Modern and contemporary plays / drama

Book Synopsis'We are all the authors of our own love story.' Casey's new boyfriend Brett is handsome, romantic and devoted – a dream come true. He writes poetry! He makes quiche! For once in her life, Casey is in a relationship with a man who attends to her every whim and desire. But when her suspicious sister Cynthia starts digging into Brett's past, she threatens to take away the one good thing that's ever happened to Casey… Nancy Harris's play Somewhere Out There You is a romantic comedy with a twist, playfully unravelling the love stories we weave for ourselves and inviting us to question what compels us to tell them in the first place. It was first performed in 2023 at the Abbey Theatre, as part of Dublin Theatre Festival, directed by Wayne Jordan.Trade Review'Delightful... insightfully skewers the delusions and hypocrisies that are at the heart of most romantic relationships' * The Stage *'Bold and enjoyable' * Irish Times *'Sparkily original' * Irish Independent *'A refreshingly lighthearted comedy with some very funny lines and a Charlie Kaufmanesque twist... a warm and upbeat piece that makes you question the nature of love and its importance in our lives' * No More Workhorse *'Hilariously entertaining, with just a dash of romance, Somewhere Out There You is a laugh out loud delight. A perfect first date for hopeless romantics and the romantically hopeless' * Arts Review *

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Book Synopsis'Shisha lounges are an essential part of the Muslim experience, bruv, like the Fillet-O-Fish.' Chunkyz Shisha Lounge is a home away from home for Jihad, Rashid and Asif, a space where community whispers are heard, jokes are told, and new hustles are born. But its future is under threat, having become a target for local politicians. Aspiring journalist Jihad wants to fight back. After winning a competition to produce his own documentary, he sets out to create something that gives a voice to his community and challenges the usual stereotypes that fill the airwaves. Will he be able to create something that makes his boys proud? Or will his dreams of becoming a journalist come at a cost too high to bear? Mohamed-Zain Dada's debut play, Blue Mist is a story about South Asian Muslim men navigating a system that isn't built for them. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in October 2023, directed by Milli Bhatia, in a co-production with SISTER.Trade Review'Vivid and ambitious... complex ideas presented with verve... could not be more current, or urgent' * Guardian *'Boisterously enjoyable... Dada has a real feel for character and atmosphere, and his debut is shot through with vibrancy' * Evening Standard *'A lovable drama about a trio of male Muslim friends and the run-down shisha lounge they hang out in... gets right to the heart of what a safe space can be for young men and how devastating it is to violate that... So many great lines whizz by in the back-and-forth of Dada's dialogue' * Time Out *'A drama that touches on a range of urgent themes and shows the importance of public spaces for our increasingly isolated urban youth' * WhatsOnStage *'Mohamed-Zain Dada's warm, well-observed sitcom handles sensitive themes around Islamophobia and men's mental health with care and compassion... his vibrant, naturalistic dialogue is packed with slang and striking turns of phrase... an alternative perspective that is refreshing and necessary' * The Stage *'Authentic and energetic... offers an insight into shisha lounge culture — and challenges easy stereotypes about youth and masculinity... Dada writes with a wonderfully warm vibrancy, delivering some brilliant anecdotes... a report from the front line of Muslim masculinity... signals the arrival of a thrilling new voice on London's new writing scene' * Arts Desk *'A brilliant debut... Dada writes with authentic personality, introducing his three characters with naturalistic idiosyncrasies that paint a vibrant cultural landscape... it's funny, sarcastic, satirical, thought-provoking, informative, original. It has it all' * Broadway World *

