Red. John Logan

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      RED

      First published in 2009 by Oberon Books Ltd

      521 Caledonian Road, London N7 9RH

      Tel: [phone] / Fax: [phone]

      e-mail: [email protected] www.oberonbooks.com

      Copyright © John Logan, 2009

      Reprinted in 2010, 2011, 2012 (twice), 2013, 2018

      John Logan is hereby identified as author of these plays in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The author has asserted his moral rights.

      All rights whatsoever in this play are strictly reserved and application for performance etc. should be made before commencement of rehearsal to Creative Artists Agency of 405 Lexington Ave, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10174, USA, (Tel: [phone]). No performance may be given unless a licence has been obtained, and no alterations may be made in the title or the text of the play without the author’s prior written consent.

      You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or binding or by any means (print, electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      PB ISBN: 9781840029444

      EPUB ISBN: 9781849432214

      Cover design by AKA

      Cover photography by Johan Persson

      Printed and bound by 4EDGE Limited, Hockley, Essex, UK.

      eBook conversion by Lapiz Digital Services, India.

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      Red was first performed at Donmar Warehouse, London on 3 December 2009, with the following cast and creativeov team:

ROTHKO	Alfred Molina
KEN	Eddie Redmayne
Creative Team
Director	Michael Grandage
Designer	Christopher Oram
Lighting Designer	Neil Austin
Composer and Sound Designer	Adam Cork

      Red was first performed on Broadway at Golden Theatre, New York on 11 March 2010, with the following cast:

ROTHKO	Alfred Molina
KEN	Eddie Redmayne
ROTHKO UNDERSTUDY	Stephen Rowe
KEN UNDERSTUDY	Gabriel Ebert
Creative Team
Director	Michael Grandage
Set and Costume Designer	Christopher Oram
Lighting Designer	Neil Austin
Composer and Sound Designer	Adam Cork
New York Producers
Arielle Tepper Madover
Stephanie P. McClelland
Matthew Byam Shaw
Neal Street
Fox Theatricals
Ruth Hendel/Barbara Whitman
Philip Hagemann/Murray Rosenthal
The Donmar Warehouse

      Red was first performed in the West End at the Wyndham’s Theatre, London on 4 May 2018, produced by MGC, with the following cast:

ROTHKO	Alfred Molina
KEN	Alfred Enoch
ROTHKO UNDERSTUDY	Ian Drysdale
KEN UNDERSTUDY	Sam Perry
Creative Team
Director	Michael Grandage
Set and Costume Designer	Christopher Oram
Lighting Designer	Neil Austin
Composer and Sound Designer	Adam Cork

      Characters

      MARK ROTHKO

      American painter, 50s or older

      KEN

      His new assistant, 20s

      Setting

      Rothko’s studio, 222 Bowery, New York City.

      Circa 1958-1959.

      Rothko’s studio is an old gymnasium. The hardwood floor is splattered and stained with hues of dark red paint. There is a cluttered counter or tables filled with buckets of paint, tins of turpentine, tubes of glue, crates of eggs, bottles of Scotch, packets of pigment, coffee cans filled with brushes, a portable burner or stovetop, and a phone. There is also a phonograph with messy stacks of records.

      There is one door leading to an unseen vestibule where the characters change into their work clothes and enter and exit the studio.

      Most importantly, representations of some of Rothko’s magnificent Seagram Mural paintings are stacked and displayed around the room. Rothko had a pulley system that could raise, lower and display several of the paintings simultaneously. The paintings could be repositioned throughout the play, with a different arrangement for each scene.

      There is also an imaginary painting ‘hanging’ right in front of the audience, which Rothko studies throughout the play.

      Alternately, the entire setting could be abstract.

      Dedicated to Stephen Sondheimfor reminding me.