Scenes from an Execution

Scenes from an Execution is a play by the English playwright <a href="/facts/Howard_Barker/J1c74fdp">Howard Barker</a>. The plot revolves around a female artist's struggles against the Venetian city-state in the aftermath of the 16th century <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Lepanto/a2lLxV0G">Battle of Lepanto</a>. Although the city commissions the painting to celebrate the victory over the Turks, the artist's vision differs dramatically from that of the <a href="/facts/Doge_(title)/B1mM3wqI">Doge</a> and the <a href="/facts/Catholic_Church/rJ4F4gqH">Catholic Church</a>. The play has been described as "Barker's most famous and accessible play".
Originally a radio play for the BBC in 1984 with <a href="/facts/Glenda_Jackson/pGn0aRvr">Glenda Jackson</a> in the role of the artist Galactia, the stage version was first performed in 1990 at the <a href="/facts/Almeida_Theatre/M5K8c40q">Almeida Theatre</a> in London with Glenda Jackson reprising her role. The play was later revived in 2012 by the <a href="/facts/Royal_National_Theatre/UUVKxXLE">National Theatre</a> on its Lyttelton stage with <a href="/facts/Fiona_Shaw/nSEY7Xoy">Fiona Shaw</a> and <a href="/facts/Tim_McInnerny/eXTb0Gzq">Tim McInnerny</a> starring in this production.
Barker himself has turned against the play. "It's a very easy play to like", he said in 1999, and believed in 2012 that some of his other plays are superior works.

Scenes from an Execution open-in-new

Scenes from an Execution