2007; English Theatre of Bruges, 2007; Trafalgar Studios, 2007); and Stacy (Tron, 2006; Arcola, 2007; Trafalgar Studios, 2007).

His radio plays include Left at the Angel (Radio 4, 2007), an adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2009) and an original play People Snogging in Public Places (Radio 3's Wire slot, 2009).

He was a core writer in all three series of Skins (E4, Channel 4, BBC America), writing five episodes. His other TV writing includes The Fades (2012 BAFTA for Best Drama Series), Shameless, Cast-Offs, This is England '86 (2011 Royal Television Society Award for Best Writer - Drama), This is England '88, This is England '90 and the thirty-minute drama The Spastic King.

His work for film includes the features A Long Way Down, adapted from Nick Hornby's novel, and The Scouting Book for Boys, which won him the Star of London Best Newcomer Award at the London Film Festival 2009.

Reviews

'Forceful, thrilling, stunning... Thorne's script is fearless and finds shattering detail'

* Telegraph *

'Startlingly good... an adult play in the very best sense... gutsy, challenging, witty, deceptively delicate'

* The Times *

'Hits you squarely in the gut - it has a real sense of precision and meter, the tone sometimes funny, sometimes filthy, sometimes hopeful, sometimes utterly devastating... an intense, powerful, brilliantly written two-hander about sex, relationships and loss'

* The Stage *

'Heartbreaking'

* Time Out *

'Funny, poignant, arresting... a complex emotional watch, heartwarming and heartwrenching, sometimes simultaneously, but super smart too; great on gender gaps, better on life's unexpected turns and loaded up with minuscule wisdoms'

* FestMag *

'Inclusive and succinctly powerful... Writer Jack Thorne never ceases to stimulate and entertain... Disability isn't the core of the story, just another colour in the palette. The characters aren't measured against an ableist world but against each other... They are both complex, and not entirely likeable... The central event of the play is harrowing, but what I mostly remember is the snark and warmth of the characters and the tender last moments'

* Evening Standard *

'Hits you with such raw, uncomfortable truth that it stays with you... a deeply intimate play... extremely graphic, hyper-realistic and very funny... a piece of beautifully balanced writing... devastating... the explicit details of sex, bodies and birth, will be too much for some. However, there will be fewer plays this year that feel so intrinsically honest'

* Broadway World *



Book Information
ISBN 9781848425132
Author Jack Thorne
Format Paperback
Page Count 64
Imprint Nick Hern Books
Publisher Nick Hern Books