James Ley

The Ego Plays: Spain, I Heart Maths, UP

James Ley

Includes the plays Spain, I Heart Maths and UpThe theme of self-indulgence unites the three plays in The Ego Plays collection. At the heart of each is a gay man asking a lot of questions… about himself. These questions range from scientific and philosophical musings to angst-ridden pleas for enlightenment. They come from men who have become so trapped in their own situations that they can no longer successfully connect with the outside world. Up is a play about despair, I Heart Maths is a play about love and Spain is a play about moving on. Together they present the cognitive processes of three men who have allowed personal problems to grow to monstrous proportions. In each of these plays excessive self analysis leads to the main characters taking desperate measures, though frequently also leading to humorous consequences. But while these plays are comedies, exploring the perils of taking oneself too seriously, they are not intended to be cruel. Instead they set their characters free by making their worst fears come true and then taking them somewhere new.