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Book SynopsisOn the surface, Michael and Cheryl have it all: a posh new home in suburban Belfast, good jobs, 2.4 pets. But things take a sinister turn when, living opposite a bonfire site, they unwittingly become the targets of a hate campaign involving missing animals, graffiti and explosions… Gary Mitchell's play Burnt Out is a blackly comic psychological thriller exposing the darker side of suburban life. It was first performed in 2023 at the Lyric Theatre Belfast, as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival. Gary Mitchell is a British playwright based in Northern Ireland. His plays, many of them political thrillers about contemporary life in Belfast, have been widely performed, and he has been called 'Northern Ireland's greatest playwright' (Guardian). 'His writing has the blazing conviction of lived experience combined with an unfashionable relish for strong plots. His best work has a stomach-churning intensity' Daily TelegraphTrade Review'A domestic psychodrama laced with menace and sardonic humour, informed by Mitchell's own experiences... genuinely shocking, with an explosive, surreal climax' * The Stage *'A potent portrait of a community marginalising itself' * British Theatre Guide *'An edgy black comedy that delves into the shadows of Belfast's suburban life... about the inexorable descent into nightmare and the vice-like grip that paramilitaries have on communities... a compelling watch that masterfully blends dark comedy with psychological horror' * Love Belfast *'Brilliant... a powerful, darkly comic and excellent play' * Belfast Media *'Will have you on the edge of your seat' * Belfast Live *'An incredible piece of theatre... a darkly humorous piece... The savagery always hits home... genuinely scary * Irish News *

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Book Synopsis'I like having things. I like having lots of things. It reminds me that I'm... Y'know? A person.' Alice is done with fast fashion. Ben can't stop buying trainers. And Charlie just wants to sell out… one organ at a time. Billie Collins's play Peak Stuff is a fast-paced, funny, fearless deep-dive into consumer culture. In an age of retail therapy, climate crisis and click and collect - how does our 'stuff' define us? And have we reached peak stuff? The play was commissioned by ThickSkin and Lawrence Batley Theatre, was a winner of the New Play Commission Scheme, and was first presented on tour of the UK in 2024.

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Book SynopsisTwo comedies for young actors (and the young at heart): ''Rhiwbob'' by Peter Hughes Griffiths and ''Lle bo camp bydd rhemp'' by Meinir and Gwion Lynch.

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Book Synopsis‘It’s England really, isn’t it? A climate without cloud and rain isn’t honest.’ In the ruins of a garden in rural England, in a house which was once a home, one woman searches for seeds of hope. Mike Bartlett's play Albion was premiered in October 2017 at the Almeida Theatre, London, in a production directed by Rupert Goold. It was revived at the Almeida in February 2020.Trade Review'Something remarkable. Our country needs it' * Telegraph *'[Has] a deeply reflective and humane quality to it: Bartlett draws his confused characters with a Chekhovian mix of wit and compassion… explores national identity through private mourning, and the meaning of the garden shifts, grows and deepens with the seasons' * Financial Times *'Scintillating… in the sometimes abrasive but always compelling Audrey, Bartlett has written a richly imagined female lead who can be mentioned in the same breath as the self-dramatizing Arkadina in The Seagull' * New York Times *'A tragicomic paean to England and its discontents, novelistic in scale, combining the acute social observation of traditional British country-house drama with self-consciously Chekhovian grace notes. Downton Abbey meets The Cherry Orchard… a pastoral elegy with grand state-of-the-nation ambitions, [which] delves deep into conflicted notions of patriotism and nostalgia in post-Brexit Britain' * Hollywood Reporter *'A work of deeply absorbing emotional richness and symphonic density' * Independent *'Fascinating, complex… what makes the play so enormously intriguing is that, as in his King Charles III, Bartlett shows us as a deeply divided people torn between the urge to preserve the past and to radically reform it' * Guardian *'Outstanding, thrillingly ambitious theatre' * Broadway World *'A meditation on family and friends, false hopes and busted dreams' * The Times *'Bartlett pays homage to Chekhov, matching his sense of domesticity's mixture of stultifying banality and desperate strangeness — while also calling to mind the wistful cleverness of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia… shot through with shrewdly observed humour, and there are moments of vivid poignancy' * Evening Standard *'Smartly distils troubled England down to an elegiac microcosm… a thoughtful, layered interrogation' * Time Out *'An intensely felt, delicately observed drama spanning a century of social change, that coaxes into blood-red bloom affecting ideas about home, identity, and love… a hybrid of earthy sensuality, sentimental nostalgia and damaging emotional frigidity that is peculiarly English. It's a domestic drama painfully ripped up by its roots, a depiction of modern England's dreaming full of hopeless longing, fear and despair… while the setting appears genteel, the drama goes for the gut. It's gloriously rich, achingly sad, and quite beautiful' * The Stage *'There's something of a Greek tragedy in the primal forces that are unleashed… Bartlett reveals an ability to create a surging family saga, full of big emotions and high feelings… he keeps the tone funny, even as the mood turns dark, which is a rare skill' * WhatsOnStage *'A tragic comedy which is bright with insights and one-liners… Albion is breathtaking in its ambition and at its best achieves a neat balance between believable family drama and a more metaphoric state-of-the-nation resonance. It’s enjoyable, humane and highly symbolic' * The Arts Desk *

