Modern and contemporary plays / drama

Book SynopsisErnest Miller Hemingway was born in Chicago in 1899, the son of a doctor and the second of six children. After a stint as an ambulance driver at the Italian front, Hemingway came home to America in 1919, only to return to the battlefield this time as a reporter on the Greco-Turkish war in 1922. Resigning from journalism to focus on his writing instead, he moved to Paris where he renewed his earlier friendship with fellow American expatriates such as Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. Through the years, Hemingway travelled widely and wrote avidly, becoming an internationally recognized literary master of his craft. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, following the publication of The Old Man and the Sea. He died in 1961.Trade ReviewThis is immediate, unmistakable Hemingway. -- Philip Young * The New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisGeorge Bernard Shaw has been called the second greatest playwright in English (after William Shakespeare) and one of the inventors of modern celebrity as the most famous public intellectual of his time. Beginning in the 1880s, as a critic and as a playwright, he transformed British drama, bringing to it intellectual substance, ethical imperatives, and modernity itself, setting the theatrical course for the subsequent century. That his legacy endures seventy years after his death is testament to the prescience of his thinking and his prolific creativity. This Very Short Introduction looks at Shaw''s life, starting with his upbringing in Ireland, and then takes a chronological approach through his works. Considering Shaw''s committed antagonism on behalf of a range of socio-political issues; his use of comedy as a mode for communicating serious ideas; and his rhetorical style that pushes conventional boundaries, Christopher Wixson provides an overview of the creative evolution of core themes throughout Shaw''s long career. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsIntroduction "Shavian" 1: "GBS" 2: "Unpleasant" 3: "Pleasant" 4: "Puritan" 5: "Political" 6: "Extravagant" 7: "Farfetched"

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Book SynopsisWritten when Polly Stenham was nineteen years old, That Face is a savagely funny dissection of the lives of the rich, reissued in Faber Drama''s elegant new series design.You're shaking. It's too much, isn't it? You only like good clean torture.Mia is at boarding school. She has access to drugs. They are Martha's. Henry is preparing for art college. He has access to alcohol. From Martha. Martha controls their lives. Martha is their mother.That Face premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, 2007, winning the TMA Award for Best New Play. Polly Stenham won the Charles Wintour Award and the Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright.''One of the most astonishing debuts I have seen in more than thirty years.'' DAILY TELEGRAPH''Polly Stenham is a modern successor to Tennessee Williams or Edward Albee . . . an intensely moving, skilfully crafted piece.'' DAILY EXPRESS''Stenham's god-given gift i

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Book Synopsis''Art'' is a profound and hilarious comedy about the value of truth and friendship.My friend Serge has bought a painting.It's a canvas about five foot by four: white. The background is white and, if you screw up your eyes, you can make out some fine white diagonal lines.Serge is one of my oldest friends.Serge has bought a modern work of art for a large sum of money. Marc hates the painting and cannot believe that a friend of his could feel differently. Yvan attempts to placate both sides, with hilarious consequences. The question is: Are you who you think you are, or are you who your friends think you are?Art' premiered in this translation at Wyndham's Theatre, London, 1996. It won Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Comedy, and New York Drama Critics' Circle and Tony Awards for Best Play.A remarkably wise, witty and intelligent comedy. Art has

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New PlayLife of Pi will make you believe in the power of theatre (Times).After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, there are five survivors stranded on a lifeboat - a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, a Royal Bengal tiger, and a sixteen year-old boy named Pi. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive?Based on one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction - winner of the Man Booker Prize, selling over fifteen million copies worldwide - and featuring breath-taking puppetry and state-of-the-art visuals, Life of Pi is a universally acclaimed, smash hit adaptation of an epic journey of endurance and hope.Adapted by acclaimed playwright Lolita Chakrabarti, this edition was published to coincide with the West End premiere in November 2021.Trade ReviewIt will make you believe in theatre. A triumph. * Sunday Times *Everything about this production is amazing * Evening Standard *Roar it out. This is a hit. * Times *

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Book SynopsisGeorge Bernard Shaw is one of the most famous and celebrated Irish playwrights and this new collection brings together the very best of his witty and entertaining comedies in one volume; Pygmalion, Major Barbara and Androcles and the Lion.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition has a preface by Oscar-winning actress Judi Dench.Pygmalion was first performed in 1914 and was an instant hit which then inspired the hit musical and award winning film, My Fair Lady. It tells the story of Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins, who tries to elevate a feisty flower girl out of her working-class roots and into high society. In Major Barbara, idealistic Barbara is a major in the Salvation Army, at odds with her millionaire father as they war over the best route to salvation. Androcles and the Lion is a clever retelling of the Bible story about a gentle Christian who pulls a thorn from a lion’s paw. All three plays are not only wonderfully amusing, they also showcase Shaw's intense concerns about poverty, class and inequality.Trade ReviewShaw's sparkling fable * New York Times on Androcles and the Lion *Major Barbara is a rich play, but also a peculiar one, made up in equal measures of drawing room comedy, philosophical debate and a tale of salvationism that wouldn’t embarrass Guys and Dolls. * Variety *

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Book SynopsisThe most widely staged dramatist after Shakespeare, Chekhov left a deep mark both on the development of Russian literature and world theatre, with plays that were remarkable not just for their dialogue but their atmosphere and the tensions expressed between the lines. Collected in this volume are Chekhov's four most celebrated plays - The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard - in a brand-new translation by Hugh Aplin. In these personal stories of unfulfilled love, failed ambition and existential ennui, set against a background of unsettling social and economical change, the reader can appreciate the groundbreaking qualities of Chekhov's theatrical genius.Trade ReviewWhat writers influenced me as a young man? Chekhov! As a dramatist? Chekhov! As a story writer? Chekhov! -- Tennessee Williams

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Book SynopsisIn Joe and Kate Keller's family garden, an apple tree - a memorial to their son Larry, lost in the Second World War - has been torn down by a storm. But his loss is not the only part of the family's past they can't put behind them.

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Book SynopsisThe Beauty Queen of Leenane tells the darkly comic tale of Maureen Folan, a plain and lonely woman in her early forties, and Mag her manipulative ageing mother whose interference in Maureen's first and potentially last loving relationship sets in motion a train of events that is as gothically funny as it is horrific.Trade Review'He (McDonagh) offers all the familiar delights of farce and melodrama, while at the same time offering a powerful critique of contemporary Ireland.' Michael Billington, Guardian, 22.07.10 'Martin McDonagh's play...is not the callous thing that we often hail as;black comedy', but a richly human illustration of that tragicomic paradox. If it wasn't so funny it would be squalid' Libby Purves, The Times, 22.07.10 'The dramatic tension McDonagh creates is brilliantly sustained, while the sudden twists and turns of the plot elicit genuine gasps of surprise from the audience.' Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 23.07.10 'His (McDonagh's) ear for the Irish rhythms and the absurdities of everyday speech is matchless.' Georgina Brown, Mail on Sunday, 01.08.10 'Martin McDonagh is one of the top playwrights to have emerged in the 1990's' Patrick Marmion, Daily Mail, 06.08.10

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Book SynopsisThis educational edition, with the full play text and an introduction to the playwright, features a detailed analysis of the language, structure and characters of the play, and textual notes explaining difficult words and references. It contains:- The full playtext- An introduction to the playwright, his background and his work- A detailed analysis of language, structure and characters in the play- Features of performance- Textual notes explaining difficult words and referencesProfessor Murray''s notes, to be read alongside the full playtext provided here, will enable students to better understand, appreciate, enjoy and write about O''Casey''s greatest play.

