OVERVIEW

• Playwright

  Declan Hughes 

• Synopsis

  I Can't Get Started is a study of the complicated relationship between the writer Dashiell Hammett and the playwright Lillian Hellman. It is set during a time in Hammett's life when he was suffering from crippling writer's block and was attempting to break free of the detective genre, which he himself had practically invented. Haunted by the presence of hard-boiled detective Daniel Webster, whose story must yet be told, Hammett finds himself trapped in an imaginary world of his own making.

• Play Type

  Plays General
  

  Number Of Acts

  Full-Length

Cast size

• Male

  7

• Female

  4

• Total

  11

• Cast Notes

  Cast doubling is possible. See original production for details.

Original Production

• Date of First Production

  August 1990

• Producer

  Produced by Rough Magic Theatre Company

• Venue Notes

  I Can't Get Started premiered at The Pleasence Two during the 1990 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

• Irish Premiere Notes

  The original production was subsequently presented at Project Arts Centre, Dublin on November 10th, 1990.

Source Of Information

The information for this entry was taken from the original production programme. Additional information was taken from information contained in the company files.