Lucas SimonianDramaWednesday, 30 April 2014The Works of David Hare and Howard BrentonDavid HareDavid Hare was born in Sussex in 1947. He is the author of twenty-eight plays for the stage. Sixteen have been performed in the National Theatre. They includePlenty, Pravda (with Howard Brenton), The Secret Rapture,Racing Demon,The Absence of War, Skylight, Amy's View, The Blue Room(from Schnitzler),The Judas Kiss, Via Dolorosa, Stuff Happens, The Vertical Hour, Gethsemane, The Power of YesandSouth Downs. He has also written plays by Brecht, Gorky, Chekhov, Pirandello and Lorca, in English. His many screenplays for film and television includeLicking Hitler, Wetherby, Damage, The Hours, The ReaderandPage Eight. David writes a lot of political plays, for example Fanshen, originally a book about the Chinese Revolution. Fanshen refuses to show clearly moral issues, David Hares adaptation focusses on the difficulties, mistakes and corruption of the revolution. Hare uses his work to show the audience who watches the play that those involved can learn from their mistakes and perhaps even move to a more ideal society. Davids work that is considered to be his best was the play Plenty, which is about a woman who served in the French Resistance in WW2 but finds herself concerned about post war Britain. Howard BrentonHoward Brenton is a British playwright, recognised for his controversial political plays of the 1970s and 80s. He became resident dramatist at the Royal Court in 1972, following on from David Hare, who he did Pravda with. His plays includeRevenge, Brassneckalso a collaboration with David Hare,The Churchill Play, Epsom Downs, and The Romans in Britain,Berlin Bertie, Paul, Never So Good, andIn Extremis. Brentons has now written 40 plays, either alone or in collaboration with other playwrights, mostly David Hare. Howard Brenton is seen more than anyone in Britain today a play writer that epitomizes Bertolt Brechts legacy. His contribution to left wing theatre is alike to Bertolt Brecht. This is because he uses a lot of epic theatre. Howard BrentonDavid Hare