The Fall of the Soviet Union and The New Cold War: Two Contemporary Dramas

Questors Academy Literature Course Summer 2025

Come and explore two modern plays addressing the fall of the Soviet Union and the New Cold War. Written by two of contemporary theatre’s most outstanding playwrights, we’ll be discussing the rise and fall of the oligarchs in Putin’s Russia, in Peter Morgan’s Patriots (2022, Almeida), and the circumstances surrounding the assassination of ex-FSB spy - Alexander Litvinenko, in Lucy Prebble’s A Very Expensive Poison, (Old Vic, 2019).

Our discussion of literature shall also be enriched by selected extracts of social and historical commentary and other relevant contexts.

Enrolment Details

Courses are open to all. New participants are welcome.

Classes run on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 10:00 to 12:00 in the Shaw Room.

Course fees are £125 (inclusive of photocopying costs). Term will start on April 22nd and 23rd until May 20th and 21st, breaking for half-term week on May 27th and 28th, and resuming on June the 3rd and 4th, and ending on July the 1st and 2nd.

Contextual resources will be provided as photocopies.

Text Editions

Please purchase:

Peter Morgan, Patriots, Faber, ISBN 978-0-571-37995-9

Lucy Prebble, A Very Expensive Poison, Methuen Modern Classics, ISBN 978-135-0-152755

For further information and enquiries please reply to the e-mail address below: alexander@thatliteratureguy.com

To book the course, transfer £125, or £120 (before March 14th ) to:

Alexander Fairbairn-Dixon

Monzo Business Account

Sort Code: 04-00-04

Account Number: 43715503

Feel free to contact me if you wish to make alternative arrangements for payment.