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Book SynopsisA spicy work of biographical conjecture ... It''s also a rousing reminder of the countless creative women who have been written out of history or have had to fight relentlessly to make themselves heard.' EVENING STANDARDThe great virtue of Lloyd Malcolm's speculative history lies in its passion and anger: it ends with a blazing address to the audience that is virtually a call to arms. It is throughout, however, a highly theatrical piece ... In rescuing Emilia from the shades, [the play] gives her dramatic life and polemical potency.' GUARDIANThe little we know of Emilia Bassano Lanier (1569 - 1645) is that she may have been the Dark Lady of Shakespeare''s Sonnets, mistress of Lord Chamberlain, one of the first English female poets to be published, a mother, teacher who founded a school for women, and radical feminist with North African ancestry. Living at a time when women had such limited opportunities, Emilia Lanier is therefore a fascinating subject for this speculativTrade ReviewIt is incredibly heartening to hear unabashed feminist rhetoric, spoken by a diverse all-female cast, in a commercial theatre space. [Emilia Bassano] provides a clear way in for discussing the centuries-long silencing of women, the oppression they have faced – and still face today. And you’re never far from a totally topical line, the mix of past and present underlined by Lloyd Malcolm’s use of cheerfully anachronistic slangy contemporary phrases. It can be really fun; this is a gently meta-theatrical and very jolly historical romp of a show, in the mould of ‘Nell Gwyn’ or ‘Shakespeare in Love’. The winkingly modern perspective on the nonsense men spouted and women were expected to put up with is frequently amusing. * Time Out *If Shakespeare's Globe had a roof, it would have been blasted off by the thunderous ovations and cheers ... greeting [this] extraordinarily rousing ... play ... In many honourable ways, this feels like a therapeutic blast in the #metoo era and it ends with an appropriately spine-tingling call to arms. “If they try to burn you, may your fire be stronger than theirs, so you can burn the whole f***ing house down”. In the weight of her anger, [Emilia] convinces you that she holds “a muscle memory of every woman who came before me". ... [This] is a landmark moment in the history of Shakespeare Globe. * Independent *History is written by the victor, and as Malcolm's ... piece shows, the victor in the sixteenth century (and indeed, most of the time now) was male, white, privileged and uncompromising. The elder Emilia notes at one point, "We read what is recorded and see what is missing". That's what Emilia, the play, does so brilliantly; it fills in the gaps ... Malcolm writes eloquently, at times beautifully, showing Emilia's suffering and brilliance in equal measure. She also uses the context of the Globe masterfully – shattering the fourth wall with direct address to bring the audience into the story. There are romantic squabbles, fun capers ... the piece has a near-constant humour ... An outright feminist triumph and a brilliant call-to-arms. * Whatsonstage *A spicy work of biographical conjecture ... It's also a rousing reminder of the countless creative women who have been written out of history or have had to fight relentlessly to make themselves heard. * Evening Standard *The great virtue of Lloyd Malcolm’s speculative history lies in its passion and anger: it ends with a blazing address to the audience that is virtually a call to arms. It is throughout, however, a highly theatrical piece ... In rescuing Emilia from the shades, [the play] gives her dramatic life and polemical potency. * Guardian *Table of ContentsChronology COMMENTARY CHARACTERS - Historical versus fictional / Emilia Lanier Bassano (1560-1645) NARRATIVE PUBLIC HISTORY - Comparative works as diverse as Upstart Crow, Horrible Histories, Downton Abbey, Hamilton and Six in terms of dramatically subverting traditional histories FEMINISM AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHIC DRAMATIC DEVICES - the 3 Emilias, Brecht, epic theatre, feminist theatre, Shakespeare's history plays, all-female cast SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT PLAY TEXT FURTHER READING

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Book SynopsisWhat gets me through is knowing I took this pain, and saved all of you from suffering the same.'Stumbling down Clifton Street at 11:30 a.m. drunk, Effie is the kind of girl you''d avoid eye contact with, silently passing judgement. We think we know her, but we don''t know the half of it. Effie''s life spirals through a mess of drink, drugs and drama every night,and a hangover worse than death the next day - till one night gives her the chance to be something more.This powerful new adaptation of the enduring Greek myth drives home the high price people pay for society's shortcomings.Winner of Best New Play at the UK Theatre Awards 2015Trade ReviewA furious piece; a tirade against welfare cuts piling up on the poor... Because Owen's writing about the unexpected turns that take one's life, there's no guessing where his play's going. His plot swerves like a getaway car. Just when you think you're watching one kind of play, it becomes another... Crushing. * What's On Stage *Three key factors are responsible for making Iphigenia in Splott what I think is an extraordinary play. The first is Owen’s excellent script – razor-sharp, witty and full of emotion, it’s the work of a writer who has his pulse firmly on the mood of the world around him. * The Public Reviews *Tense and moving... it shakes you violently and then pummels your heart. * Telegraph *The most shattering, angry call for immediate revolt that you will see on stage this year... By any measure going, this is perfect theatre: intelligent, moving, and horribly, horribly relevant. Most of all, though, in those final moments, it feels like the start of a revolution. -- Andrew Haydon * The Guardian *Strength and power was one of the hallmarks of Gary Owen’s writing right from the start with his early play Crazy Gary’s Mobile Disco. Strength and power and great story telling are here again in his latest work...It’s no wonder that the demand for tickets to see the show has resulted in an extended run. * Theatre in Wales *

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Book SynopsisI have kind of become invisible. Nobody looks at me. Not like they used to. You reach an age. Like my age and people stop looking at you. They stop checking you out. In Greenwich Village a generation or so ago, the city is alive. Joni Mitchell sings, friends and lovers come and go, and the regulars change at the White Horse Tavern. As 50 years pass, one woman's life is revealed in all its complexity, mystery and possibility in this enthralling world premiere about mothers and daughters, beginnings and endings in New York City. Simon Stephens's new play, commissioned by MTC, premiered off-Broadway in November 2021 starring Blair Brown, Edie Falco and Marin Ireland.Trade ReviewA lot of playwrights are poets, but not many are craftsmen like Simon Stephens ... His new play, Morning Sun, is a master class in theatrical precision. * TheatrerMania *

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Book SynopsisShe can't stay awake.She sold drugs.She's good at interrogations.She drinks in the mornings.She ate a rabbit.She smashed up a shop.She stabbed a man.She used a hammer.She had a baby.She can't find her mother.She's covered in blood and doesn't know why.Alice Birch's heartbreaking new play reaches across society to explore the impact of the criminal justice system on women and their families.

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Book SynopsisThe fact is that some of us like women and some like men and that's fine that's good in fact that's good, a good thing, but it seems to me that you've become confused.John is happy in himself, and with his boyfriend, until one day he meets the woman of his dreams.In a world full of endless possibilities why must we still limit ourselves with labels? Mike Bartlett's razor sharp play about love and identity redefines the battle of the sexes as we know it.Cock premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on 13 November 2009. This new and revised edition was published to coincide with the West End production in 2022, starring Jonathan Bailey, Taron Egerton and Jade Anouka.Trade ReviewA smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion . . . The writing is lubricious, sometimes grubby and in places savagely unpleasant. But it has a wounding authenticity. We laugh nervously, aware of its precision. * Evening Standard *Mike Bartlett has proved a devastatingly astute observer of adults behaving badly and this latest work is no exception . . . He is mercilessly accurate, wickedly funny and strangely touching. * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisThe final volume in Methuen Drama''s acclaimed series of work by Arthur Miller who, during his lifetime, was acknowledged as the greatest American dramatist of our age (Evening Standard). Featuring two plays from the 1990s and his final two plays (2002 and 2004), it offers the first ever publication of Miller''s final play, Finishing the Picture. Inspired by his experience during the filming of The Misfits with his then wife Marilyn Monroe, the play was completed and produced at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, just months before the playwright''s death in February 2005.Broken Glass (1994) is set in Brooklyn in 1938 and intertwines a woman''s obsession with the news from Germany that government thugs are smashing Jewish stores, with her strange relationship with her husband. It balances private lives with public morality. . . it is also an amazingly full-blooded piece, bursting with pain and passion. (Daily Telegraph). Mr Peters'' Connections (199

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Book SynopsisI am getting nearer to something. The answer to the question. Who am I? A woman who leaves her husband very suddenly for an old lover and heads to a cottage in Kerry?I needed someone strong. Someone who would sweep me along. Keep me here. In this world. Not allow me to wander down below, and I wanted a child. I dearly wanted a child.Mairead and Mal are struggling to keep their marriage together. Perhaps attending a wedding will help, or it might raise questions that are difficult to answer.Poignant, funny, and beautiful, Heaven is a new play that is full of humanity. It is presented by the Olivier Award-winning Fishamble, and written by Eugene O'Brien (winner of the Rooney Prize for Literature).This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at the Dublin Theatre Festival, followed by an Irish tour, in Autumn 2022.

