A History of the RSC in 50 Objects (Online)

POSTER

Pentecost, 1994

Playwright: David Edgar

Director: Michael Attenborough 

 

This was the world premier of David Edgar's play Pentecost. It was the seventh of Edgar's plays that the RSC had produced since 1976. The plot centres on the discovery of a long hidden painting in a church somewhere in eastern Europe.

Edgar said of this play: 'I wanted to write a play that used a kind of artistic detective story as the starting point for an analysis of what European now means'. The play deals with the meaning of national identity after centuries of invasion by neighbouring countries. National identity is discussed through the common themes of art, language and religion. Some critics saw it as a response to the conflict in Sarajevo.