''Pravda'' is a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

play by David Hare and

Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter, often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Churchill, and David Hare. Early years Brenton was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, so ...

exploring the role of journalism in society. It was first produced at the National Theatre in London on 2 May 1985, directed by Hare and starring

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...

in the role of Lambert Le Roux,

white South African White South Africans are South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original colonists, known as Afr ...

media mogul A media proprietor, also called a media executive, media mogul, media tycoon, or press baron is an entrepreneur who controls any means of public or commercial mass media, through the personal ownership or holding of a dominant position within a ...

. Labelled a "

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

comedy", it is a satire on the mid-1980s British newspaper industry during the Thatcher era, in particular the Australian press baron

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

. Its title refers to the Russian Communist party newspaper ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

''. The play won 1985 Best Play Award from both the London '' Evening Standard Awards'' and ''

City Limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary (real estate), boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. ...

'' magazine. It has been described as "one of the biggest hits in the history of the National Theatre."

Original cast

*Andrew May - Tim McInnerny *Bill Smiley - Richard Hope *Bishop of Putney - Daniel Thorndike *Cartoonist - William Sleigh *Cliveden Whicker-Baskett - Guy Williams *D P P Payne - Christopher Baines *Donna Le Roux - Zoe Rutland *Eaton Sylvester - Bill Nighy *Elliot Fruit-Norton - Basil Henson *Hamish McLennan; Hannon Spot - Fred Pearson *Harry Morrison - Ron Pember *Jack ‘Breaker’ Bond - Bill Moody *Journalist - Robert Ralph *Journalist - Paul Stewart *Lambert Le Roux -

*Larry Punt - Mark Jax *Leander Scroop - Nigel Le Vaillant *Lord Silk; Ian Ape-Warden - Olivier Pierre *Michael Quince M.P. - Peter Blythe *Miles Foley; Mac ‘Whipper’ Wellington; *Doug Fantom - Ian Bartholomew *Moira Patterson - Patricia Franklin *Newsvendor - Glenn Williams *Photographer - Desmond Adams *Princess Jill - Harriet Thorpe *Rebecca Foley - Kate Buffery *Sir Stamford Foley - Ivor Roberts *Suzie Fontaine - Miranda Foster *Waiter - Norman Warwick

Critical reception

'' Punch'' called it "A savagely bitchy and often wildly funny evening"; the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' noted "A magnificent epic drama"; and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' wrote of "sulphurous and crackling entertainment."

References

External links

Literary Encyclopaedia''Chicago Tribune'' review of production in 2005Study Guide for Play by Timeline Theater, Chicago IL USA
*https://www.hitpages.com/doc/6307672185896960/10/ 1985 plays Plays by David Hare Plays by Howard Brenton {{1980s-play-stub