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Book SynopsisRajiv Joseph (born June 16, 1974) is an American playwright. He was named a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,[1] and he won an Obie Award for Best New American Play for his play Describe the Night.Trade Review‘Joseph writes sly, funny dialogue laced with jolts of lyricism. He has a distinctive voice with mordant humor and adventurous tonal range!’ * The Hollywood Reporter *

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Book SynopsisLucy Prebble is a writer for film, television, games and theatre. Lucy is Executive Producer and writer on the BAFTA, GOLDEN GLOBE and EMMY award-winning HBO drama SUCCESSION, for which she has also won a WGA and a PGA Award. She is the writer and co-creator of I HATE SUZIE and I HATE SUZIE TOO which was nominated for five BAFTAs including Best Drama, Best Writer and Best Actress and won her the Royal Television Society Award for Best Writer. It was a huge hit for Sky, topping many major publications' lists for best shows of 2020 in both the UK and the US where it is available on HBOMax. She is also the creator and writer of the TV series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL(ITV/Showtime), and made a pilot for HBO starring Sarah Silverman. For theatre, Lucy has written the political and emotional meta-thriller A VERY EXPENSIVE POISON which was a sell-out, five star hit for the Old Vic in 2019 and was Olivier nominated for Best New Play, It won the Critics Circle Award for Best New Play

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Book Synopsis'I can change colours of objects by looking at them, hear the symphonies of household simplicities, taste the emotions in a room like sweet or bitter wine, and feel life's every heartbeat breaking through my ribcage in glorious technicolour. Just don't ask me to make eye contact.' An imaginative child's glorious fantasies – of dolphins and dragonflies, gingerbread houses and chocolate rivers – offer him an escape from hostile reality. When reality dictates he has to conform to the 'real world', he has to make a choice. Should he live authentically and risk stigma, or can he continue to hide? Based on real events from the perspective of the writer and the autistic community, JJ Green's A-Typical Rainbow is an uplifting play about the experience of growing up neurodivergent and queer in early 2000s Britain. It premiered at London's Turbine Theatre in June 2022, produced by Aria Entertainment, directed by Bronagh Lagan, and starring playwright JJ Green, who is a passionate advocate for autistic artists like himself. This edition includes the full text of the play along with contributions from the largely – and proudly – neurodivergent cast and creative team.Trade Review'Plenty of theatrical wonders... sparky humour and magic... clear signs of a talented playwright in the making whose work bursts with imagination and whimsy' * Guardian *'A colourful testament to the power of imagination' * The Stage *'Delightful: full of colour, metaphor and lashings of humour... a rare, insightful, golden moment of theatre' * Reviews Hub *'Powerful, emotional and enchanting... everything about this show is magical... an incredibly raw and honest piece... Green's writing is something else entirely, a rare talent that needs to be treasured and exalted' * Broadway Baby *'A hugely important piece of theatre... gives unparalleled agency to its autistic protagonist, and its message light-footedly unpicks stigmas and untruths about autism... the queer romance which blossoms in the second act is not only brilliantly written but exudes euphoria' * WhatsOnStage *

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Book Synopsis'There's somethin' about this house. Somethin' here. Somethin' in the walls. Its bones. Like DNA.' A family packs into a small house with a tangled history. Matt is here, yearning to reach someone he's lost. His cousin Jess is here, too; she just wants to feel something. Anything. And Aunt Monica and Jeff are still here, just about. Together, ferocious and funny, they laugh, they scrap, they remember. Tonight these four people, inextricably bound yet so far apart, will finally confront the old decisions that haunt them. How does a family make a future, when everything that holds it together lies in the past? Clive Judd's play Here is a tender, funny and utterly truthful story about family and feeling. It was premiered by Papatango at Southwark Playhouse, London, in November 2022 after winning the Papatango New Writing Prize, whose previous discoveries have gone on to win Olivier, Critics' Circle and OffWestEnd Awards and be performed worldwide.Trade Review'Creepy and captivating... there is something utterly invigorating about Judd's writing: it is funny, delicate, assured, pleasurably circuitous... a truly exciting discovery with what feels like a quietly radical new form of genre-defying theatre' * Guardian *'Engaging, empathetic and spooky, with a beautiful pattern of slow revelation... Papatango has once again identified a talent worth watching' * Evening Standard *'A hauntingly beautiful drama of family secrets... has a strange, captivating power... lyrical and elegiac... Judd deftly uses the uncanny to tell a very human, very flesh-and-blood story... unsettling and rather beautiful' * The Stage *'Full of humour and heart ... [Judd has] a great deal of writing talent' * Reviews Hub *'Excellent... an absorbing and moving play that deals intelligently with ideas of memory, seen and unseen connections, and the difficulties of articulating feelings... highly recommended' * Everything Theatre *

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Book SynopsisThis special edition of the international hit play Prima Facie features the definitive version of the award-winning script, together with colour photos and exclusive additional content, giving you a fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into the making of the production and the issues it explores. In the play, Tessa is a young, brilliant barrister who has worked her way up from working-class origins to the top of her game: defending, cross-examining and winning. But when an unexpected event forces her to confront the patriarchal power of the law – where the burden of proof and morality diverge – she finds herself in a world where emotion and integrity are in conflict with the rules of the game. After acclaimed productions in Australia and winning the Australian Writers' Guild Award for Drama, Prima Facie received its European premiere in a sold-out run at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End in 2022 starring Jodie Comer in her West End debut. It was named Best New Play at both the 2023 Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards. A filmed version, released in 2022, went on to become the highest-grossing event cinema release ever in the UK. This edition, published alongside Prima Facie's Broadway transfer in 2023, includes contributions from writer Suzie Miller, actor Jodie Comer, director Justin Martin, producer James Bierman and other key members of the creative team, letting you go deeper into the world of the play. There are also essays on the legal context and how the play has become a vehicle for change in attitudes towards the treatment of female victims of sexual assault.Trade Review'A play that roars... urgent and powerful' * Guardian *'A searing, intense indictment of the ways the legal system perpetuates the patriarchal order that has created it in the first place… The relevance of this unsettling drama for our present moment of #MeToo is obvious… joins the ranks of such works as Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You and Nina Raine's Consent… What we come to know is certainly disturbing, but, as in all great theatre, it strikes one as a true privilege to have made the journey' * Arts Desk *'An unforgettable moment of theatre' * WhatsOnStage *'An outstanding piece of theatre that has a phenomenal impact' * Reviews Hub *'A damning portrait of justice denied women… teems with rich nuance, testing sympathies… like a punch to the guts' * Telegraph *'Suzie Miller's script is shrewd and economical in its analysis of how the system treats assault survivors... timely and timeless' * Evening Standard *'A striking drama... Suzie Miller's text is pacy and punchy' * Independent *'An impassioned play about an important subject... blazing' * Time Out (London) *'A polemical monologue which makes its point in style… the cumulative effect is quite something' * The Times *'Hugely succesful and hard-hitting... What makes this play especially astonishing is how lived-in its writing feels. Miller's background as a lawyer shines in every line of dialogue... an urgent and compelling work' * Time Out (Sydney) *'A relevant and deeply disturbing indictment of how our legal system routinely fails sexual assault victims... A seriously important work' * Arts Hub (Australia) *

