The Hogarth Plays

The Hogarth Plays catch one of England's most celebrated artists at two crucial points in his career: once at the beginning, and once at the end. In The Art of Success the events of ten tumultuous years are compressed into a single night, as newlywed William Hogarth makes his way through eighteenth-century London's high society and its debauched underworld. The play was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 1986. A world premiere, The Taste of the Town begins in Chiswick some thirty years later. Hogarth, now a famous artist, is still at odds with the world, and with his wife. Facing public ridicule for what he considers his finest painting, he goes looking for one last fight. Nick Dear's double-bill premiered at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, London in September 2018.


About the Author
Dear, Nick: - Nick Dear's plays include Lunch in Venice, Power, The Villains' Opera, Zenobia, In the Ruins, Food of Love, The Art of Success, Pure Science, and Temptation. His adaptations include Summerfolk (after Gorky); Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (after Molière); The Last Days of Don Juan (after Tirso de Molina). His screenplays include Persuasion, The Turn of the Screw, Cinderella, The Gambler, Byron, Eroica and Agatha Christie's Poirot. He has also written extensively for BBC Radio, beginning with his first play, Matter Permitted (1980).