Visions of Kerouac: A play

"I've telled all the road now . . . whole thing on strip of paper 120 foot long . . . just rolled it out on floor and it looks like a road" wrote Jack Kerouac in a letter to his friend and muse Neal Cassady after completing the famous and iconic manuscript. Little did Kerouac realise the longevity his work would have and the impact and lasting impression it would leave on popular culture; the book still sells over 100,000 copies a year, the manuscript fetched a record breaking $2.2m at auction in 2001 and among the famous On The Road alumni are Bob Dylan and Hunter S. Thompson, both of whom showered the book with biblical amounts of praise. But for all the legacy and sprawling mythology behind On The Road, from the three week Benzedrine fuelled writing session to the who's-who-of-the-50's nature of the characters within, the residing central thread is the relationship between Kerouac and Cassady, the two broken down heroes of the western night. It is this relationship that takes centre stage and every scene in which it features makes for a compelling watch for both Kerouac converts and the uninitiated. This is due to Martin Duberman's well researched script and obvious passion for the subject coupled with two strong and confident central performances. Duberman's script explores the complicated relationship between the two men with vigour and compassion and adds a consistent tension with a unique take on the love-hate relationship between a writer and his main character.