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Book SynopsisUsher is a Black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a Black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical... Michael R. Jackson's blistering original musical follows a young artist at war with a host of demons – not least of which are the punishing thoughts in his own head – in an attempt to understand his own strange loop. A Strange Loop received its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in New York in 2019. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical at the 2022 Tony Awards – and every other 'Best Musical' award on Broadway. It received its British premiere at the Barbican Theatre, London, in 2023, with Michael R. Jackson winning Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer at the 2023 Stage Debut Awards. 'A metafictional musical that tracks the creative process of an artist transforming issues of identity, race and sexuality that once pushed him to the margins of the cultural mainstream into a meditation on universal human fears and insecurities' Pulitzer Prize CommitteeTrade Review'Explosively imaginative. Dazzlingly one-of-a-kind' * Washington Post *'Audacious and uproarious... a meta masterpiece' * Guardian *'A dazzling ride. No measure of praise could be too much' * New York Times *'Screamingly funny. Unmissable. The musical we've been waiting for' * Time Out *'To watch this show is to enter, by some urgent, bawdy magic, an ecstatic and infinitely more colorful version of the famous surreal lithograph by M. C. Escher: the hand that lifts from the page, becoming almost real, then draws another hand, which returns the favor. Which came first? A Strange Loop is complex, teasing, thrilling' * New Yorker *'Brilliant… Harrowing… one-of-a-kind… Hyper-observant and hyper-verbal, Jackson lets his remorselessly satirical eye wander, to hilarious and devastating effect… What makes A Strange Loop so powerful, is not an attempt to find "our common humanity" but an insistence on speaking its own idiosyncratic truth' * Vogue *'An exhilarating cocktail of hilarious lyrical complexity… Michael R. Jackson is a musical talent with deep wells of invention' * Time Out New York *'Phenomenal... both a raw and unflinching interrogation of identity and the most furiously entertaining show on Broadway' * Variety *'Dazzling... spectacularly bold... a challenging, uncompromising show... irreverent and funny... Jackson's songs are slick, tuneful and accessible... An enormous number of musicals have opened in the West End in the last couple of months, but none of them have a tenth of the audacity and imagination of A Strange Loop' * Time Out *'Triumphant, emotionally lacerating... I sat with my mouth agape, astonished and grateful that something so brutally honest and rigorously constructed had finally broken through to a Broadway stage' * LA Times *'A blast and a revelation... an astonishing tour-de-force' * WhatsOnStage *'Magnificent... a strikingly original, highly entertaining tour of identity politics and the struggles of selfhood' * Guardian *'A thrillingly strange, playful and hilarious new musical, stuffed with catchy tunes... extraordinary... I'd watch it again in an instant' * Evening Standard *'A cleverly complex piece of drama, that's also incredibly uplifting and joyful... musical theatre heaven' * Theatre Weekly *'An experience you won't forget' * Independent *'Magnificent... dazzling... joyous, clever and alive. Don't miss it' * iNews *

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Book Synopsis'We know all too well that we're up to our necks in the shit, and it is for this very reason that we walk with our heads held high!' An irrepressible fraudster known only as the Maniac is brought into Police Headquarters just as the officers are preparing for a judicial review of the recent 'accidental' death of a suspect in custody. Outwitting his captors, the Maniac dupes them into performing a farcical recreation of the incident, exposing the absurd corruption and terrifying idiocy at the heart of the system. Dario Fo and Franca Rame's riotous satire has been widely performed around the world since its premiere in 1970. Tom Basden's acclaimed adaptation was first performed at Sheffield Theatres in 2022, directed by Daniel Raggett, and starring Daniel Rigby as the Maniac. The production transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in 2023, before moving to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London's West End.Trade Review'An Italian classic reborn as an unmissable police satire' * Metro *'A glorious comedy that leaps off the stage' * The Times *'A riotous satirical farce brought bang up to date... Tom Basden's full-blooded adaptation [is] a furious but funny broadside against police malpractice... supremely, dazzlingly funny' * Guardian *'A glorious romp from the super-talented Tom Basden' * Observer *'Wickedly funny... nothing less than brilliant... the audience is constantly in stitches... much cheaper than a therapy session and vastly more entertaining' * Time Out *'Fabulous... an unforgettable theatrical experience. Brilliantly adapted by Tom Basden, it is a biting, bang-up-to-the-minute satire... Each minute is packed with jokes, word play and punchy references... The laughs aren't just one-a-minute – there seems to be one every second. A fantastic show' * Reviews Hub *'Brilliant... a whirlwind high-speed farce... Tom Basden's bang up-to-date English version would undoubtedly have met with Signor Fo's whole-hearted approval... wildly inventive... glorious chaos' * WhatsOnStage *'Pretty special... Basden's script is packed with contemporary references, but among the comic zingers are weightier concerns about undercover police work and corruption.... It's brilliantly executed... unforgettable' * The Stage *'Simply brilliant... The comic lines come thick and fast, but the underlying political punch is serious and to the point... A tour de force, a great night out… A must-see' * British Theatre Guide *'Both deeply political and utterly hilarious... a biting indictment of British law enforcement... a comic work for the ages with a script packed with zingers... a masterclass in how to combine social issues and comedy' * Broadway World *'A sure-fire, fearlessly political, no holds-barred, angry hit of a show' * Everything Theatre *'Gloriously unruly... one of the most daring and original shows to arrive in the West End in recent memory' * Independent *'Uproarious... a bomb-blast comedy... an institutionally funny play' * Evening Standard *

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Book Synopsis'With great pleasure Leyla & Joel Invite you to celebrate their marriage. Dress code is smart casual. Doors at 7.30 p.m., followed by the exchange of vows. And at the signal, the entertainment will begin. (This performance is being staged without a licence from the Ministry. We recognise the risk that each and every one of you is taking by attending and we salute your courage.)' A Mirror is an elusive, explosive play by Sam Holcroft, interrogating censorship, authorship and free speech. It premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2023, directed by Jeremy Herrin, and with a cast including Jonny Lee Miller, Tanya Reynolds and Micheal Ward.Trade Review'A beautifully crafted, mind-bending piece of work' * Evening Standard *'A Pirandellian wedding drama that achieves a series of satisfying surprises... delights in the theatrical trickery of dual identities and false realities to throw a final surprise punch' * Guardian *'Bold, inventive and original... a journey of discovery, a hall of mirrors, that takes us into a series of intricate boxes, of plays within plays, where nothing is quite as it seems... I loved it' * WhatsOnStage *'Intriguing, twisty, metatheatrical... an achievement: like nothing else you'll see on London's stages' * Independent *'Pirandello meets late Pinter meets Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, all sharing a bottle of something strong' * The Times *'Brilliantly mischievous... The joy of Holcroft's play is that it's subversive on so many levels... incendiary and mordantly funny... a triumph' * Time Out *'Undeniably genius: the kind of rare, vigorous writing that sets your head spinning' * The Stage *'A darkly comic, Orwellian affair... as punchy as it is political... a timely production packed with intrigue and passion' * Broadway World *

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Book Synopsis'I said no one should ever try to recreate this. This is agony in its purest form.' Five women in Northern California lie outside on chaises longues and philosophise. But can you ever communicate what it feels like to be inside your own body? Annie Baker's play Infinite Life is a surprisingly funny inquiry into the complexity of suffering, and what it means to desire in a body that's failing. It was first produced in a co-production between the National Theatre, London, and Atlantic Theater Company, New York, and performed at both theatres in 2023, directed by James Macdonald.Trade Review'A great new play. It peeps at the greatest mysteries of life' * The New York Times *'The peerless Annie Baker's latest play is a mind-bending exploration of sex, pain and bodies... Infinite Life is a lucid fever dream, a trippy vision of profound truth... It is another extraordinary play from a writer seemingly capable of nothing else' * Time Out *'Exquisite and bleakly funny' * The Times *'Superb... Infinite Life is that rarest of things – a comedy about death and pain, written with such precision it seems to expose the workings of the heart... a terrific play, understated yet rich, utterly engrossing' * WhatsOnStage *'Extraordinary... meticulous and mighty... a critique can't capture it: you have to be there' * Observer *'A play like no other... I don't know how Annie Baker does what she does. I only know that she does it brilliantly' * Daily Express *'Quietly riveting and stealthily moving... an absorbing, compassionate meditation on pain, mortality and our relationship with our bodies... Annie Baker's extraordinary plays are as idiosyncratic as they are fascinating and as funny as they are profound' * The Stage *'[Annie Baker] has a knack for seeing people's weird innards and transmuting them into something transcendent… an undeniably important and timely work' * Guardian *'Exquisite new comic drama' * New Yorker *'Intensely humane and minutely observed... Baker's plays are singular creations that march to their own rhythm, and we're fortunate that four of them have now come to the National Theatre' * Evening Standard *'Full of small wonders and subtle moments of quiet awakening' * Independent *'Baker's play feels capacious – ever widening its arms to hold more humanity, more searching spirit… Infinite Life gathers us all in its wide embrace, turning its curious, accepting gaze on our brokenness' * New York Magazine *'A very funny play, and a fine showcase for all its cast members… a work of lyrical beauty, humour, and insight' * New York Sun *'An enigmatically idiosyncratic mediation on human suffering... richly rewarding... Baker truly is a powerful writer' * Broadway World *'Spare but richly satisfying, full of beguiling subtleties and opportunities for dry humour' * Arts Desk *'Baker may be the Pinter of our generation, with exquisite writing displaying true human insight. She may never be mainstream, but she remains a genius whose work is always enlightening' * Broadway Baby *'Slow, searing and profound... Annie Baker is a master at tunnelling into the nucleus of niche, private settings, populating them with a wholly plausible cocktail of characters and enthralling her audience with the early interactions and seminal conversations that take place between them' * Culture Whisper *

