''Kicking a Dead Horse'' (2007) is an American

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

written by

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

. It is an example of a

dramatic monologue Dramatic monologue is a type of poetry written in the form of a speech of an individual character. M.H. Abrams notes the following three features of the ''dramatic monologue'' as it applies to poetry: Types of dramatic monologue One of the mo ...

for one man for most of the play, until a woman shows up, in all lasting approximately 80 minutes.

Plot summary

Hobart Struther's voyage is interrupted by the death of his horse in a desert. Out of frustration, he kicks it. He stands trying to figure out what to do. Struther made millions by buying cheap paintings and reselling them. In a midlife crisis, he has abandoned his wife and rich life for a trip to understand himself. The former art dealer laments his condition. He must bury the horse. This proves to be very difficult. Next he debates different facets of his personality and life, looking as he mentions several times for authenticity, until every angle seems doomed to failure.

Performance history

''Kicking a Dead Horse'' premiered at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

in 2007, starring the Irish actor Stephen Rea, and then with the same actor at New York's

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

and the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

in London in 2008. The New York production was directed by Sam Shepard, with sets by Brien Vahey costumes by Joan Bergin, lighting by John Comiskey, sound by

Dan Moses Schreier Dan Moses Schreier is an American composer and sound designer. He is best known for his theatrical music work, on Broadway and elsewhere. Schreier is from Detroit, and lives in New York City. He studied music at the University of Michigan and ...

; the production stage manager was Barbara Reo, general manager, Nicki Genovese, associate artistic director, Mandy Hackett, associate producer, Jenny Gersten, director of production, Ruth E. Sternberg, presented by the Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, artistic director,

Publications

''Kicking a Dead Horse'' is published by Vintage Books, 2008, ,

Reviews

The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' theatre review pointed out that the bleak landscape is reminiscent of the

Theatre of the Absurd The Theatre of the Absurd (french: théâtre de l'absurde ) is a post–World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for the style o ...

, particularly Samuel Beckett's '' Waiting for Godot'' and ''Happy Days''. The first images of the Shepard play are said to be striking, but there is little development.

References

External links

Sam-shepard.comAlmedia.co.uk
{{Sam Shepard Plays by Sam Shepard Theatre of the Absurd 2007 plays Western United States in fiction Monodrama Plays set in the United States Wyoming in fiction