Purple Heart (NHB Modern Plays)

A deeply moving meditation on love, loss and grief, from the author of Clybourne Park.

October 1972. In a city somewhere in the American Midwest, Carla is trying to rebuild her life. Her husband is gone - killed in Vietnam. Now, under the watchful eye of her mother-in-law, she must raise her young son whilst struggling to avoid the sympathy of her local community. But everything changes with the unexpected arrival of a soldier on her doorstep.

'[A] searing acid burn of a play... laughs gulped down with horror' - Exeunt Magazine

'Unpicks the rawest of human emotions... [Norris] artfully slices his way through the dialogue with humour and wit' - Whatsonstage.com

'It bubbles with anger... excruciatingly funny dialogue' - Financial Times

'An abiding mixture of laughter and deep sadness' - British Theatre Guide

'A cracking play... with a tangible, angry compassion for ordinary Americans touched by foreign wars they barely comprehend' - Time Out