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Book Synopsis1964: Richard Burton, the firebrand Welsh actor, newly married to movie star Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new production of Hamlet under the exacting direction of John Gielgud. But as rehearsals progress, the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel. One of them is the most famous movie star in the world; the other, a patrician from an earlier age of theatre. The stage is set for two titans to collide. Jack Thorne's The Motive and the Cue is a fierce, funny play which offers a glimpse into the politics of a rehearsal room and the relationship between art and celebrity. This edition was published alongside the West End transfer in 2023, following its world premiere at the National Theatre, London, earlier that year. Originally commissioned and co-produced by Neal Street Productions, it was directed by Sam Mendes, and starred Johnny Flynn as Burton, Mark Gatiss as Gielgud and Tuppence Middleton as Taylor. It was named Best Play at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2023.Trade Review'Marvellous... a quite wonderful new play... full of compassion, funny, witty and utterly compelling... This play is Thorne and Mendes's own love letter to the stage, full of both intellect and passion, clever and profoundly moving' * WhatsOnStage *'Enjoyable and hugely adroit' * Evening Standard *'Witty, deft, and touching... a palpable hit' * Telegraph *'Magical... deeply affecting... not just a heartfelt plea for the power of theatre, but a moving, often very funny, story about two generations teasing and provoking one another' * Independent *'Fascinating... a dual of egos in which not just the play, but the two men's sense of their selves is at stake' * The Stage *'A riotous peek behind the scenes... sensational' * Time Out *'Thrilling... an undeniably magnificent tour de force. Theatre should thank its lucky stars for Thorne. He has reminded us all why we went to the theatre and why we continue to go' * Broadway World *'Blazingly triumphant... a story about humanity, vulnerability, reconciliation' * TheatreCat *'Beautifully written... Jack Thorne's dramatisation of the events is powerful and entertaining in equal measure' * The Upcoming *'Stunning... Thorne's gloriously rich script subtly dissects the various relationships of the players, and it's magical to see it all unfold... a brilliant piece of theatre' * Theatre Weekly *'Part mischievous comedy and part docu-drama... a funny and affectionate love letter from theatre to itself' * Reviews Hub *'Magic... breathtaking in its simplicity and beauty' * LondonTheatre1 *

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Book SynopsisThree distinctive adaptations from a master of total theatre, Steven Berkoff fuses all the elements of drama together in a whole theatrical experience. Combining movement and mime with text to achieve a heightened dramatic intensity, Berkoff takes Kafka's stories and transforms them into a powerful dramatic expression of the inhumanity which plagued the twentieth century and continues unchecked today.Trade Review"Berkoff has a master's ear for vocabulary and rhythm. Everything is heightened - physically, emotionally, intellectually... There's so much to work with and draw from." - Theatre Weekly; "Throughout the play, you find yourself relating to both Gregor, as the one being isolated, but also to his family members who are the cause of that. That makes the show eerily relatable, and it's this quality that allows you to ponder the topic on a deeper level." - everything-theatre.co.uk; "The totality of alienation was stressed through the theatre of shadows. [The family's] greed and stupidity were the forces that concealed, distorted and destroyed what was essential in human nature." - Theatre JournalTable of ContentsSteven Berkoff Author biography Bibliography of Steven Berkoff Foreword by Cheryl Robson preface to The Trial by Steven Berkoff The Trial by Franz Kafka adapted for the stage by Steven Berkoff preface to Metamorphosis by Steven Berkoff Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka adapted for the stage by Steven Berkoff preface to In the Penal Colony by Steven Berkoff In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka adapted for the stage by Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff Awards

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Book SynopsisJust married. Bored already. Hedda longs to be free.This vital new version by Patrick Marber (Closer, Three Days in the Country) opened at the National Theatre, London, in December 2016.''A bold, clear, finally harrowing account of the play.'' DAILY TELEGRAPH''Forces us to see Ibsen's masterpiece with fresh eyes.'' GUARDIAN

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Book SynopsisThe third full-length collection from poet Stevie Edwards, Quiet Armor examines how capitalism and patriarchy impact romantic relationships and, more broadly, intimacy.Trade ReviewThe poems in Quiet Armor explore the shadows and nuances of one woman teetering between conventional, gendered expectations and witch/martyr/saint/goddess. These poems unfold with improvisational energy, creating an ongoing sense of a life lived, of time passing, of wisdom accrued through experience. It is difficult to write of life’s reparations, especially where love is concerned, without sentimentality—here, Edwards succeeds, and how: when we reach the end of the last poem, we feel we know the collection’s speaker intimately, and we feel—some of us, anyway—known." - Diane Suess, author of frank: sonnetsTable of Contents Parthenogenesis Window Shopping Easy as Pie Ladylike Nobody Is Lost What Is Left to Say About the Body Composed Portrait of My Mother, Age 56 Spell for Undoing a Life Sentence Essay on Guns Verity Clytemnestra, Daughter of Leda, Beholds a Swan Dream without Men Red Spell Mouthy Self-Portrait as Medusa Calling Her Names Elegy for Lavinia Five Days Before the Election Rumor Has It Drunk Bitch Dreams of a Luminous Stream Babylove Harm’s Way Drunk Bitch Wants to Fuck Like a Man After the Election I Woke Up What I Left Learning to Leave a Bad Thing Alone Drunk Bitch Tries Her Hand at Recovery Medusa with the Head of Harvey Weinstein The Astonishing A Few More Lines on Lavinia Some Things We Carried Medusa as Shield Dread Myth Some Lines in which I Want to Go On Aubade with the Longest Eyelashes On Progeny Some Threads from a Depression Ode to Chill Pills Self-Portrait as Too Much On Want All the Heavens Were a Bell Another Poem About Pain Dear Extraterrestrials Ode to Joy Entreaty Epithalamion Tapping Therapy Notes Acknowledgments Thank You

