Episode 6: WILL ARBERY
"The war is coming, dude.” So says a central character in one of the most talked about plays of the year. Is she right? Could be, who knows. But if a civil war returns, Will Arbery is undoubtedly the right playwright to spin our basest impulses into high art. In this “backdrop eavesdrop,” Kevin and Will speak one-on-one only days after Will’s play Heroes of the Fourth Turning landed on a heap of ’top 10’ lists in 2019. They talk empathy, writing anxiety, and the obstacles in offering a political play in hyper-political times. A highly acclaimed production of Heroes of the Fourth Turning directed by Danya Taymor was presented at Playwrights Horizons in the Fall of 2019. It was chosen as a New York Times Critics Pick and was named to its Top Ten of 2019 list. Read the New York Times review by Jesse Green: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/theater/heroes-of-the-fourth-turning-review.html Read the five star review by Helen Shaw in Time Out New York: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/heroes-of-the-fourth-turning Follow Will Arbery on Twitter at @willarbery and on Instagram at @warbery. Connect with us Follow Kevin Bleyer and Nella Vera on Twitter: @kevinbleyer / @spinstripes The Backdrop on Twitter and Instagram: @backdroppodcast https://www.facebook.com/TheBackdropPodcast Email us with story ideas or feedback: BackdropPodcast@gmail.com Credits The Backdrop is hosted by Kevin Bleyer and produced by Nella Vera. The Backdrop artwork is by Philip Romano. Special thanks to Eva Dickerman.