9 Circles Tickets
Based on real events, this taut psychological thriller seeks justice from the collision of morality and empathy
Date & Time
Show ended
Runtime: 1h 30m
Recommended By
Premiering in London before heading to Edinburgh comes a new play from House of Cards writer, Bill Cain, inspired by the true story of a US private accused of war crimes. Directed by Guy Masterson, who directed the West End Jaws play, The Shark is Broken, the play uses Dante’s Divine Comedy as a framework to explore the hell of war as it focusses on the story of a 19-year-old who is trained to become a killing machine. Is the individual responsible for his actions? Or is it the army who trained him, or the state that requires him to kill for his country? Cain is not just a screenwriter and producer but also a Jesuit priest. Reports from the US premiere suggest this is a play which asks knotty questions about accountability, guilt and who does and doesn’t deserve our empathy.
About 9 Circles
A European Premiere from multi-award winning House Of Cards writer Bill Cain. A dantesque descent into the conundrums, contradictions and hypocrisies of war through the eyes of a repatriated US Army Private… now alleged war criminal. Exactly how can a soldier be trained as a cold-blooded killing machine while clinging on to the threads of his humanity? What happens when those threads snap in the fog of war? How can we judge those who have killed for our freedoms? Can we truly apply civilian moral standards to a soldier in the throes of mortal combat? Directed by Olivier Award-winner Guy Masterson (The Shark Is Broken), starring Joshua Collins, Samara Neely-Cohen and David Calvitto (12 Angry Men [West End], Shawshank Redemption). Age Recommendation: 16+