Premise: British playwright David Hare, criticized in the past for his preachy politics, is said to have finally found his way beyond polemic (John Lahr, The New Yorker ). Hare's new play about a self-centered film critic, his wife, and his mother-in-law is hailed as a coup de theatre  (Matt Wolf, Variety ), both for its social critique (of the amorality of the news media) and for its sensitivity about such personal matters as loss, grief and stoical survival (Benedict Nightingale, the London Times ). Hare's enthusiasts declare it time for canonization.

Hypothesis: The playwright wanted to write something out of their comfort zone.
Relation: neutral