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Proof

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  2w, 2m

David Auburn

In Proof, David Auburn has fashioned an exhilarating and assured play – a subtle and gripping exploration of loss, guilt, discovery, instability and, ultimately, the elusive nature of truth.

Proof

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades

  • Winner! Three 2001 Tony Awards, including Best Play
    Winner! 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
    Winner! 2001 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play
    Winner! Two 2001 Drama Desk Awards, including Best New Play
    Winner! 2001 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best American Play

Details

Summary

Catherine has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, Robert. When he dies she has more than grief to deal with: There’s her estranged sister, Claire, and Hal, a former student of her father's who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that Robert left behind. And a further problem: How much of her father’s madness – or genius – will Catherine inherit?

Gwyneth Paltrow starred in this Pulitzer Prize-winning play, which opened at the Donmar Warehouse in 2001.

History

Proof premiered at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City on 23 May 2000. It was subsequently produced on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on 24 October 2000. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, the production featured Larry Bryggman, Mary-Louise Parker, Ben Shankman and Johanna Day.

Keywords
Performing Groups
ROBERT – 50s
CATHERINE – 25
CLAIRE – 29
HAL – 28
  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting

    The back porch of a house in Chicago.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“An exhilarating and assured new play.” – The New York Times

“A play about scientists whose science matter less than their humanity... All four [characters] – whether loving, hating, encouraging or impeding one another – are intensely alive, complex, funny human.” – New York

“Captivating and thought-provoking.” – The Mancunion

“Auburn has taken on some biggies here; what the link may be between genius and mental instability, why it is that lives get stuck, and how elusive the truth can be... [Proof’s] level of accomplishment and the realness of its characters show that Auburn has both depth and a voice.” –The New Yorker

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £85 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

David Auburn

David Auburn

David Auburn is a playwright, screenwriter and director. His plays include Summer 1976, The Adventures of Augie March, Lost Lake, The Columnist and Proof (2001 Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, New York Drama Critics Circle Award). Film work includes The Girl in the Park (writer/di ...

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