England

‘The patients like to look at the paintings. It helps them to feel better about their illnesses.’The grateful recipient of a heart transplant travels 4000 miles to thank the widow of the donor and to present her with a very special gift. But much more than a life has been lost. Written and performed in art galleries, ENGLAND tells a compelling story for our times – a disturbing tale of transactions and translations, of culture and commerce, of one thing being placed inside another without thought for the consequences. Presented by two guides, it is a tour to the end of the world. ENGLAND was first performed at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, in August 2007.'Tim Crouch, Britain’s best mannered theatrical subversive, is at it again. ENGLAND cunningly lures the audience into examining the unspoken advantages of its position in the world and the way in which courtesy and cultural refinement can be a convenient cover for exploitation. This is a compact piece, but once again Crouch has shown that small-scale originality can provoke large-scale conversations.' LA Times