Nicholas Wright’s
Mrs Klein

Cell2Soul Conference, Gold Coast Convention Centre;
Brisbane City Hall; May 2007.

Nicholas Wright (b. 1940) is a prolific playwright whose works include Naked, Vincent in Brixton & adaptations of Six Characters in Search of an Author & Lulu. He has written several screenplays & Opera libretti. Meticulously true to the definitive 1986 biography by Phyllis Grosskurth, in Mrs Klein Wright puts the mother/career dilemma under stark & harsh scrutiny. The text contains pertinent discourses regarding boundary violations, personal relationships & Melanie Klein’s theories. This acclaimed play ran on Broadway starring Uta Hagen. Wright’s plays combine emotional intensity with intellectual vigor.

Melanie Klein (1882-1960) (Portrayed by Therese Collie) is famous in psychiatry her theory of object relations based on analysis of young children. She analysed her own children, Hans for 370 hours. Klein postulated that psycho-sexual development occurs earlier than Freud suggested. Her views led to deep divisions in the British Society & she was in sharp conflict with Anna

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