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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

The Forty Year Old Version

Writer, director, and star Radha Blank has created a hilarious, heart-wrenching tale loosely based on her own story. The character she plays is a struggling playwright suffering from a creative block, and looking for a breakthrough in the city of New York. Having been hailed as a young talent, her profile rising in her 30s, Blank is about to hit the big 4-0 with a stalled career. She teaches at a school in Harlem, watches too much TV, and shows up late to work. And then there’s the theater—an industry dominated by glib white males. So what’s she going to do? Find out. —E.C.

Radha Blank films “The Forty-Year-Old Version.” Photo: Netflix © 2020.