plays
Pretext (2014)
Pretext is a lighthearted look at a serious subject: the war of the sexes as they confront their mortality. Three middle aged heroines are facing the fact that men their own age are abandoning their dating pool for fresher waters. They turn the tables with a plan to seduce hot, young men, but end up trapped in a web of their own deceit.
“A little too close to the bone for comfort at times but thoroughly enjoyed it. There were so many laughs to be had I might have missed some!” – Budapest Times.
Master of His Domain (2015)
A comedy about the fragility of relationships and how we face our final years. Shorty is a reluctant resident at Glenview Nursing Home, neglected by his family, filling his days complaining about the world and imagining sexually charged dramas with the other residents. He has an affectionately caustic relationship with his long term nurse Gloria. Life isn’t what he’d call enjoyable, but it is tolerable, until one day his routine is turned upside down.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been to see a theatrical performance that the audience was still talking about three hours after it was all over. When art becomes reality (or reality becomes art) and gives us something interesting to talk about, it’s done its job. Some superb lines from the pen of Virginia Proud delivered by an excellently cast quartet” – Budapest Times
Academic
A Nationalist Agenda in an EU Context: Implications for Contemporary Culture in Central Europe (2020)
The rise of nationalism and populism in European politics presents a grave challenge to the liberal democratic values upon which the EU is founded. In Central Europe, the nationalist governments of Hungary and Poland stoke anti-Brussels sentiment and fear of the ‘Other’, their cultural policies task institutions with building an idealised national narrative and identity, and independent (potentially opposing) voices are marginalised. Hungary’s cultural policies since 2010 provide a case study of a nationalist agenda for culture and highlight the challenge for the independent culture sector.
This chapter captures the ideological essence of what we call the populist nationalist zeitgeist (PNZ) – its infiltration of European political and policy process and the role of communications technologies and social media as a key enabler of the PNZ. It investigates trends and practices of populist movements in their views and influences on international relations and foreign policy. It gives special attention to the cultural dynamics of foreign policy and the degree to which actors (from both government and civil society) can develop strategies of cultural resilience against the populist nationalist urge.