Blood and Gifts
a new play by J T Rogers
'Imagine John Le Carré collaborated with Yes Prime Minister and The Thick of It, aided by a disaffected renegade from The West Wing.' The Times
5 STARS ‘Illuminates Afghanistan in brilliant new light ' Evening Standard
4 STARS 'A compelling political thriller' Guardian
4 STARS 'It grips entirely' The Times
4 STARS ' A strong and thought-provoking evening.' Daily Express
4 STARS ' An excellent cast...engrossing.' Sunday Times
4 STARS ' A fluid, well-acted production that compels attention.' Sunday Express
1981. As the Soviet army burns its way through Afghanistan and toward the critical Pakistani border, CIA operative Jim Warnock is sent to try and halt its bloody progress. Joining forces with a larger than life Afghan warlord, and with the Pakistani and British secret services, Jim spearheads the covert struggle.
My God, Russian soldiers being shot with Chinese bullets. Sometimes the world is so beautiful.
The ferociously dedicated group of men are tied together by a common enemy, but as the brutal chaos escalates, clear political action becomes impossible in the face of mutual suspicion and shifting loyalties.
From the author of The Overwhelming (NT 2006), Blood and Gifts is an epic political thriller, shot through with mad humour, that sweeps from refugee camps to mountainous tribal regions to the corridors of power in Washington DC.
Your intelligence? You were born there? I did not realize Manchester was a suburb of Kabul.
World Premiere
Blood and Gifts was commissioned by Lincoln Center Theater, New York City. A short version of the play was presented at the Tricycle Theatre in 2009 as part of The Great Game.
Assisted performances
Captioned performance Thursday 7 October at 7.30pm
Audio-Described performances Saturday 30 October at 2.15pm, Monday 1 November at 7.30pm
photo © Mauricio Lima/AFP/Getty Images
