Howard Brenton, Pravda

John Baker (University of Westminster); Steve Barfield (University of Human Development, Suleymanyia, Iraqi Kurdistan)
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Pravda

(National Theatre, 1985), Howard Brenton's second collaboration with David Hare, the two playwrights mount a satirical attack on the British newspaper industry of the mid-1980s that essentially caricatures, through vigorous hyperbole, the events of that period as a way of challenging the social and economic changes in Margaret Thatcher's Britain. Many actions in the play are thinly disguised versions of real occurrences and the 1980s British newspaper industry saw several contenders for the original of the play's central character, Lambert La Roux.

This bitter black comedy tells the story of La Roux, a South African-born megalomaniac and right-wing newspaper magnate who is intent on taking over the British press. Le Roux: “What I admire about nature is – animals, birds,

870 words

Citation: Baker, John, Steve Barfield. "Pravda". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 February 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13578, accessed 19 March 2024.]

13578 Pravda 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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