Hopelessly Devoted - (Modern Plays) by Kate Tempest (Paperback)

About the Book

Acclaimed writer and spoken-word artist Kae Tempest's latest play, set in a women's prison, which looks at the possibility of redemption through music, love and human connection.

Book Synopsis

Freedom has only ever meant
Love.
And life lived without love
Is not life enough.

Chess is in prison. Facing a lengthy sentence, her cell mate, Serena, becomes her soul mate. But when Serena is given parole, Chess faces total isolation.

Hope comes in the form of a music producer looking for a reason to love music again. She finds a powerful voice in Chess. But to harness her talent, Chess must first face her past.

Featuring Kae Tempest's trademark lyrical fireworks and live music, this is a story of love and redemption.

Hopelessly Devoted received its world premiere on 19 September 2013 at the DOOR, Birmingham Rep, co-produced by Paines Plough and Birmingham Rep. It toured the UK again in 2014.

Review Quotes

"A raw dissection of the experience of young women in prison . . . a passionate argument for the humanising and redemptive power of art" --Daily Telegraph

"In conveying the fundamental isolation of a life lived on the inside . . . Hopelessly Devoted is very good." --Time Out London

"The result is an ingenious whole that's funny and true about growing up, getting wasted and - as they gather round a tree planted to remember their friend - wasting life . . . The movement between rap and drama is fluid rather than jolting . . . Tempest's writing oscillates between dynamic poetry that's full of vividly phrased acute observation and dialogue that's plainer but just as spot-on. An ingenious whole that's funny and true...dynamic poetry that's full of vividly phrased acute observation . . . spot-on." --Guardian - on 'Wasted'

"As Ms. Tempest's gorgeous streams of words flow out, they conjure a story so vivid it's as if you had a state-of-the-art Blu-ray player stuffed into your brain, projecting image after image that sears itself into your consciousness. Both as writer and performer, Ms. Tempest stitches together words with such animate grace that language acquires an almost tactile quality." --New York Times - on 'Brand New Ancients'

About the Author

Kae Tempest is a poet and rapper from south-east London. Her book Everything Speaks In Its Own Way was nominated for The Guardian First Book Award. She has written for the Royal Shakespeare Company, BBC, Amnesty International and Chris Ofili. She won the Ted Hughes Award in 2013 for Brand New Ancients.