The Year of Magical Thinking: A Play by Joan Didion based on her Memoir
‘This happened on December 30, 2003. That may seem a while ago but it won’t when it happens to you…’
In this adaptation of her award-winning, bestselling memoir, Joan Didion transforms the story of the sudden and unexpected loss of her husband and their only daughter into a stunning and powerful one-woman play.
The first production of ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’, starring Vanessa Redgrave and directed by David Hare, was a runaway hit on Broadway in 2007. The same production is transferring to the National Theatre from April to July 2008.
Reviews for the memoir: -
”'It is the most awesome performance of both participating in, and watching, an event. Even though Didion does not allow herself to break down, only a terribly controlled reader will resist doing the same.” - Independent
”'Ultimately, and unexpectedly for a book about illness and death, this is a wonderfully life affirming book.” - Observer
”'Searing, informative and affecting. Don’t leave life without it.” - Financial Times
”'This is a beautiful and devastating book by one of the finest writers we have. Didion has always been a precise, humane and meticulously truthful writer, but on the subject of death she becomes essential.” - Zadie Smith
”'Taking the reader to places where they would not otherwise go is one of the things a really good book can do. 'The Year of Magical Thinking' does just that, and brilliantly. Powerful, moving and true.” - Spectator
”'A great book, a great work. Angular, exact, pressured and tough, precise as a diamond drill bit.” - Nick Laird
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