A
rock and roll play written by
Sam Shepard in
London while he was recovering from some serious
drug abuse. It tells the story of Hoss a worn out old
rocker (or killer) and Crow the
new blood in town a
changeling ready to
steal what ever tricks he can to win the match. The
major question of the play revolves around the
paradox of
the loss of self, in other words, can Hoss reinvent himself to get up to the times? It turns out that
transformation is not possible for the
hero except through
death. The play is
edgy,
daring and features several
rock songs interspersed with the action of the play, half naked crossing dressing cheerleaders and plenty of
poetic violence. The play is
young and distinctly
American and filled with life, yet its plot draws on
dramatic structure and stories of
The Old vs. The new that date back to the time of the
Greeks.
It was one of Shepard’s most successful works and helped bring him in to the public eye as one of the foremost
dramatist of our century.
First production:
Open Space Theatre, London, 17 July
1972 (directed by
Charles Marowitz and
Walter Donoshue; music composed by Shepard himself).