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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 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 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 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 SynopsisLarry Kramer's passionate, polemical drama, set during the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. The Normal Heart traces the story of one man who, while his friends are dying around him, strives to break through a conspiracy of silence, indifference and hostility from public officials and the gay community, and gain recognition for a virus that threatens to change everything. The play received its British premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1986. Thirty-five years after that premiere, the play's prescience and its searing emotional power are beyond doubt. It was revived on Broadway in 2011 (winning the Tony Award for Best Revival) and adapted for television in 2014 (receiving the Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie). This new edition of the play is published alongside a major revival at the National Theatre, London, in 2021, directed by Dominic Cooke. It features the definitive text of the play, extensive supplementary material including a new introduction by critic and broadcaster David Benedict, and tributes to Larry Kramer by Russell T Davies, Tony Kushner and Matthew López, all of whom have also contributed to the canon of dramatic work about HIV/AIDS – with, respectively, It's A Sin, Angels in America and The Inheritance.Trade Review'Burning, argumentative, witty and contentious play about the political and emotional consequences of the AIDS crisis' * Observer *'Informative, heart-rending, witty, revelatory, poleaxing, a work of utter topicality and transcendent power' * The Listener *'An epic piece of reportage' * The Times *'[A] shattering evening of theatre' * Whatsonstage *'A glorious, wrenching watch... It's a talky play from an era when things weren't talked about, with a rock-solid emotional core and a leavening seam of dark humour. It's terribly, terribly moving' * Evening Standard *'Other plays about the period would follow... But they stood on the shoulders of this one. It demands our consideration' * Telegraph *'Captures the terror, fear, shame and fury of the moment... Kramer's play is living history, written without the benefit of hindsight, and it remains undimmed by time' * The Stage *

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Book Synopsis'Today in Afghanistan there are many important issues that we are facing in our country, and I want us to look at some of these issues. So I am asking you, the audience, to help answer a very important question. Britney or Shakira?' Afghanistan. It's 2004. Farook and Samia broadcast live every day to the whole of Kabul, delivering ninety minutes of musical bliss: Britney, Backstreet Boys and Enrique Iglesias. But when their show starts to make waves, the two young friends must take on repressive forces to build a new Afghanistan. Inspired by the true story of Afghanistan's first youth music programme, Waleed Akhtar's play Kabul Goes Pop: Music Television Afghanistan explores a world following the US invasion that is complex, contradictory and shocking – all to a soundtrack of early noughties' pop. The play premiered at Brixton House, London, in 2022, directed by Anna Himali Howard, before touring the UK. It was presented with HighTide, in association with Mercury Theatre Colchester. Waleed Akhtar was later named Most Promising New Playwright at the 2023 OffWestEnd Awards, for Kabul Goes Pop and The P Word.Trade Review'A fizzing tribute to bubblegum songs of hope' * Guardian *'A cracker... pulses with energy... powerful and compelling... heartbreaking' * The Stage *'An elegantly written, often very funny, piece that works precisely because it takes a moral position on Afghanistan… underlying every word, there is a raw and admirable fury' * New European *

