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About this item
Highlights
An extraordinary play that puts the audience inside the maelstrom of its characters' lives...a multifaceted portrait of motherhood.
About the Author: Anna Mackmin is an award-winning writer and theatre director.
96 Pages
Drama, Women Authors
Description
Book Synopsis
An extraordinary play that puts the audience inside the maelstrom of its characters' lives...a multifaceted portrait of motherhood. --Arts Desk
Bo is busy balancing the pressures of work and the needs of her struggling daughter. When her mother, the irrepressible force-of-nature Beth, is admitted to hospital following a stroke, the practical realities of the present collide with the complexities of their past.
Backstroke is a kaleidoscopic and compassionate play that offers a heartfelt, unsentimental portrayal of the slippery cord of maternal connection (The Stage).
Review Quotes
Touching, mesmerising, ferociously unsentimental. --The Times
An emotional and intimate play...a cathartic experience that stays with you long after you leave the theatre behind. --Radio Times
Compelling and astutely observed...original and moving. --Guardian
Gripping and unflinching. --London Theatre
Bittersweet...though fraught with knotty tension, a faint ray of tender light gently emerges from beneath, slowly illuminating the room with heartfelt warmth. --BroadwayWorld
Works its way under your skin quietly, lingering long after you've left the theatre...Mackmin's writing shines in the way it captures shifting emotions...a deeply moving experience. --West End Best Friend
About the Author
Anna Mackmin is an award-winning writer and theatre director. Her plays include Backstroke (Donmar Warehouse, London, 2025). Her first novel Devoured was published in 2018. It was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliot prize, and named the New Angle Book of the Year.
Dimensions (Overall): 7.75 Inches (H) x 5.0 Inches (W)
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Sub-Genre: Women Authors
Genre: Drama
Number of Pages: 96
Publisher: Nick Hern Books
Format: Paperback
Author: Anna Mackmin
Language: English
Street Date: January 13, 2026
TCIN: 1003405092
UPC: 9781839043994
Item Number (DPCI): 247-50-0846
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
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Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 1 inches length x 5 inches width x 7.75 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 1 pounds
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