The Shape of the Table

1989. An Eastern Bloc government on the brink of collapse. As the old regime retreats, former political prisoners join banned writers around the negotiating table... The Shape of the Table is part of David Edgar's post-Cold War trilogy of plays, which also includes Pentecost and The Prisoner's Dilemma. Witty and informative, this play is both an intensely topical account of what actually went on in the corridors of power and a timeless analysis of revolution in action. In particular the play explores not only the challenge of seizing power, but also the difficulty of relinquishing it. The Shape of the Table was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in 1990.