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Book SynopsisA powerful debut collection exploring one family's pursuit of the American Dream. Sebastian Paramo renders a semi-autobiographical collection, utilizing self-portraiture and memory to uncover how his Texan, working-class, Mexican American identity shapes his relationship to his stepbrother and to his family's burning desire to become American.Trade ReviewPortrait of Us Burning wrestles with the deep, unknowable layers of familial history and the myriad possibilities of narrative a son imagines to better know from whom and from where he comes. For those interested in narratives of immigrant parents and experiences of first-generation children, this collection is lush with material. Traveling between geographical borderlands (crossing between Mexico and the United States) and the borderlands of memory (the synapses of memory that result from intergenerational trauma), these well-wrought and complex poems serve as exploration of lineage and testament to love of family even under the most difficult of circumstances." - Ángel GarcÍa, author of Teeth Never SleepTable of Contents Table of Contents Where Your Father Was I. Portrait of Us Portrait of My Father as a Failed Romantic Diego Rivera, the Flower Carrier, 1935 Self-Portrait as My Father, the Roofer Where Your Mother Was Portrait of a Firebird Self-Portrait of the First aBorn's Questions Footage of Us Playing Watching The Lion King with My Father Hibiscus Dear Father Self-Portrait as Half-Sibling Diptych: Days of the Latch-Key Siblings Portrait of Rivalry Portrait of a Reunion Self-Portrait While Holding My Mother’s Hand The Laundromat Saint Self-Portrait as My Mother’s Blood Portrait of What He Didn’t Want Unfaithful Father, Disobedient Son When Father Sings Portrait of a Boy Returning to Dirt Stepping Through a Door The Home Slaughter Self-Portrait with Thunder & Exhaustion, or, Self-Portrait as My Father Crossing Your Portrait in Smoke Portrait of Family I Footage of Me Tomorrow Not Pictured: II. Burning Portrait of the Unsaid Portrait of Vows Self-Portrait Looking Backwards My Mother’s Blessing Portrait of My Parents’ Desire Portrait of My Mother, as the Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego, and SeÑor Xolotl After El Hombre by Rufino Tamayo Big Tex Is on Fire! Lost Footage of Us Playing Studying Abroad in Mexico, Looking Up at Man of Fire by Jose Clemente Orozco Footage of My Father Telling a Story about Dirt When Father & I Speak Father’s Advice Footage from the Field Sobbing in a U-Haul Diptych: Dreams on Fire My Father Never Speaks about His Father Blood & Breath Footage of Me Yesterday Portrait of Us Burning Everything Is on Fire When My Mother’s Portrait Sings Portrait of Family as a Bag of Worms Portrait of Family II Cajeta Still Life with Salt on Fruit Watching the End of the Film Paris, Texas Forgive Me, Brother Distant Father The Ownership of the Night Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisSpring Awakening is set in a small German town in the 1890s, where adolescent boys and girls grope their way towards knowledge and maturity against the blocks set up by parents and teachers in the name of morality. Melchior, fearless in his pursuit of the truth, manages to retain his freedom of spirit, but his friends are not so lucky or strong.Wedekind's controversial play occupies a special place in modern theatrical history as a key work of the naturalist school and the principal precursor of German Expressionism.Trade ReviewThe best and most enduring German play of its era. * Jonathan Franzen *

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Book SynopsisOne of the first Russian writers to make a name for herself on the Internet, Linor Goralik writes conversational short works that conjure the absurd, reflecting post-Soviet life and daily universals. Her mastery of the minimal is on full display in this collection of poems, stories, comics, a play, and an interview, translated for the first time.Trade ReviewFound Life will richly reward readers interested in short-form fiction and in the shifting landscape of contemporary Russian literature more generally, not to mention daily life in today’s Russia. -- James H. McGavran III * Translation and Literature *By turns entertaining, quixotic and unnerving, this sampling of the prolific writer’s many voices and styles is something you will want to leave lying around to dip into when you have a spare moment, or just before nodding off to bed, to seed your dreamscape. * Russian Life *The most engaging pieces, despite their brevity, require concentration, but whatever your attention span, you'll be rewarded by miniatures such as this: 'The signature taste of a gun barrel.' -- Anna Aslanyan * Times Literary Supplement *A welcome collection from a writer worth hearing more from—so translators get busy. * Kirkus Reviews *Linor Goralik is a Renaissance woman of our own day, writing (and drawing!) in a wide range of genres, all with sharp intelligence. Her writing is fresh and thought-provoking, with both profound insight and deadpan humor. The numerous translators allow exploration of different aspects of Goralik’s voice, so that this selection of work offers the reader a wonderful variety and versatility. A beautiful and important book! -- Sibelan Forrester, Swarthmore CollegeLinor Goralik has a perfect ear for the wander and wonder of ordinary speech, for the way the weirdness of human language conveys the weirdness of human experience. In turn hilarious and heart-rending, her fictions and poems bristle with epiphanies, with jolts of comprehension and, just as commonly, of vertiginous incomprehension. A literary descendant of Daniil Kharms, the conceptualists, and Chekhov, this transnational writer-ventriloquist describes a world of multiple realities, including that of the supernatural, but she is also painstakingly precise in her depictions of male and female behavior in post-Soviet space. The editors and translators are to be praised for, among many other things, finding the idiomatic and colloquial American English to convincingly express the alive Russian of the original. -- Eugene Ostashevsky, author of The Pirate Who Does Not Know the Value of PiGoralik remains a key figure in post-Soviet literature and culture due to her omnivorous referentiality and intertextuality, her deployment of detail, her absurdist, jarring wit, and her ability to construct tiny, perfect vignettes out of everyday scraps of language . . . Found Life is a strong introduction to a writer representing an important thread of contemporary Russophone literature and culture. -- Anne O. Fisher * The Russian Review *Table of ContentsIntroductionPart I: PoetryPart II: ComicsPart III: TheaterPart IV: Short ProseExcerpts from Biblical ZooFound LifeIn Short: Ninety-One Rather Short StoriesSomething Like That (A War Story)The Blind EyePart V: Longer ProseAgatha Goes HomeValerii: A Short NovelPart VI: “Everyone Reads the Text That’s in Their Own Head”

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Book SynopsisOne of the first Russian writers to make a name for herself on the Internet, Linor Goralik writes conversational short works that conjure the absurd, reflecting post-Soviet life and daily universals. Her mastery of the minimal is on full display in this collection of poems, stories, comics, a play, and an interview, translated for the first time.Trade ReviewFound Life will richly reward readers interested in short-form fiction and in the shifting landscape of contemporary Russian literature more generally, not to mention daily life in today’s Russia. -- James H. McGavran III * Translation and Literature *By turns entertaining, quixotic and unnerving, this sampling of the prolific writer’s many voices and styles is something you will want to leave lying around to dip into when you have a spare moment, or just before nodding off to bed, to seed your dreamscape. * Russian Life *The most engaging pieces, despite their brevity, require concentration, but whatever your attention span, you'll be rewarded by miniatures such as this: 'The signature taste of a gun barrel.' -- Anna Aslanyan * Times Literary Supplement *A welcome collection from a writer worth hearing more from—so translators get busy. * Kirkus Reviews *Linor Goralik is a Renaissance woman of our own day, writing (and drawing!) in a wide range of genres, all with sharp intelligence. Her writing is fresh and thought-provoking, with both profound insight and deadpan humor. The numerous translators allow exploration of different aspects of Goralik’s voice, so that this selection of work offers the reader a wonderful variety and versatility. A beautiful and important book! -- Sibelan Forrester, Swarthmore CollegeLinor Goralik has a perfect ear for the wander and wonder of ordinary speech, for the way the weirdness of human language conveys the weirdness of human experience. In turn hilarious and heart-rending, her fictions and poems bristle with epiphanies, with jolts of comprehension and, just as commonly, of vertiginous incomprehension. A literary descendant of Daniil Kharms, the conceptualists, and Chekhov, this transnational writer-ventriloquist describes a world of multiple realities, including that of the supernatural, but she is also painstakingly precise in her depictions of male and female behavior in post-Soviet space. The editors and translators are to be praised for, among many other things, finding the idiomatic and colloquial American English to convincingly express the alive Russian of the original. -- Eugene Ostashevsky, author of The Pirate Who Does Not Know the Value of PiGoralik remains a key figure in post-Soviet literature and culture due to her omnivorous referentiality and intertextuality, her deployment of detail, her absurdist, jarring wit, and her ability to construct tiny, perfect vignettes out of everyday scraps of language . . . Found Life is a strong introduction to a writer representing an important thread of contemporary Russophone literature and culture. -- Anne O. Fisher * The Russian Review *Table of ContentsIntroductionPart I: PoetryPart II: ComicsPart III: TheaterPart IV: Short ProseExcerpts from Biblical ZooFound LifeIn Short: Ninety-One Rather Short StoriesSomething Like That (A War Story)The Blind EyePart V: Longer ProseAgatha Goes HomeValerii: A Short NovelPart VI: “Everyone Reads the Text That’s in Their Own Head”

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Book SynopsisSam Shepard has been described by the New Yorker as ''one of the most original, prolific and gifted dramatists at work today''. Here are seven of his finest plays, including True West and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Buried Child. Also included are Curse of the Starving Class, The Tooth of Crime, La Turista, Tongues and Savage/Love.The volume is introduced by Richard Gilman, who provides a fascinating profile of the author and places the plays in the context of contemporary American drama.

