Modern and contemporary plays / drama

Book Synopsis'If you can cook, if you know flavour and taste and texture, people will pay you to do it. People always need to eat. Always.' They don't seem an obvious match. Joanne is spiky, defensive, a survivor; Paul is quiet, considered – and hiding profound grief for his father. But the pleasure he takes in cooking – and the astonishing food he prepares – creates a bond between them. When the hotel where they both work closes and they start to spiral into poverty, it throws everything up in the air – first their plans for a cookbook and a restaurant, and, eventually, even their dreams of a future together... Gareth Farr's play Biscuits for Breakfast is a tender, heartfelt drama about families – the ones we inherit and the ones we create – and the struggle to survive when times get tough. It opened at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2023, directed by Tessa Walker.Trade Review'Sparks fly in a foodie love story... Gareth Farr's two-hander has energy and passion and fire' * The Times *'Powerful... a stirring two-hander about love of food and lack of food' * The Stage *'Compassionate and heartbreaking' * WhatsOnStage *'A deeply touching, yet defiantly unromantic relationship drama... paints a picture of a society in which ambitions are thwarted and ordinary working people are driven into poverty... Everything about Farr's play rings true and it should serve as a wake up call to anyone who is prone to taking comfortable lifestyles for granted' * Reviews Hub *'Stunning... an indelible experience that drips with raw emotion' * The Upcoming *'Very powerful... a vibrant, caustic explosive two-hander that takes no prisoners... a thoroughly entertaining and deeply moving show' * LondonTheatre1 *

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Book Synopsis'I am strength I am power I am courage I am revolution I am Amber Rai' Amber is trapped – by her family's rules and expectations, and by her own fears. But on the running track she feels free. As her body speeds up, the world slows down. And the tangled, mixed-up words in her head start to make sense... It's time to start a revolution: for her mother, for her sister, for herself. Run, Amber. Run. Manjeet Mann's multi-award-winning verse novel, Run, Rebel, about a young woman beginning to take control of her life, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2021 and won the CILIP Carnegie Shadowers Choice Award, a UKLA Book Award, a Diverse Book Award and the Sheffield Children's Book Award. This fast-paced, mesmerising stage version, adapted by the author, was first produced in 2023 by Pilot Theatre, with Mercury Theatre, Colchester, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Derby Theatre and York Theatre Royal. This edition also contains a range of teaching materials and resources designed to help educators bring the play to life for their students. 'Mann's brilliant, coruscating verse novel lays out the anatomy of Amber's revolution, and the tentative first flowerings of hope and change' Guardian Trade Review'An empowering show for teenagers with a touch of Bend It Like Beckham... vividly captures the restlessness of being a teenager' * The Stage *'Strong storytelling... thought-provoking, involving and exciting' * BritishTheatre.com *'A superb adaptation... joyful, vibrant and full of life, with a genuine feel-good ending' * Reviews Hub *'A compelling, fast-paced play... there are a lot of opportunities for a cast of young performers to use their creativity in interpreting the text and deciding how it could be performed... a fresh, challenging and original text that is inspiring to read' * Drama & Theatre Magazine *

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Book Synopsis'I didn't expect it so soon, that's all. It made it seem so final, all our lives, those decisions all irreversible, immortalised in a slideshow to a Coldplay track.' Helen is forty when she loses her husband. Her daughter Becca is fifteen when her dad dies. Now it's just the two of them... what do they do next? Unfolding through snapshots of a relationship over forty years, Helen explores the threads which bind mother and daughter together, how they damage each other, and how they come to each other's rescue. A play for two actors – about love, grief, and getting ashes stuck to your trouser leg – Helen by Maureen Lennon was shortlisted for the 2020 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award. It was first produced at Theatre503, London, in 2023, in a co-production with Terrain, a company dedicated to promoting Northern artists and the stories they tell. Trade Review'Powerful... wrenchingly sad... successfully captures that dislocating out-of-body feeling that can accompany profound grief, and there are some truthful moments of humour and tenderness, too' * The Stage *'Feels real... the dialogue is strong and natural... poignant with touches of humour' * Reviews Hub *'Brisk, intense and with a strong emotional hit' * London Pub Theatres *'A deeply poignant and profound look at how grief can impact a life... beautifully written... hugely recommended' * There Ought To Be Clowns *

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Book Synopsis'It was a tower block, but it was home.' The early hours of Wednesday 14 June 2017. The north-west corner of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. A twenty-four-storey residential tower. The scene of a national tragedy. This powerful verbatim play is drawn from the testimony of residents – a group of survivors and bereaved – at the heart of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. It reveals the impact of the multiple failures that led to the most devastating residential fire in the UK since the Second World War, and asks: how do we stop this ever happening again? Startling, urgent and deeply moving, Grenfell: in the words of survivors explores the courage and resilience of an ill-treated community and their continued campaign for justice. Created from interviews by Gillian Slovo, the play was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in July 2023, co-directed by Phyllida Lloyd and Anthony Simpson-Pike. 10% of the net proceeds from sales of this book will be donated by the publisher to the Grenfell Foundation, who support the bereaved and survivors in the aftermath of the fire, as well as help them ensure Grenfell is remembered long into the future.Trade Review'Moving, heartfelt and important... a powerful piece of verbatim theatre that demands empathy, not sympathy' * Evening Standard *'An engulfing experience... harrowing but not sensational... Slovo's play is new and important. It is not only that she uses the words of survivors; it's that they are her collaborators. The result is an inquiry of the best sort – the most humane kind – on stage' * Observer *'A tour de force... deeply humane... infinitely more meaningful than dispassionate news footage... a tremendous piece of theatre' * Time Out *'Gripping... shocking... piles up devastating detail... an ensemble masterpiece' * Guardian *'Powerful' * Telegraph *'A visceral insight into a human tragedy' * The Times *'A powerful and necessary polemic... The details clutch at the throat and the heart... an urgent call to arms' * The Stage *'Powerful and harrowing... But alongside the anger, there is love' * WhatsOnStage *'Devastating' * iNews *'Terrifying' * Broadway World *'A masterpiece... verbatim theatre delivered to wrenching effect... The details are indelible' * Arts Desk *

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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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