Power

Some say power's an illusion. But Louis is the master of illusion. He has turned government into a spectacle, politics into a circus. Nick Dear's new play on the origins of the Sun King is a dark and dazzling tale of ambition, corruption and illusion. The play premiered at the Royal National Theatre in London, in June 2003.

Nick Dear's plays include Dedication (Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, 2016) The Dark Earth and the Light Sky (Almeida Theatre, 2012), Frankenstein (National Theatre, 2011), Lunch in Venice (National Theatre Connections, 2005), Power (NT, 2003), The Villains' Opera (NT, 2000), Zenobia (RSC, 1995), In the Ruins (Bristol Old Vic, 1990), Food of Love (Theatre de Complicite, Almeida, 1988), The Art of Success (RSC, 1986), Pure Science (RSC, 1986) and Temptation (RSC, 1984). He also collaborated with Peter Brook on the development of Qui est là? (Bouffes du Nord, 1996). His adaptations include The Promise (after Arbuzov, Tricycle, 2002), Summerfolk (after Gorky, NT, 1999), Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (after Molière, NT, 1992), The Last Days of Don Juan (after Tirso de Molina, RSC, 1990) and A Family Affair (after Ostrovsky, Cheek by Jowl, 1988). His screenplays include Persuasion, The Turn of the Screw, Cinderella, The Gambler, Byron, Eroica and Agatha Christie's Poirot. Opera libretti include The Palace in the Sky (ENO/Hackney Empire, 2001) and Siren Song (Almeida Opera Festival, 1994). He has also written extensively for BBC Radio, beginning with his first play, Matter Permitted (1980).