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Book SynopsisDon''t be miserable, you wonderful woman; be a mermaid. There''s the ocean; throw yourself in. Fall in love with some poor mortal and drag him down with you. Astonish us! On an isolated country estate, Sonia and her Uncle Vanya are committed to a life of ceaseless toil. But when the ageing invalid Serebriakov and his bewilderingly beautiful young wife take up residence, a yearning envelops the household and disturbs the accustomed tedium. Friend and confidant Astrov grows lovelorn, Sonia''s heart breaks and even Vanya falls under the spell. And so they fight, bond, belittle, lament, make peace and contemplate the odd murder.Featuring sex, comedy and unbearable sadness in nineteenth-century Russia, this version of Anton Chekhov''s Uncle Vanya was written and directed by Terry Johnson and opened at Hampstead Theatre, London, in November 2018. And having weathered the storm, what''s left? My feelings for you; a few droplets on a window pane, cat

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Book SynopsisIn this radical new version of Peer Gynt, David Hare kidnaps Henrik Ibsen's most famous hero and runs away with him into the twenty-first century.Stripped of fretwork and greenery, the play is projected into a freewheeling modern world of music, dance, poetry, weddings, coronations, trolls and two-headed children as Peter steals a bride and embarks on an extraordinary lifetime's journey before returning home, finally, to Scotland.David Hare's Peter Gynt posits the same fundamental question the great Norwegian asked in 1867: does a belief in individualism help or hinder us in trying to live purposefully in the present day?The play opens at the National Theatre in July 2019 and transfers to the Festival Theatre Edinburgh, for the Edinburgh International Festival.

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Book SynopsisA genius with language, but convinced of his own ugliness, Cyrano secretly loves the radiant Roxane. While Roxane is in love with the beautiful but inarticulate Christian.Cyrano's generous offer to act as go-between sets in motion a poignant and often hilarious love-triangle, in which each character is torn between the lure of physical attraction and the seductive power of words.Martin Crimp's adaptation of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac premiered at the Playhouse Theatre, London, in November 2019.

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Book SynopsisIt is Mr. Miller''s notion, potentially a great one, that the Baums'' story can help tell the story of America itself during that traumatic era.'NEW YORK TIMESWhen the stock market crashes, the once-financially comfortable Baum family lose everything and are forced to leave their lofty home in Manhattan to live with relatives in Brooklyn: how can their pride, purpose and artistic endeavours survive such a sudden and shocking reversal of fortune?A sweeping, hard-hitting look at the Great Depression of the 1930s, The American Clock is a vaudevillian celebration of American resilience and optimism in the face of national crisis, and was performed on Broadway in 1980.This Methuen Drama Student Edition is edited by Jane K. Dominik, with commentary and notes that explore the play''s production history (including excerpts from interviews with designers of the 1980 Broadway production) as well as the dramatic, thematic and academic debates that surround it.Trade ReviewThis panoramic 1980 play about America during the Great Depression [is] described as “a vaudeville” [and] it shows how the nation’s built-in optimism came up against economic reality ... The play, which combines the texture of despair with a residual hope epitomised in the line “a country can’t just die”, shows just how much the 30s shaped Miller’s artistic imagination. ... It shows [Miller's] enduring capacity to capture the state of a troubled nation. -- Michael Billington * Guardian *The piece serves as a warning from history ... but there’s nothing dusty or dutifully clock-watching about it ... [Miller] billed the show as a “vaudeville”, likened it to a mural – and that gives him a means of pushing out across the nation, giving voice to a chorus of bewilderment, as the banks fail, the bailiffs call, the crops rot, and the air hangs heavy with resentment and revolutionary fervour. Yet swimming amid the tide of acrimony, there’s stoical humour, resilient American optimism and even young romantic love ... [The play feels] eerily up to-the-moment and [serves] as an invaluable reminder of how an economic shock can change a country forever. -- Dominic Cavendish * Daily Telegraph *No 20th-century playwright was more gifted at depicting the downsides of the American dream than Arthur Miller -- Dominic Maxwell * The Times *Frequently magnificent and ... also ... nauseatingly prescient. [The play's] kaleidoscopic vision of an advanced society sleepwalking into an essentially self-inflicted disaster is certainly painfully relevant to Britain’s current interests. ...It’s a powerful, poignant and frequently enlightening journey ... This strange, flawed forgotten play is the most relevant piece of political theatre in town. -- Andrzej Lukowski * Time Out *Table of ContentsCHRONOLOGY COMMENTARY Historical, social and cultural contexts Genre and themes Play as performance Production history Academic debate Behind the scenes Further study PLAY TEXT NOTES

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Book SynopsisThrough a series of arresting vignettes and a collection of nameless characters, Alice Birch examines the language, behaviour and forces that shape women in the 21st century. The play asks what''s stopping us from doing something truly radical to change them?Written in response to the provocation that well-behaved women seldom make history, the play is an assault on the language that has fueled violence against women throughout history. Problematic language frequently attached to women is interrogated, from lazy sexist clichés to the conventions around a marriage proposal. Through doing so, the play rails against the conventions of work, sex, motherhood, aging and love. Revolt. She said. Revolt again was first performed at the 2014 Midsummer Mischief Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon. It transferred to the Royal Court Upstairs and was more recently produced at New York''s Soho Rep.It is published here in a Student Edition alongside commentary and notes by Marissia Fragkou, who locTrade ReviewAlice Birch doesn’t want this work to be unseen. Her angry and frantic play Revolt. She aaid. Revolt again is an experimental work focused on using a feminist voice which is loud; a feminist voice which seeks to change the world not through small increments but through a revolution: through the destruction of language; through the destruction of society... * Guardian *Ms. Birch’s play, which became a hit for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2014, has a way of making you question everything you say when it comes to discussing women and their relationships with men, one another and a world in a state of unending upheaval... Linguistic confusion plagues the frantic souls portrayed... Even the play’s title, with its use of periods instead of commas, suggests the difficulty of getting words out and how inadequate they seem when you do... Yet Revolt teems with the same anarchic fury that possessed Jimmy Porter [in Look Back in Anger] and the same frustrated awareness that there are no easy fixes for an unsatisfactory social system... Instead, Ms. Birch is articulating the alternatives that come to women’s minds in dealing with how they are dealt with — as objects of love and lust, as employees and employers, as mothers and daughters. * New York Times *Acts One to Three are dialogues. Issues of gender language change into material questions of marriage, of women in capitalism, women raped and colonised, women desperate for refusal of the roles imposed on them. By Act Four, everything is deconstructed and there isn’t dialogue anymore... We witness conversations, haunting solo performances, disturbing statements about or directed to women, and a lack of genuine solutions provided in a system that benefits from oppression... In many ways, this play is a call to arms. It exposes the contradictions in simply refusing sexism in words, which is promoted as “revolutionary” by the very agents of the status quo. * Diva Mag *Table of ContentsIntroduction Historical and cultural contexts Scene analysis Critical reception List of key productions Works Cited Revolt. She said. Revolt again Notes

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Book SynopsisThe [Vagrant Trilogy] extends far beyond the timeline of devastating events, and instead shows us something greater: humanity. - Broadway World The Vagrant Trilogy is a set of three plays by award-winning Arab American playwright Mona Mansour which explores the Palestinian condition prior to, during, and after the infamous Six-Day War. It sketches the devastating effect this conflict had on members of the Palestinian diaspora scattered in Europe and in Lebanese refugee camps. With productions in Washington DC, New York, and Abu Dhabi, this trilogy has moved audiences across both America and the Arabic-speaking world. The Hour of Feeling, The Vagrant, and Urge for Going offer a deep exploration of the Palestinian struggle for home and identity, a powerful glimpse into a reality that many face and few understand. The volume includes a foreword by director Mark Wing-Davey; an introduction by Arab American theatre scholars Hala Baki and MichTable of Contents1. Acknowledgements 2. Dedication 3. List of Photographs 4. Foreword by director Mark-Wing Davey 5. Introduction by editors Hala Baki & Michael Malek Najjar 7. A Note on the Texts 8. The Plays Part 1: The Hour of Feeling Part 2: The Vagrant Part 3: Urge for Going 9. Afterword by Mona Mansour 10. Critical Essay by Dr Diya Abdo 10. Notes and Bibliography

