Poetry Of Exile

In this new elegiac drama, Chinese transcendental poetry collides with questions of fertility, practicality and wine in Hamilton’s trademark absurdist writing style.

Rob is thirty years old. His wife Lynn wants children, her sister Josie is pursuing her dream of becoming in a vintner in the south of France, and her husband Greg just wants Rob to focus on being a driving instructor – but all Rob wants to do is write poetry. When student Mary-Jane introduces him to the Chinese transcendental poetry of the Tang era, Rob embarks on a journey of self-discovery as his family members slowly unwind their own.

This play asks some very important questions, such as ‘Can Roman Catholic men take the Sperm Test on the NHS? Just how fluid should Gender Fluidity be or is designating yourself to be a 19th Century Cornish Sailing Lugger taking too much of a liberty? Are the wines of the Languedoc grossly undervalued? Were the Chinese poets of the Tang Dynasty the first drop-outs in History? Why are people in Dagenham and Romford nicer than most?’