2,000 Feet Away is a play by the young British playwright Anthony Weigh. The play is a portrait of small-town life in the Midwest, with fear and intolerance a key theme. It is set primarily in Eldon, Iowa

Eldon, Iowa

Eldon is a city in Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 998 at the 2000 census. Eldon is the site of the small Carpenter Gothic style house that has come to be known as the American Gothic House because Grant Wood used it for the background in his famous 1930 painting American...

, which provided the setting for Grant Wood

Grant Wood

Grant DeVolson Wood was an American painter, born four miles east of Anamosa, Iowa. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest, particularly the painting American Gothic, an iconic image of the 20th century.- Life and career :His family moved to Cedar Rapids after his...

's famous painting American Gothic

American Gothic

American Gothic is a painting by Grant Wood, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood's inspiration came from a cottage designed in the Gothic Revival style with a distinctive upper window and a decision to paint the house along with "the kind of people I fancied should live in that...

. The opening and closing scenes are set in the Art Institute of Chicago

Art Institute of Chicago

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...

 where the painting is now preserved. The title of the play alludes to a state law preventing sex offenders from living within 2000 feet (609.6 m) of any place where children may gather.

The play premiered in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Australia and opened in London at the Bush Theatre

Bush Theatre

The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...

 during the 2008 summer season. The director of the Bush production was Josie Rourke

Josie Rourke

Josie Rourke is a British theatre director.She attended St Patricks RC High School in Eccles, Salford and her first notable work was as assistant director to Peter Gill in his premiere of The York Realist in 2002...

, while the main character of the Deputy Sheriff was played by Joseph Fiennes

Joseph Fiennes

Joseph Fiennes is an English film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayals of William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love, Sir Robert Dudley in Elizabeth, Commisar Danilov in Enemy at the Gates, Martin Luther in Luther, Merlin in Camelot, and his portrayal of Mark Benford in the...

, better known for his lead role in the film Shakespeare in Love

Shakespeare in Love

Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American comedy film directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....

. 2,000 Feet Away opened to generally positive reviews in the London press.

External reviews

• Review by Michael Billington
  Michael Billington (critic)
  Michael Keith Billington is a British author and arts critic. Drama critic of The Guardian since October 1971, he is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts; most notably, he is the authorised...
  
  in the Guardian http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/drama/reviews/story/0,,2286044,00.html