Scenes from an Execution
Scenes from an Execution is a play by the English playwright Howard Barker. The plot revolves around a female artist's struggles against the Venetian city-state in the aftermath of the Battle of Lepanto. Although the city commissions the painting to celebrate the victory over the Turks, the artist's vision differs dramatically from that of the Doge and the Catholic Church. The play has been described as "Barker's most famous and accessible play".[1]
The play was originally staged in 1990 at the Almeida Theatre in London, with Glenda Jackson in the role of the artist Galactia. A major revival occurred in 2012, on the Lyttelton stage of the National Theatre. Fiona Shaw and Tim McInnerny starred in this production. In his review of the National Theatre production, the Guardian critic Michael Billington wrote: "it shows Barker's poetic talent at its most disciplined and has the feel of a contemporary classic."[2]
A fringe revival was also staged in 2007 at the Hackney Empire.