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Book SynopsisA group of teenagers, their lives shaped by billions of seemingly random events going back to before they were born, come together onstage to share stories about their past, their present, and what might lie ahead. When This Is Over is a uniquely personal, theatrical celebration of hope, possibility and imagination. It's about how we can work with chaos, and embrace our collective imagination as we prepare for a deeply uncertain future – together. Originally conceived by Company Three – and developed alongside more than fifty other youth theatres across the UK – When This Is Over is a play designed to be created and performed by teenage casts, drawing directly on their own life experiences and the stories they want to tell. As with Company Three's widely performed youth-theatre play Brainstorm, the script is a blueprint for an amazing theatrical adventure. This published edition contains a series of exercises and activities for schools, youth-theatre groups and community companies to create and perform their own unique productions, and also features the complete script of Company Three's version, which was performed at The Yard, London, in 2022. When This Is Over was named Community Project of the Year at The Stage Awards, and Outstanding Drama Initiative at the Music and Drama Education Awards.

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Book SynopsisVolodymyr Vynnychenko (1880-1951) was an extraordinary writer and political figure of the Ukrainian generation that was active in the early twentieth century. In his stories, novels, and plays he broke with populist and literary-realist traditions and rebelled against the social mores and political system of the tsarist empire, often raising provocative questions about morality and authenticity. Vynnychenko wrote most of his 23 plays while he lived as an émigré. A number of his plays were staged in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, and other countries. But in the English-speaking world, Vynnychenko is still largely unknown. This volume of six of his best-known plays, translated by George Mihaychuk, corrects this lacuna and introduces readers to a masterful dramatist.

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Book SynopsisAn epic love story told across four centuries by Sunderland-born Tanya Sealt, a woman who cannot age until she has cried. Collector of Tears is a play about about history, oppression and loss. Taking both male and female lovers, Tanya is an outcast. She carries with her an amazing collection of glass tear bottles which she tenderly unpacks before telling their stories. On the day of Margaret Thatcher's resignation on 22 November 1990, Tanya finally stands her ground and fights those who have hunted her and her lovers, male and female, down through time; finally learning how to cry. Best North East new play of 2014 by the British Theatre Guide.Trade Review“... a sweeping epic of a monologue that traverses centuries yet concerns itself with the most intimate of emotions. Full of surprising poetry, an artful weave of half-remembered myths, it is a theatrical Orlando for our times.” Colin Teevan, Professor of Playwriting, Birkbeck University “...It's a flawless fusion of writing, performance, design and lighting... Moving and often amusing, this is a beautifully written and performed piece of work.” David Chadderton, British Theatre Guide “...a stirring, thought-provoking and uplifting piece of theatre.” Steve Burbridge, UK Theatre NetworkTable of Contentscollector of tears ghost-tag ryan yr tits are leakin widescream chair held aloft when i return as lenin cocoon

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Book SynopsisThree generations of women try to push back the tide.It is 1966. I am sixteen years old and I am on the Venetian bridge with Brian Joy from the Golden Sands Guesthouse and he has bought me a 99 and I am on top of the world. Now I am 16, I know what boys want and why you mustnt give it to them.Tensions are high in Clacton-on-Sea. Guesthouse owner Val has been taken ill and both her estranged daughter Lisa and ambitious grand-daughter Chloe have arrived to lend a hand. Chloe is close to Val, having spent most of her childhood raised by her grandmother. But Lisa and her mother are not on best terms. In this poignant and beautifully observed drama, three generations of women have to set aside differences as they decide the fate of their family-run B&B.

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Book SynopsisThis collection of Shelagh Stephenson plays offers her Olivier award-winning work - "A Memory of Water", "Five Kinds of Silence", "Experiment with an Air Pump", and "Ancient Lights".Table of ContentsA Memory of Water; Five Kinds of Silence; An Experiment with an Air Pump; Ancient Lights

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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 SynopsisA fascinating play about a man's greed for land.

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Book SynopsisA humorous and heartfelt look into the lives of the youth of one northern new town, where the weight of identity, place, and masculinity threaten everything they’ve ever known.

