ABSTRACT
The introduction to Mike Bartlett’s begins in the Spring of 2022, when three of his plays (Cock [2009], The 47th [2022], and Scandaltown [2022]) were simultaneously playing in London. This auspicious moment is used to establish his successful career as a playwright before the chapter turns to a biographical review of how he came to achieve this recognition. Starting with his Oxford childhood and educational experience through college, the chapter reveals familial and literary influences on his writing as well as experimental theatrical productions that fuelled his early writing. After college, Bartlett, along with Duncan Macmillan, formed a writing cohort called the Apathists, which was instrumental in providing Bartlett the opportunity to experiment with form but also embrace the possibility of failure. Shortly thereafter, Bartlett joined the Young Writers Programme at the Royal Court Theatre, working with Simon Stephens, where he soon had his first theatrical successes. (Three of his first four plays premiered at the Royal Court.) The rest of the chapter traces his work with the National Theatre, Headlong Theatre, and Rupert Goold, as well as his foray into television writing. Also, the chapter contains a summary of each chapter in the book.