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Book SynopsisBarber Shop Chronicles is a generously funny, heart-warming and insightful new play set in five African cities, Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, Accra, and in London.Inspired in part by the story of a Leeds barber, the play invites the audience into a unique environment where the banter may be barbed, but the truth always telling. The barbers of these tales are sages, role models and father figures who keep the men together and the stories alive.Inua Ellams''s celebrated play was first produced by the National Theatre, Fuel and Leeds Playhouse in 2017.Trade ReviewThis is an absolute cracker. Inua Ellams has the simple but ingenious idea of exploring black masculinity through the humble barber's shop... It's funny, fast, laced with music and dance, and performed with irresistible good humour and style... But deep down this is also a thoughtful, serious and moving piece of drama... he writes with zip and a wonderful ear, and the piece is beautifully woven. * Financial Times *It's a play crammed with questions, discussing African attitudes to parental discipline in one scene, and the role Nigerian Pidgin plays in cultural identity in the next. Idea follows idea: Christianity as a business fattening the wallets of pastors; the western media's depiction of Lagos; the way that words can be used to debase and destroy. Again and again the plays returns to the theme of black masculinity and the different shapes it can take... The tone of the play shifts fluidly from comedy to poignancy to rage... This is all handled with skill and a huge amount of warmth. Barber Shop Chronicles is a pleasure to experience. The level of joy in the room is high... Rich, exhilarating theatre that opens a window into a world of men. * The Stage *It's always bracing to watch the National open its arms, doors and repertoire to new work, new audiences, new experiences. There's certainly not been anything like this all-male, all-black piece from poet/playwright Inua Ellams, which bounces with brio as it whisks us around a series of African barber shops in six countries on two continents over the space of a single day... it becomes gradually clear that these resolutely female-free spaces are also part confessional, part psychiatrist's chair for both the staff and customers. Hefty topics ripple and re-echo over the thousands of miles that separate the establishments: how to be a father, how to be a son, how to be a man. A joke about a fly in a pint also travels effortlessly. * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisA unique anthology bringing together stories of queer life from international playwrights, these seven plays showcase the dazzling multiplicity of queer narratives across the globe: the absurd, the challenging, and the joyful.From the legacy of colonialism in India to the farcical bureaucracy of marriage law in Kosovo; from a school counsellor in Taiwan coming out as HIV+, to coming of age in an Israel-Palestine coexistence camp, this is a genre-spanning collection of global writing.Contempt by Danish Sheikh (India)55 Shades of Gay by Jeton Neziraj, translated by Alexandra Channer (Kosovo)No Matter Where I Go by Amahl Khouri (Jordan)Only the End of the World by Jean-Luc Lagarce, translated by Lucie Tiberghien (France)Taste of Love by Zhan Jie, translated by Jeremy Tiang (Taiwan)Peace Camp Org by Mariam Bazeed (Egypt)Winter Animals by Santiago Loza, translated by Samuel Buggeln and Ariel G

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Book SynopsisIn Killology, players are rewarded for torturing victims, scoring points for creativity.But Killology isn't sick. In fact it's marketed by its millionaire creator as a deeply moral experience. Because yes, you can live out your darkest fantasies, but you don't escape their consequences.Out on the streets, not everybody agrees with him.There is an instinctive revulsion against taking a human life. And that revulsion can be conquered.

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Book SynopsisA young Shona girl escapes an arranged marriage by converting to Christianity, becoming a servant and student to an African Evangelical. As anti-European sentiments spread throughout the native population, she is forced to choose between her family's traditions and her newfound faith.

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Book SynopsisAnna Ziegler has written the plays Actually (produced at Manhattan Theatre Club, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Geffen Playhouse, Trafalgar Studios and others; L.A. Ovation Award winner for Playwriting for an Original Play), the widely produced Photograph 51 (directed on the West End by Michael Grandage and starring Nicole Kidman; WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Play; named the number one play of 2019 by the Chicago Tribune and in other years selected as a Best of the Year play by The Washington Post and The Telegraph), Boy (Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award nominee), The Wanderers (The Old Globe; upcoming at The Roundabout Theatre Company; Craig Noel Award winner for Outstanding New Play), The Last Match (Roundabout Theatre Company; The Old Globe; upcoming: Writers' Theatre, Chicago), and A Delicate Ship (New York Times Critic's Pick; The Playwrights Realm; Cincinnati Playhouse). Recent notable: Photograph 51 at Melbourne TTrade Review“[Ziegler’s play is] thoughtful, compassionate, funny…The playwright deftly displays the barbed and tender sides of [the central characters’] relationship…But “The Wanderers” is about more than bittersweet relationships and coping with the past; it’s about the human tendency to be chronically dissatisfied. Confused and yearning, Esther wonders, “Who really understands whether or not they are happy?” * Washington Post on 'The Wanderers' *“The world premiere of “The Great Moment” at Seattle Rep is touching, clever, relatable, and enchanting.” * Seattle Pockets on 'The Great Moment' *Effortlessly gripping….funny and aching in all the right spots….it’s a good one, and splendidly played * Washington Post on Another Way Home *“…[A] taut, devastating play… a smart, profoundly painful exploration of [a] murky, treacherous sexual culture… Actually’s great strength, and its great heartbreak, is that it allows us to see both Amber and Tom so fully…Actually’s wit and its intelligence are part of what makes the complex darkness at its center hit so hard. There is brightness in this play, and in these people, and to see its sparks overwhelmed by such fearful and familiar shadows is shattering. In moments, it’s even revelatory.” * New York Magazine on 'Actually' *Table of ContentsIntroduction by the author The Wanderers The Great Moment Another Way Home Actually

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Book SynopsisAlmost 170 years on, Charlotte Brontë's story of the trailblazing Jane is as inspiring as ever. This bold and dynamic production uncovers one woman's fight for freedom and fulfilment on her own terms.From her beginnings as a destitute orphan, Jane Eyre's spirited heroine faces life's obstacles head-on, surviving poverty, injustice and the discovery of bitter betrayal before taking the ultimate decision to follow her heart.This inventive staging of Brontë''s masterpiece was first staged by Bristol Old Vic in 2014, when the story was performed over two evenings. Director Sally Cookson now brings her celebrated production to the National Theatre, presented as a single, exhilarating performance.Trade Review‘Even in what is fast becoming a very strong opening season from Rufus Norris at the National, Sally Cookson's staging of Jane Eyre still stands out.’ * British Theatre Guide *‘The book has been filleted cleverly… Inventive, moving and at times unexpectedly funny, this is an admirable piece of devised theatre.’ * The Express *‘clever, touching, minimalist yet expansive… makes you see entire new possibilities in theatre. I recommend it with a roar’ * Daily Mail ????? *‘Cookson and her company stripped Charlotte Brontë's novel down to its bones; what was left was plot and emotion… the magic, the passion, the raw pain is allowed to remain intact.’ * Culture Whisper *‘Newcomers and Brontë-holics alike will be gripped, amused and moved by a boldly theatrical show.’ * The Times *‘Sally Cookson’s production is full of wit, resource and invention.’ * Michael Billington, Guardian *'This is a production full of intelligent detail... Original, engaging and unexpectedly funny... an adaptation that Charlotte Bronte herself might have approved.' * Telegraph *‘A continually absorbing achievement.’ * Telegraph *‘A remarkable performance of startling modernity and unaffected honesty.’ * Guardian *‘A vivid two-part adaptation that combines powerful drama and unexpected humour.’ * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisHe was born in Cheshire, and educated in Oxford, where he lectured in mathematics.

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