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Book SynopsisSingh's plays reflect, in different ways, on the complexities and contradictions of life in post-Apartheid South Africa. Set in South Africa's third largest and most diverse city, focussing on people of Indian origin and their relationship with other South African communities, these five plays, “undres[s] Durban, as they take us away from the neon lights and 'candy floss' to the reality of the underbelly of post-Apartheid urban and suburban existence.” Professor Betty Govinden Singh is a three-time national award winner for playwriting via the PANSA Playreading Festival (South Africa's foremost playwriting contest). Durban Dialogues, Indian Voice is an anthology of five engaging and eclectic South African plays by award-winning playwright Ashwin Singh. The plays selected, namely To House, Duped, Spice 'n Stuff, Reoca Light and Beyond the Big Bangs represent the complete array of Singh's storytelling skills in drama as well as satire. Each play reflects, in different ways, on the complexities and contradictions of life in post-Apartheid South Africa, and focuses particularly on people of Indian origin and their relationship with other South African communities. The plays present a moving portrait of a unique array of characters and are also punctuated by Singh's trademark humour. Each one is set in Durban, South Africa's third largest and most diverse city, and they are described by renowned academic and critic Betty Govinden as “undressing Durban, as they take us away from the neon lights and 'candy floss' to the reality of the underbelly of post-Apartheid urban and suburban existence.” This contemporary play collection from award-winning playwright is ideal for schools, colleges and theatre companies unafraid of gritty drama.Trade Review“To House is an important piece of theatre; in it people voice opinions that are uncomfortable and edgy. The cathartic and therapeutic value of hearing these things said aloud in a public place is part of our essential healing process and proves, once again, that art has the ability to go where angels fear to tread.” Daily News, Durban “Singh's To House deals with alliances and conflicts between Black, White and Indian characters ... the intricate plot holds the attention.” Independent on Sunday “Singh's beautifully crafted play is rich in humour and in sadness, peppered with witty one-liners and moving insights. Here is a microcosm of the endearing foibles and extraordinary resilience of a community under threat from all angles.” ArtSmart, South AfricaTable of ContentsA Critical Overview 13 by Betty Govinden Summary and Analysis 17 by Shantal Singh The Plays To House (2003) 23 Duped (2011) 71 Spice ’n Stuff (2006) 117 Reoca Light (2010) 163 Beyond the Big Bangs (2013) 187

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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 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 SynopsisProbing the relationship between modernist literary experimentation and several key strands of occult practice which emerged in Europe from roughly 1894 to 1944, this book sets the work of leading modernist writers alongside lesser known female writers and writers in languages other than English to more fully portray the aesthetic and philosophical connections between modernism and the occult. Although the early decades of the twentieth centurythe era of cocktails, motorcars, bobbed hair, and warare often described as a period of newness and innovation, many writers of the time found inspiration and visionary brilliance by turning to the mysterious occult past. This book's principle intervention is to reimagine the contours and boundaries of literary modernism by welcoming into the conversation a number of significant female writers and writers in languages other than English who are often still relegated to the fringes of modernist studies. Well-remembered poets and novelists such asTrade ReviewAllan Kilner-Johnson demonstrates with emphatic assurance how myriad spiritual seekers, too often overlooked in existing surveys of aesthetic modernism – for example, Rudolf Steiner, Dion Fortune, Mary Butts and Florence Farr – were crafting new writing modes by excavating imaginatively the ancient recondite past. * Andrew Radford, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Literature, University of Glasgow, UK *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Divine Reading 2: The Return to Ritual 3: The Modernist Shadow 4: The Making of an Overman 5: The Other East Bibliography

