The Mentor

"The play is full of prickly comedy and offers 90 minutes of civilised pleasure." - Guardian

Benjamin Rubin is a cantankerous old writer, whisky aficionado and pedant, still basking in the reflected glory of long-ago success. Martin Wegner is a rising young literary star, heralded as "the voice of his generation".

When Martin is given the opportunity to develop his new play under the mentorship of his idol, the writers meet in a dilapidated art-nouveau villa somewhere in the German countryside. Two massive egos are set on a collision course in this perceptive and compelling comedy about art and artists and the legacy of fame.

Christopher Hampton's translation of The Mentor by Daniel Kehlmann premiered at the Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath, in April 2017.