The Productions of Time
1967 novel by John Brunner
The Productions of Time is a science fiction novel by English writer John Brunner, first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1966. It appeared in book form the following year, published by Signet Books.
Plot summary
The plot follows actor Murray Douglas as he joins a theatre production with a group of other actors. Each of the cast members has had career problems because of drugs, alcohol, or other kinks. The play is an avant-garde one, a form of improv where the actors make up the script during rehearsal, and rehearsals take place in an isolated country house. It emerges that the alleged playwright is feeding each participant's vices, using a futuristic form of sleep learning to overcome their attempts to stay "clean". This is being done to benefit the prurient interests of decadent time travellers.
References
Sources
Brunner, John (1970), The Productions of Time.
The public source identifies “The Productions of Time” as 1967 novel by John Brunner. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Productions, Time and novel.
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Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3234920. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1966 and 1970.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Productions of Time” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.