Raised in Captivity [Paperback]

Nicky Silver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1995

"By a mile, the best new play of the season>"--John Heilpern, New York Observer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group; 1st edition (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559361131
• ISBN-13: 978-1559361132
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,738,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Silver's best yet!, June 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Raised in Captivity (Paperback)

Nicky Silver again makes us laugh at the horrors of everyday life and cry at laughter with RAISED IN CAPTIVITY. As with PTERODACTYLS and FAT MEN IN SKIRTS, Silver puts the fun back into dysfunctional families. RAISED IN CAPTIVITY revolves around SEBASTION BLISS, an emotional celibate who can't get over the death of a lover; a convict with whom SEBASTIAN correponds; BERNADETTE, his sister who is afraid of change; her huband, KIP, who has an obsession with teeth; and SEBASTIAN'S psychologist, HILLARY, who can't deal with her own problems. The first act is set up in a collage of short scenes; and the second is very farcical. A bit tamer than his earlier work but just as good! Psychologically stimulating. Excellent writing. Very funny, and extremely moving.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dysfunctional families at their most entertaining, April 13, 2004

By 

Jeronimo (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raised in Captivity. (Paperback)

Probably one of Silver's most endearing and quirkiest plays. Sebastion Bliss is a young man who has been an emotional celibate ever since his lover died eleven years ago. Following the funeral of his mother, Sebastian finds himself thrust into situations with other humans against his will. His twin sister Bernadette is completely unstable, her husband Kip is a dentist who hates teeth, his psychiatrist Hillary is a self-mutilating basket case, and his only friend is Dylan, a convicted murderer whom he writes letters to and has never seen.

Over the course of the play, characters realize how much or little they need one another, and that there are many different types of love. The play moves from dark comedy to drama and back again with lightning quickness. The final moment between Bernadette and Sebastian is really beautiful and sweet, if unconventional. Unconventional is probably the best way to describe this play. But it's unconventional in the best way possible.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Silver is Gold, January 14, 2009

By 

Michael A. Jester "Michael" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raised in Captivity (Paperback)

I adore everything Nicky Silver writes...so amazing and funny and dark. This play is not as dark as some of his earlier works but is still biting and full of odd characters and outrageous situations. The scenes between the main character and his shrink are some of the funniest I've read since Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang. In addition to this I would also highly recommend Nicky Silvers 'Etiquette and Vitriol' anthology.