True West

By: Sam Shepard

Narrated by: Kit Harington, Johnny Flynn

Kit Harington (Games of Thrones) and Johnny Flynn (Beast) smolder and burn as sparring brothers in Sam Shepard’s darkly comic 1980 drama. The Cain and Abel conflict is a showdown of sibling rivalry, to be sure, but also bears witness to a legacy of booze-fueled family brawls. As Harington and Flynn duel it out, they bring a cagey, wiry energy to director Matthew Dunster’s West End revival of this Pulitzer Prize finalist. The portrait of the estranged pair is a riveting study in contrasts as Harington’s successful screenwriter and Flynn’s scheming grifter explosively collide in the California desert. The scorched, arid setting is more than just a backdrop; its expanse and emptiness make it a palpable presence in a play about wounded masculinity and broken dreams.

The live theatre production of True West was performed at the Vaudeville Theatre in London, United Kingdom, in 2019. It was produced by Joseph Smith and John Brant for Smith & Brant Theatricals and James Bierman for Empire Street Productions.

Portions of this audio drama contain mature language and themes. Listener discretion is advised.

©2019 Sam Shepard (P)2019 AO Media LLC

Funtastic

A great storyline well acted out. Though was left still in need of more. Short, thrilling and fantastic.

So much yelling

The characters yelled the entire time. The sound effects were off putting and disjointed. The twist at the end was fun, but it almost wasn't worth listening all the way through to get there. I think the only reason I finished it was because it was so short.

Interesting...

I suppose if I had a bit more insight into the actual premise of this production it might have made a bit more sense. I enjoy the stage, but perhaps listening to the audio version of a production with no concept of the construct was not the best idea. The performance was interesting as was the audio production.

Cringe worthy

Was hard to listen to the constant shouting and somewhat predictable just strange Was the 1st audio book I actually did not want to even listen to but made it through to the end

Ok story

It was a pretty good story but I’m not sure why they didn’t let the actors use their accents. Especially since this was a play the originally was produced in London.

Great Voice actors, stupid plotline

The story was truly odd. the characters' actions were sometimes erratic and irrational beyond the point of explanation. The story is a simple Cain and Abel story, which would have been utter crap, were it not for 2 things. First, adding a "grass is always greener" element to Cain and Abel was a nice touch. Kit Harington did a pretty good job -- although there were times when his British accent showed. But Johnny Flynn was wonderful! Both of them are talented actors.

Stage fails to translate into audio

This was a complete waste of time, but it was short and free. The most charitable explanation of why I found True West not at all compelling despite the actors’ histrionics (necessary to carry an utterly unconvincing story line) is that drama is more than words; it’s also actions.

A more candid evaluation is that the script is yet another of those pretentious, self-indulgent explorations of the creative process so beloved of industry insiders (e.g. the film Birdman), but that somehow fall short of striking a resonant chord in a general audience. True West definitely strives to touch upon universal themes: sibling rivalry (Cain and Abel), the vicissitudes of fortune and role reversals, the search for meaning, etc. On stage, perhaps it might convince; in audio it fails miserably.

Not a fan

It's kind of a weird story and a bit over acted for audio only. It was probably much better as a stage play.

Couldn't get past the first chapter

The narration was just aweful. I couldn't tell you about the book because I couldn't listen any longer.

Read this one yourself!

True west

This is an odd piece. Two siblings in their moms home constantly at each other’s throats about a screen play that one of the brothers was working on and then the other decides to write his own screen play.