Modern and contemporary plays / drama

Book SynopsisCreated from dozens of personal testimonies, this is the story of the changing face of work today. This unique approach to exploring a key social trend gives a human voice to the workplace revolution. Surrey Docks in South-East London was once a thriving commercial hub, hosting some of the UK's leading commercial brands, including Crosse & Blackwell, Sarson's, Peek Freans and Lipton's. These huge organisations created a myriad of jobs for local people, and the community prospered. But, with the decline of the docks in the 1970s, factories closed down or relocated, work patterns changed and redevelopment began. From Docks to Desktops explores the fascinating story of how one community has survived the 21st-century challenges of urban change and renewal.

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Book SynopsisEight Plays from Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia Selected and Edited by Cheryl Robson and Aubrey Mellor Playwrights: Jean Tay, Floy Quintos, Tew Bunnag, Ann Lee, Nguyễn Đăng Chương, Joned Suryatmoko, Alfian Sa’at, Chhon SinaTrade Review'Set in Singapore (Nadirah) dives into thorny issues of love mixed with inter-faith and inter-racial aspects...Go watch it and decide whether love or faith prevails.' THE STRAITS TIMES 'They said The Tarap Man is a journalistic thriller. They lied. The Tarap Man is more than that. It is an unflinching look at a system that failed and continues to fail the individual.' THE STAR ONLINETable of ContentsINTRODUCTION 7 Aubrey Mellor PLUNGE 17 Jean Tay AN EVENING AT THE OPERA 58 Floy Quintos THE NIGHT OF THE MINOTAUR 81 Tew Bunnag TARAP MAN 117 Ann Lee DARK RACE 175 Nguyen Đăng Chuong FRANGIPANI 218 Chhon Sina translated by Suon Bunrith PIKNIK 244 Joned Suryatmoko translated by Barbara Hatley NADIRAH 293 Alfian Sa’at

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Book SynopsisInspired by true stories, this critically acclaimed modern play explores the everyday abuse and exploitation of Asian women and their struggles to obtain freedom. The play has been performed internationally to sell-out audiences on three continents including theatres in New York, Melbourne, Bangkok and Singapore. An opera heroine. Two interracial marriages. An abused daughter-in-law. An under-aged prostitute. A prime minister's wife. Seven women of diverse Asian backgrounds perform a series of vignettes about the various predicaments of women from Asia. Presented through a highly theatrical mixture of dance, comedy and tragedy, the play questions the myths and stereotypes which underpin the continuing oppression of women in the region. Presented through a highly theatrical mixture of dance, comedy and tragedy, the play questions the myths and stereotypes which underpin the continuing oppression of women in the region.Trade Review“a powerhouse on Melbourne's independent theatre scene.” The Age “...lush, entertaining, challenging and passionately performed and directed.” Kate Herbert Theatre Reviews “Brilliant scripting, powerful stories, beautiful costumes and some unforgettable performances.” VibeWire “the stories are moving and ring true ...” Bangkok Post “explores the subjugation faced by women, deconstructing the myth of the 'ideal' Asian wife and mother in the process. Palomera proves to be a master of powerful and intricate storytelling.” Popspoken “Seven provocative true-life stories packed into one powerful 90 minutes show, GenerAsia's Women of Asia (WOA) will stir emotions and make you question the social forces that shape our world the way it is.” Campus.com.sgTable of ContentsAUTHOR BIO CAST BIOS PLAYTEXT INFORMATION ABOUT THEATRE COMPANY PHOTOGRAPHS FROM PRODUCTIONS

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Book Synopsis• New 'totally captivating' stage version of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. • Two original stage plays about World War I and transportation to the colonies. • Suitable for professional productions to family audiences, or for students, amateur groups and youth theatres to perform.Trade Review'...there is not a moment which isn't magical.' THE YORKSHIRE POST '...a marvellous play... challenging in both form and content.' TES '...no doubting the show's mesmerising appeal to the imagination, which seized the audience with rapt delight.' THE DAILY TELEGRAPHTable of ContentsPreface Introduction The Plays: Brothers in Arms The Hunchback of Notre Dame With All My Love

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Book Synopsis• Award-winning playwright explores classroom bullying and teachers' responses. • Includes Teachers' Resources to aid structured discussion and exploration of the themes raised in schools, colleges and beyond. Care Takers is part of an Edge Hill University (Birmingham, UK) research project on homophobia. The team invites everyone, after seeing or reading (or both!) the play, to give feedback by completing the online survey, here (10 minutes). • Care Takers included on a programme of International Health and Humanities Conference, Health Humanities: Creative Practices as Care (September 2016): a growing worldwide interdisciplinary dialogue across diverse communities of arts and humanities academics and practitioners, clinicians, informal carers, service users and the self-caring public. Conference details are here. • The play is great for use as a source text for all those interested in the impact of creative practices in health, psychological well-being and enhancing social inclusion of people. Includes: hospitals, social and community centres, mental health centres, schools, and museums.Trade Review“...like watching all the episodes of a fabulous five-part drama series in one sitting. You're gripped in the first scene. Then you're given time to breathe and collect your thoughts before the action resumes and the plot thickens. The pattern is repeated. As the saga unfolds you just can't wait to see the next one and all sorts of thoughts are going through your head about what twists are still to unfold in this 'will she, won't she?' epic.” Richard Beck, Broadway Babe 5 stars “Hits home with a punch” Helen Jones, WhatsOnStage 5 stars “Clever, and very powerful...well written and perceived.” Mark Dee, North West End

