Isaac Came Home from the Mountain

Longlisted for The Bruntwood Prize, Phil Ormrod's searing play, Isaac Came Home from the Mountain is about searching for a future in the dying heart of England. Bobby's out of school and out of work. There's nothing going and nowhere to go. A job with Mike at the local scrapyard seems like everything he needs. A steady wage. A bit of self-respect. A chance to make good. But with the odds against him, and Mike's layabout son to contend with, it's not that easy. Driven by a dogged determination to prove his worth, Bobby makes a devastating mistake and risks throwing away his new life before it's begun. "Set in a "sh*thole" town in central England, wracked by the death throes of industry and austerity, Isaac Came Home from the Mountain wonders where today's working men wash up. In a post-Blairite state that pushes young men through college towards lowly white-collar jobs – estate agents and call centres – what becomes of those better suited to an honest day's graft" (WhatsOnStage)