| A play set in Paris in 1989 about a woman's desperate need to resolve a tragedy in her past.
5 actors (2 male, 2 female and a large role for a a boy 9-11 years of age.)
Winner of New Dramatists' award, 2000, New York City. Has played Montreal, New York, Sydney, Melbourne,
Hobart, Dallas, Perth and Paris.
BURNT PIANO...worldwide RAVE reviews:
"Justin Fleming's BURNT PIANO is an enquiring psychological drama played out in the
world of ideas while dealing more immediately with a family grappling with tragedy and
fate. It is a complex, intelligent and humorous work.......The banter is intoxicating.....Burnt
Piano is a very fine play." (Bryce Hallett, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 March 1999.)
"It's a clever and interesting play....Like the rest of the opening night audience, I was
engrossed, waiting to see what would happen next....There is much pleasure to be had
from Fleming's love of language." (Carrie Kablean, Sunday Telegraph, 14 March, 1999)
"Burnt Piano strikes a chord. Fleming writes with an enviable beauty and
clarity.....brilliantly judged....Audiences will be amused by its banter, delighted by its
poetry and....moved by its pathos. RECOMMENDED." (Colin Rose, Sun Herald, 14
March, 1999.)
"A brave and beautifully crafted piece of writing....Clever, funny and often moving....an
intriguing, intelligent and complex play..."(Andy Biziorek, City Hub, 18 March, 1999)
"The play is a triumph!" (Stephen Moriarty, Nine to Five, 29 March, 1999)
"By the end of the play, all three family members have experiences that changed their
lives.....Justin Fleming is genial, generous and laden with gifts in the art of storytelling.
He is clearly a man who loves to tell a ripping yarn....." (Elissa Blake, Metro, March, 1999)
Burnt Piano is a fascinating play about obsession, superbly realised. (Teachers'
Federation)
"A moving morality tale....played brilliantly." (Mosman Daily, 8 April, 1999)
"With Burnt Piano, playwright Justin Fleming has delivered a script of touching humanity
and wry humour which deliberates on themes such as forgiveness and the power of the
human spirit. Fleming provides a haunting protagonist....a rewarding theatrical
experience...a celebration of humanity...." (Cec Busby, Revolver, 15 March, 1999)
"Absolutely splendid....International in subject and style, this new play deals with a
universal issue. One of the pleasures of this play is its process of only making gradual
disclosures. It affirms life itself.....Highly recommended." (Helen Thomson, The Age,
Melbourne, 27 August, 1999.)
"Lively, literary banter....entertaining, polished and very well written..." (Steven Carroll,
Sunday Age, 29 August, 1999.)
"Absorbing.....A play about the workings of fate and the need to find meaning in tragedy
and personal forgiveness" (Leonard Radic, Sun Herald Sunday, 29 August, 1999)
"See this. A sad but wise and satisfying study of the human condition." (Melbourne
Weekly 30 August, 1999)
"Burnt Piano is a beautifully constructed, elegiac piece of work... Fleming deftly moves
between the genius oracle-figure of Karen's imagination and the reality of an old aching
man...A lovely piece of theatre, well written and wonderfully performed." (Inpress, 1
September, 1999)
"The power and originality of Burnt Piano are informed by historical awareness. For
whatever reason, it has been left to an Australian playwright to make this powerful,
plausible and inevitable connection between European history and literature." (Felicity
Bloch, Jewish News, 3 September, 1999)
"This is a fascinating and surprising piece of work, totally original, beautifully and skilfully
written." (William Carden, HB Foundation, New York City, 5 January, 2000.)
"While taking you on a journey of the mind, Burnt Piano blazes a path to the heart." (New York Times, March, 2001)
"I enjoyed Burnt Piano very much. Justin Fleming has written a work of considerable
authority and distinction. The play has real texture and contains an amazingly successful
portrait of Beckett." (Harold Pinter, London, April 4, 2001.)
"This is a play of excellence which draws you completely into itself to share its joys,
sorrows and humour. It is a finely crafted work of thoroughly fascinating complexity, using
the eloquent stillness of music to sublime effect. In years to come, when people refer to
Mainstage’s "legendary" production, they’ll be referring to this one."
(Wal Eastman, The Mercury, May 11, 2001.)
"An ingenious concept for a literary play…A moving tale of a mother's loss and a surviving son's burden of guilt. It brings two worlds - youth and old age, life and death - to a touching proximity." (Globe And Mail, Canada, November 20, 2004)
"Burnt Piano is intriguing and moving, and highly provocative. It is intellectually appealing, emotiaonally moving and cries out to be seen more than once." (Myron Galloway, The Suburban, Montreal.)
"Burnt Piano resonates with wit, intelligent dialogue and an exciting train of thought. It infuses gentle images and symbolism with sharp dialogue and a soundtrack that emphasises the subtle undertones….Well worth seeing a play that can effectively portray all of the above." (The Link, Montreal, November 16, 2004)
"Centaur scores with Burnt Piano, a play of cosmopolitan maturity, with a belief that earthly happiness is reachable via the route of forgiveness." Matt Radz, Gazette, Montreal, October 31, 2004.
"A play full of emotions and a story with a beginning and an end. Indisputably a classic." (Maria Cecillia Silva, Ottawa Express, November 15, 2004)
"A challenging play with tough issues of grief and loss. This play will stay with you long after you've left the theatre. It's an experience to recommend. It'll set your mind to work." (Peter Kerr, Forever Young, Montreal, November 2004.)
"An emotional ride on a fascinating voyage." (Out and About, Montreal, November 4, 2004)
"Humorous banter in a witty and intelligent play." McGill Tribune.
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