Song from Far Away

I drank three glasses of scotch and ginger ale before we'd even cleared Coney Island. I didn't want to come home. It was then that I decided to write you these letters.

On a crisp winter day in New York, Willem gets the call. It's Mum. Pauli's died. Come back to Amsterdam.

An unforgettable homecoming to an estranged family, a lost love, unsettling sex and an unexamined life.

One of Stephens's most poetic plays to date, Song from Far Away received its UK premiere at the Young Vic, London, on 2 September 2015.

Simon Stephens began his theatrical career in the literary department of the Royal Court Theatre, where he ran its Young Writers' Programme. His plays for theatre include Bluebird (Royal Court Theatre, London, 1998, directed by Gordon Anderson);Herons (Royal Court Theatre, 2001); Port (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, 2002);One Minute (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 2003 and Bush Theatre, London, 2004);Christmas (Bush Theatre, 2004); Country Music (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 2004);On the Shore of the Wide World (Royal Exchange Theatre and National Theatre, London, 2005); Motortown (Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, 2006);Pornography (Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hanover, 2007; Edinburgh Festival/Birmingham Rep, 2008 and Tricycle Theatre, London, 2009); Harper Regan (National Theatre, 2008);Sea Wall (Bush Theatre, 2008/Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 2009); Heaven(Traverse Theatre, 2009); Punk Rock (Lyric Hammersmith, London, and Royal Exchange Theatre, 2009);The Trial of Ubu (Essen Schauspielhaus/Toneelgroep Amsterdam, 2010); A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky(co-written with David Eldridge and Robert Holman; Lyric Hammersmith, London, 2010);Marine Parade (co-written with Mark Eitzel; Brighton International Festival, 2010); T5 (Traverse Theatre, 2010);Wastwater (Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, 2011); Morning (Lyric Hammersmith, 2012); an adaptation of A Doll's House (Young Vic, 2012); an adaptation ofThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (National Theatre, 2012);Blindsided (Royal Exchange, 2014); and Birdland (Royal Court, 2014). His radio plays includeFive Letters Home to Elizabeth (BBC Radio 4, 2001) and Digging (BBC Radio 4, 2003). His screenwriting includes an adaptation of Motortown for Film4 (2009); the two-part serialDive (with Dominic Savage) for Granada/BBC (2009); and a short film adaptation ofPornography for Channel 4's 'Coming Up' series (2009). Awards include the Pearson Award for Best New Play, 2001, forPort; Olivier Award for Best New Play for On the Shore of the Wide World, 2005; and forMotortown German critics in Theater Heute's annual poll voted him Best Foreign Playwright, 2007. His adaptation ofCurious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Play.