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

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Book SynopsisI got my first pair of glasses when I was seven.A nurse came to the school and tested everyone's eyes. And so it was discovered why I'd thrown bread to the floating crisp packets in our local pond and walked into lamp posts and said, 'excuse me'. Until that day the world was a swirl of moving coloured blobs. I thought it was the same for everyone.How wrong I was.'Winner: Scotsman Fringe First Award 2012Critic's Pick, New York TimesPart memoir, part theatre and part standup comedy this delightful story of a myopic seven year old is brought to you by actor, comedian and playwright Sonya Kelly. Sonya tells her story about growing up with poor vision that went undiagnosed until she was seven years old. Combining several forms of theatre, this delightful story shows us how we can better the world even if we cannot see the world.Trade Review‘Hilarious, poignant... it will please viewers of all lens prescriptions and none.’ * Irish Theatre Magazine *Delightfully whacky... hilarious... tight script and engaging performance... terrific.’ * The Irish Times *‘Wonderfully fresh script... highly endearing.’ * The Sunday Business Post *

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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 SynopsisAva Wong Davies is a playwright and theatre critic based in London. She is a regular contributor to The Stage and Exeunt Magazine, is a monthly theatre columnist for gal-dem, and in 2018 won the Sunday Times Harold Hobson award for criticism. As a playwright, her work has been showcased at The Yard, The Bunker, Theatre Deli, VAULT Festival, and The North Wall. Her debut play i will still be whole (when you rip me in half) was programmed as part of Chris Sonnex's second season at The Bunker Theatre in November 2019. She is an alumna of the Soho Theatre Writers Lab 18/19 and one of the Bush Theatre's Emerging Writers.

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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 SynopsisThere''s a legend about the Watch House... Scrape beneath the whitewash and you''ll find terror. You''ll find him.Tynemouth, late 1970s. Christmas is coming and Front Street''s swinging. But Anne, dumped here while her parents sort their divorce, isn''t in the mood. She escapes to the castle, the Priory, and the beaches. Best of all, the Watch House. The old coastguard''s place is packed with weird treasures and no one bothers her. Until lights start to flicker and something stirs in the dark nights...Buried deep in the past is a secret which now threatens everything. Only Anne can stop it. The Watch House is an epic new adaptation of Carnegie Medal-winner Robert Westall''s original novel, from Olivier Award-winning theatre-maker Chris Foxon. This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at Laurels Theatre in Whitley Bay, in December 2023.

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Book SynopsisThere are ghosts everywhere. There are ghosts here right now.Plagued by the ugly truth of her late husband's legacy, Helene vows to erase the past and start again.Ignorant to the reality of his father's character, Osvald, her son, returns home to face an uncertain future. But when the ember of an illicit romance stands to ruin Helene's plans to play happy family, she is forced to make a decision that threatens to engulf what's left of her and her son's life completely.Experience the work of Henrik Ibsen, one of the most influential dramatists of all time, in a scandalous and searing exploration of family secrets and forbidden desire. Nearly 150 years after causing a furore when it premiered with its depiction of incest, infection and euthanasia, adaptor and director Joe Hill-Gibbins (The Marriage of Figaro, ENO; The Tragedy of King Richard The Second, Almeida), in his Globe debut, brings a new version of Ghosts, the fi

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Book SynopsisCall my narcissism whatever you want. And while you''re at it; like, comment, subscribe, worship - fucking bow down.Meet Carleen and Crystal. The influencers with cultural commentary that will have you in stitches. Love them or hate them, there's no stopping their fast-growing online following. Offline, Carleen has her reservations about their cyber personas, but she idolises Crystal and would follow her anywhere even to FLIP!, the new social media giant that has everyone hooked and Carleen and Crystal are no exception; especially when it seems that their videos could make them famous.Superstardom, followers, fame, influence, money: it''s all just one click away. FLIP! is the answer to everything they''ve ever dreamed of. But is it too good to be true?FLIP! is a powerful new satire from critically-acclaimed writer Racheal Ofori that probes what it means to live freely under the shadow of social media, encroaching on every aspect of our lives. How can we be our authentic

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Book SynopsisAre those little voices in our heads our friends, or our enemies? What if they're neither, what if they're both?In this captivating and comic one-person play written by Gary McNair, the classic story of Jekyll and Hyde is turned on its head to reveal the depths of one man's psyche and the lengths we will go to hide our deepest secrets. What will happen to a curious mind as it's left to its own devices?Originally presented at Reading Rep, this edition was published to coincide with the opening of Jekyll and Hyde at The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh in January 2024.