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Book Synopsis• Neil Duffield's reworking of Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairytale, The Nightingale (1844), like his earlier adaptation of Andersen's The Snow Queen, brings a timeless classic into the twenty-first century. • With appeal to family audiences and more, Duffield's plays are performed regularly by schools and other amateur groups, as well receiving regular professional productions nationwide. Previous productions of this play, include The Dukes Theatre, Lancaster (2002); The Watermill Theatre, Newbury (2003); Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham (2003). • Published to coincide with a new production of the play at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick.Trade Review“The story, adapted with his customary panache by Neil Duffield, remains loaded with all the essential elements of a child's fable. The importance of honesty, friendship, love, loyalty and trust. For two hours at least, we are taught that the song of the Nightingale might just be more essential than all of Earth's other treasures. Without turning all this delicate storytelling into anything resembling more seasonal fare, Joel Sams sails as close as he dares to being a panto villain. There is equally excellent support among the cast of eight actor musicians, whose skills stretch to playing an authentic Chinese stringed instrument, the guzheng.” British Theatre Guide, December 2016 “Set in ancient China, it tells the tale of Emperor Wu (Martin Sarreal) and2000-1 peasant girl Xiao (Sally Cheng) who head off together in search of the nightingale. Their adventure teaches them about the importance of friendship and all about life - the good bits and bad - full of energy, colour and creativity, intertwined with alluring music and lots of fun.” News & Star, December 2016 “Forrest's direction is typically tight, marshalling an eight-strong cast across a range of roles with a characteristic eye for humour. Johns' set impressively encompasses Beijing's Forbidden City as well as a range of rural location1000-1s. Composer Richard Atkinson supplies some beautifully atmospheric songs as well as directing a musically talented cast on a range of Chinese and western instruments. Jimmy Grimes' puppetry direction gives us a genuinely affecting nightingale, brought to life by the evocative vocals and puppetry skills of Amy Gardyne.” The Stage, December 2016

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Book SynopsisMay the legends of old be lessons to the people of our time, so that a man may see those things which befell others beside himself, and wonder. When Sheherazad is brought to the palace to be the Sultan's new bride, her very life depends upon her skill as a storyteller. She tells him tales of lost cities and buried treasure, of slave girls and robbers, of genies in bottles and evil sorcerors. But will it be enough to save her? The stories of the Arabian Nights originate from Persia, India and Arabia, and date back more than a thousand years. Neil Duffield has combined elements of many of them, keeping alive the excitement and humour to produce a show which transports the audience into a world of myth and legend where fantasy and reality can never be separated.Trade Review“Neil Duffield has the magic touch when it comes to dramatising myths and legends. He excels himself…with this comic and enchanting story…such exuberance. It teems with life and atmosphere. . . It is such a treat.” The Stage “[The] adaptation mixes ancient and modern and elements of several of the Tales.” The Stage “Like a Persian miniature in its case, this. . . is the quintessence of the Neil Duffield storytelling style. . . I recommend it to everyone.” The Sunday Times “Neil Duffield’s play is both robustly comic and serious in its consideration of smart women who know how to get the upper hand, brotherly relationships and greed... There may be fabulous treasures and genies in abundance, but there is no magic formula to this play: it is merely simple, straight-forward storytelling, done very well... Duffield has interwoven the familiar and less familiar so you get a real sense of a never-ending story, and he has the gift of combining the accessible and down to earth with the mythic in a single sentence. It is a small show, but one of transformations and pleasures constantly reminding us that when one story ends another begins.” The Guardian “a breath-taking 90 minutes with bags of pace and laughs a-plenty... The familiar story of Sherezade’s story-telling guile being used to outwit a blood-thirsty and misogynistic Sultan who takes wives for just one night before dispatching them with a sword in the morning, works on many levels... For an intimate seasonal show, it’s hard to imagine anything more satisfying than Arabian Nights.” Birmingham Post “Duffield’s...best yet. A good story, colourful and exciting, clearly told but with ingenious details. A treat.” The Times “Like a Persian miniature in its case, this delightful show is the quintessence of the Neil Duffield storytelling style... I recommend it to everyone.” The Sunday Times

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