Enron - (Modern Plays) by Lucy Prebble (Paperback)

About the Book

One of the most infamous scandals in financial history becomes a theatrical epic. At once a case study and an allegory, the play charts the notorious rise and fall of Enron and its founding partners Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, who became reviled figures from the financial scandal of the century, with quotes like, "The only difference between me and the people judging me is they weren't smart enough to do what we did."
Mixing classical tragedy with savage comedy, Enron follows a group of flawed men and women in a narrative of greed and loss which reviews the tumultuous 1990s and casts a new light on the financial turmoil in which the world finds itself in today.

Book Synopsis

'The only difference between me and the people judging me is they weren't smart enough to do what we did.'

One of the most infamous scandals in financial history becomes a theatrical epic. At once a case study and an allegory, the play charts the notorious rise and fall of Enron and its founding partners Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, who became 'the most vilified figure from the financial scandal of the century.'

Mixing classical tragedy with savage comedy, Enron follows a group of flawed men and women in a narrative of greed and loss which reviews the tumultuous 1990s and casts a new light on the financial turmoil in which the world finds itself in 2009.

The play is Lucy Prebble's first work for the stage since her debut work The Sugar Syndrome, winner of the George Devine and Critic's Circle Awards for Most Promising New Playwright. Produced by Headlong, Enron premiered at Chichester's Minerva Theatre on 11 July 2009 and opened at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in September, before transferring to London's West End Jan - May 2010 and to Broadway April 2010.

Review Quotes

"Both a dazzling piece of entertainment and a gripping cautionary tale...What's clear is that the sensational stage effects deliver the same blood-pumping thrills of a musical, wrapped around a play, by Lucy Prebble, with more brains in its head than any tuner since Assassins." --Variety

"Enron is a whip-smart, edge-of-your-seat ride that'd rival anything at Six Flags -- there are even raptor-headed businessmen prancing around." --New York Post

"A surprising and remarkable creation: It's a two-and-a-half-hour lecture on business history, and it's utterly thrilling." --New York Observer

"Enron is at once an astonishing thrill ride through the high-flying '90s and a chilling precursor to everything that would follow." --Bloomberg News

"An exhilarating mix of political satire, modern morality and multimedia spectacle." --The Guardian

"Not to be missed. The political theatre of the 21st century has arrived, in some style." --The Times of London

"One of those rare works that crystallizes the mood of its age." --Daily Telegraph

"One of the most incisive, most grown-up political dramas of the past 10 years." --Observer

"Caryl Churchill's Serious Money skewered the 1980s; Prebble's Enron knifes the Noughties." --Sunday Times of London

"The collapse of US energy giant Enron brilliantly reconfigured by Lucy Prebble...(her) great skill lies in her ability to take us through complex concepts with ease, without bemusing or, worse, patronizing us." --Evening Standard

"A darkly exhilarating portrait of hypertrophied capitalism and a society that allows faith-based fiscal systems to ravage the body economic...A sharp-witted and rollicking business thriller...Prebble's characters are deliciously vital and self-aware." --Time Out

About the Author