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Book SynopsisI remember thinking, what difference is there between donating my body to science and donating it to someone who might find pleasure in it when I'm dead.Sergio Blanco and Daniel Goldman collaborate again, after the success of their critically acclaimed Offie award-winning productions of Thebes Land and The Rage of Narcissus, to tell a mesmerising story of love and lust beyond the grave.Desire, friendship and eroticism intertwine in When You Pass Over My Tomb, a dazzling play by Latin America's leading living playwright that asks, how far would you go for love? And will the world allow it?This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at London''s Arcola Theatre in February 2024.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Tinniswood Award at the 2024 BBC Audio AwardsAs I walk past the funeral parlour, I see a poster next to their two-for-one offer. It''s a wanted poster with my name on it.A completely made-up true story. When the world goes mad, do we inevitably go mad too?When Shôn playfully cracks an egg on his mother's head, he has no idea real-life internet trolls will appear on his doorstep. Cracking takes on the battle between love and hate, asking what's funny and where we draw the line. Part stand-up, part theatre, Cracking is a funny, touching and thought-provoking solo performance that sews together fact and fiction into one seamless whole making us wonder what's real, what's not and what's gone wrong. This story about love and hatred celebrates how searching for connection beats disconnecting. This edition was published to coincide with the UK tour starting in February 2024.

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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 SynopsisViolet is starting to forget, but she's got a long life to remember before she does. There are rights to wrong and ends to tie up; a life well lived is never neat. Generations younger, Bertie is at the beginning with no idea what lies ahead. She's looking for something to point her in the right direction. A new play about human connection and inter-generational friendships, Violet quietly explores themes of mental health, dementia, and loneliness without forgetting the often funny and absurd moments of ordinary life.

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Book SynopsisFrom the makers of 2018 hit Queens of Sheba comes this powerful new play by Ryan Calais Cameron, following the events over one typical night out that is turned upside down by racism and police brutality. Typical uncovers the man and the humanity behind a real-life story: a Black ex-serviceman who spent his life fighting for his country and ends up fighting for his life in police custody.

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Book SynopsisAnyone can learn maps and battles. Geezer, I feel it! I live it! I’m giving everything to this beautiful, wild, absolutely pure British thing. Like, do you know what it took to get here, man? Stevie is a disillusioned academic who once wrote an unfashionable book on youth movements in Britain, now struggling to cope after a painful break-up. His misery is interrupted by Jimmy who lands unexpectedly on his doorstep beaming with excitement. Jimmy is 100% Mod: oversized military parka, fitted Italian suit, dessy boots, pork pie hat. The full package. Jimmy is seeking asylum in the UK. With just a few days before the substantive interview that’s going to decide his fate, the stakes are high. So he came up with a brilliant plan. A plan that’s going to work against all odds. It has to work. He can’t go back. And Stevie has an important part to play.

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Book SynopsisCelebrating twenty years of productions, acclaimed playwright Cathy Crabb has selected eleven of her works for staging. Filled with humour and emotional resonance, these texts explore themes of family, trauma, neurodivergence, class and locality, and their experiential effect on the ordinariness of life and repercussions. Includes the productions Beckett for Children, The Bubbler, Moving Pictures, Twirlies and Girlies, Paperboys, The Magi, Beautiful House, The Roots of Love, The Demon Dog of Waterhead, Breastfeeding, and Five Women: Rambling. Selected Plays also includes character and background notes by the author and a Foreword by Producer & Writer Lindsay Williams.Trade Review"I recommend any aspiring writers to read this." John Henshaw, Actor; "With an unfailing ear and eye, she brings real lives to the stage, in all their depth, delight, danger and daftness." John McGrath, Factory International Artistic Director & Chief Executive; "One of my favourite places to be is in Cathy Crabb's awesome imagination." Sally Carman, Actor; "A play by Cathy Crabb is always a treat. An unflinching and bittersweet look at life, encompassing empathy, humour and truth." Helen Nugent, Northern Soul Editor; "She writes with such skill and honesty about people and situations. The world needs to be full of Cathy Crabbs ... her philosophy, her kindness and her love of life." Noreen Kershaw, Director & Actor

