"The war is coming, dude.” So says a central character in one of the most talked about plays of the year. Is she right? Could be, who knows. But if a civil war returns, Will Arbery is undoubtedly the right playwright to spin our basest impulses into high art. In this “backdrop eavesdrop,” Kevin and Will speak one-on-one only days after Will’s play Heroes of the Fourth Turning landed on a heap of ’top 10’ lists in 2019. They talk empathy, writing anxiety, and the obstacles in offering a political play in hyper-political times. A highly acclaimed production of Heroes of the Fourth Turning directed by Danya Taymor was presented at Playwrights Horizons in the Fall of 2019. It was chosen as a New York Times Critics Pick and was named to its Top Ten of 2019 list. Read the New York Times review by Jesse Green: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/theater/heroes-of-the-fourth-turning-review.html Read the five star review by Helen Shaw in Time Out New York: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/heroes-of-the-fourth-turning Follow Will Arbery on Twitter at @willarbery and on Instagram at @warbery. Connect with us Follow Kevin Bleyer and Nella Vera on Twitter: @kevinbleyer / @spinstripes The Backdrop on Twitter and Instagram: @backdroppodcast https://www.facebook.com/TheBackdropPodcast Email us with story ideas or feedback: BackdropPodcast@gmail.com Credits The Backdrop is hosted by Kevin Bleyer and produced by Nella Vera. The Backdrop artwork is by Philip Romano. Special thanks to Eva Dickerman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