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Book Synopsis'This story showed me who I am and what I must do.' Over two hundred years ago, Olaudah Equiano changed the world. After reading reports of the British ship Zong, where 132 enslaved Africans were thrown overboard, he joins forces with anti-slavery campaigner Granville Sharp and together they set in motion events which will go on to galvanise the abolition movement. But Olaudah's impassioned fight for justice goes beyond the courtroom. Having bought his own freedom, he now faces a personal battle to rediscover his past and accept his true self. Weaving together the many lives affected by these events across the globe, The Meaning of Zong is both a depiction of a shameful true story from British history, and a timely response to the social upheaval the world has witnessed in recent years – celebrating the power of individual action to drive huge societal change. Giles Terera's debut play was commissioned by Bristol Old Vic and the National Theatre, and first performed on stage at Bristol Old Vic in April 2022, co-directed by Tom Morris and Terera, after an acclaimed production on BBC Radio 3.Trade Review'Giles Terera's lyrical and inventive drama about a brutal episode in British history brims with urgency, pain and ultimately pride... triumphant... profoundly moving' * Guardian *'Brilliant... sparkles with ingenuity' * The Stage *'Throbs with passion and urgency... an important night of theatre' * WhatsOnStage *'Dense, affecting and powerful' * The Times *'Superbly moving and hugely ambitious... gifted storytelling... a tremendous accomplishment' * British Theatre Guide *'Shatters the frosted perceptions audiences have surrounding slavery... masterfully adept stagecraft and storytelling... A resonating achievement, poignant and glistening with brilliance' * Reviews Hub *

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Book Synopsis'I can't undo what's been said. My world changed this morning. I hope for the better, but we'll see in the future.' Sisters Dolly and Esther grow up in ultra-conservative Harrogate in the 1960s. Fifty years later, following the death of their mother, Dolly comes to stay with Esther – now a successful novelist and living in Little Venice with her younger, inscrutable lodger, Jude. The three go to Norway to meet the rock-star grandfather Jude has only ever heard about. Instead, he meets Anila who changes his world. To make a new future, these four people will have to be honest, heal old wounds – and two sisters learn to laugh together again. The Lodger by Robert Holman is an enlightening, cathartic and acerbic play about identity, maturity and reconciliation. It premiered at The Coronet Theatre, London, in September 2021.Trade Review'Great riches... A story of sisters and midlife reckonings, [Robert Holman's play] puts two older women centre stage and comes with a seismic sibling betrayal... stuffed full of wise statements about life, love and death' * Guardian *'Robert Holman [is] the most instinctive and humane of British playwrights' * Evening Standard *

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Book Synopsis'We are all slaves to our genes. Worse than that; we are all slaves to our parents' genes.' Dr Richard Myers, the great IVF innovator, is virtually a secular saint because of the thousands of babies he has created throughout his career. Now, his family have gathered at his home on Manhattan's Upper West Side to see him receive a lifetime achievement award. It's not long before this fractious group, more accustomed to debate than empathy, fall into dispute once again: over conflicting Thanksgiving memories, polarised opinions on investment banking, and how best to care for their ailing father. And crucially, who will inherit Richard's wealth and his prestigious science institution? A vivid and thrilling portrait of a brilliantly dysfunctional family, Alexis Zegerman's The Fever Syndrome was first produced at Hampstead Theatre, London, in March 2022, directed by Roxana Silbert.Trade Review'Finely crafted... a rollercoaster of issue-driven emotion' * Evening Standard *'Captivating... echoes Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams and HBO's Succession... as a portrait of blended family dysfunction it is highly enjoyable, while also raising provocative questions about the limits of science' * WhatsOnStage *'A big, psychologically chaotic, Miller-esque American family drama' * Broadway World *

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