Modern and contemporary plays / drama

Book Synopsis• This manic farce explores the ideas of radical psychiatrist RD Laing on the 50th anniversary of the Philadelphia Association which he co-founded. • Ideas which were way ahead of their time about the treatment of those with mental health issues, have now been incorporated into everyday practice. • Produced by Stepping Out Theatre Company which aims to raise awarenesss of mental health in the UK.Trade Review“A magical mystery tour into the mind of RD Laing, Patrick Marmion keeps one foot in the past and one in the far-future to create a brilliantly imaginative, very funny play for today.” Leo Butler, playwright. “Fiercely intelligent and hugely entertaining.” Alistair Beaton, satirist and writer on Spitting Image. “Patrick Marmion never loses his masterly grip on his unruly subject's strategies to defeat his professional rivals and his personal nightmares.” Lloyd Trott, Dramaturg, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

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Book SynopsisWhat happens when you want a different life to the one chosen for you? A story of desire, duty, deceit and revenge. An innovative re-telling of an ancient Welsh myth - Blodeuwedd from The Mabinogi - where nothing is quite as it seems. Rose cannot remember what came before the house at the edge of the isolated forest. Gwynne says he magicked her out of the flowers, but she's not so sure. She has played the part of the perfect farmer’s wife for Lewis, who is kept firmly in place by his uncle Gwynne, and accepted her lonely existence. Then a stranger is seen in the forest. What lengths will she go to, to escape the life chosen for her? Using a cross-art form approach, this beautiful piece of storytelling will feature live music, dance, video, theatricalised sign and surtitles.Trade Review“…This wonderful production should be seen by everyone...Kaite O'Reilly's script sparkles with her trademark wit and use of evocative language Sophie Stone is mesmerizing” Disability Arts Online “…captivating; Kaite O’Reilly’s play takes elements of ancient Welsh myth and splices them with something more contemporary and sinister.” The Stage “Lyn Gardner's Pick of the Week” The Guardian “…beautifully executed; an exciting play that featured clever design choices, powerful performances and a creeping, unsettling sense of claustrophobia and fear…” 4 stars.

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Book SynopsisAsif Khan's debut play is a fabulously comic take on the combustion surrounding young British Muslim lives. • Contemporary play about Northern Grooming scandal • Drama suitable for schools, colleges and youth theatres • By author who is a rising star among BBC writers • Asian Studies, Black and Asian interest • Recipient of 2 Off West End Award Nominations for Best Play and Best Supporting Actor • Nominated for an Asian Media Award and and Eastern Eye Award. • Asif Khan nominated for The Stage Debut AwardsTrade ReviewRECENT & UPCOMING WORK TARTUFFE - Royal Shakespeare Company Playing from 7 SEP 2018 to 23 FEB 2019, Swan Theatre, Stratford-Apon-Avon. ​ Molière’s classic is brought bang up to date in this brand new version by BAFTA and Emmy-Award winning writers, Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto (The Office, Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars at No. 42). Tartuffe has the gift of the gab. A spirituality. A certain aura about him….that comes only when you’ve got Allah on your side, hundreds of Twitter followers and access to the family’s bank account. Watch the lies and deceit unfold in this wickedly hilarious Brummy satire of faith, family and #fakingit. tartuffeposter.jpg More info about Tartuffe LOVE, BOMBS & APPLES by Hassan Abdulrazzak Click to see more This award-nominated returned this year and made it's US DEBUT at the POTRERO STAGE in SAN FRANCISCO (GoldenThread.org). ​ ★★★★★ A Younger Theatre ★★★★ The Stage​ ★★★★ LondonTheatre1​ ★★★★ Islington Gazette​ ★★★★ Carole Woddis ★★★★ The Scotsman ★★★★ Commonspace ★★★★ Fest Mag ★★★★ Ed Festival Mag ★★★★ Fringe Guru ★★★★ Reviews Hub ★★★★ Manchester Theatre Awards ★★★★ For All Events San Francisco LOVE TYPE D - A new feature film by Sasha Collington Click to see more COMBUSTION by Asif Khan AIK Productions in association with Tara Arts Bradford, in the month of Ramadan. Latching on to the latest grooming scandal, racists plan to march through the city, while Shaz, a local garage mechanic, desperately tries to keep his business running smoothly so he can marry well. In this combustible atmosphere, his sister Samina is determined to make her voice heard. Bradford-born Asif Khan’s debut play is a comic take on the combustion surrounding young British Muslim lives in the North today. ​ Winner of BEST STAGE PRODUCTION at the Asian Media Awards 2017 and BEST PRODUCTION at the EASTERN EYE ARTS, CULTURE & THEATRE AWARDS 2018. ​ ​ Click to see more “★★★★ A brave, important and necessary play... If I were running the National, I’d pick up this play pronto to ensure it’s amplified further.” —The Telegraph ​ “★★★★ [Asif Khan's] debut outing as a playwright is impressive, bringing clarity and humour to dark and difficult material.” —The Stage ​ “★★★★ A triumph: a savagely funny, thought-provoking piece, which lingers long in the memory.” —The Peg ​ “★★★★ Asif Khan will be familiar to London audiences primarily as an actor, but in Combustion, he proves to be as adept a playwright as a performer.” —LondonTheatre1 ​ “★★★★★ Pure magic.” —Hiive

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

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

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Book SynopsisWorld War II veteran Hank Dunfield is about to turn one hundred years old. The staff at Ponderosa Pine Lodge have recruited Sarah, a young nursing student, to keep Hank safe, comfortable, and in the building while they plan a grand centenarian celebration. There's one problem: Hank doesn't want to live that long.Seemingly opposites, Hank and Sarah kindle a deep friendship. Sarah fears the future with multiple sclerosis will be even more isolated, difficult, and painful than the isolated, difficult, and painful present. Hank, a tail gunner during the Second World War, opens his heart to share the deep knowledge of fear, luck, and flying into battle he learned over his. combat missions. Sarah and Hank find strength in each other as they face their deepest fears.Based on interviews with veterans in Alberta seniors' homes and the skilled nurses who care for them, Flight Risk is the story of finding exactly who you need when you least expect it. An empathetic exploration of grief, friendship, and hope, this play asks what we lose when we ignore the knowledge of our elderly, challenges the way that we think about aging and death, and inspires a brighter, more compassionate future.

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Book SynopsisPart comedy, part thriller, part social critique, The Granny and the Heist (La estanquera de Vallecas) is the play with which José Luis Alonso de Santos reinvigorated the Spanish stage during a period of uncertainty upon the death of Francisco Franco and the end of theatre censorship. Premiered in 1981, it established Alonso de Santos as the most important playwright in Spain at a time when the country was emerging from decades of relative isolation from the rest of Europe.Set in a working class area of Madrid, the play tells the story of Leandro and Tocho, two out of work builders whose plan to rob a tobacconists goes awry due to the refusal of its owner, feisty grandmother Justa, to hand over the money. Barricading themselves in the shop as the forces of order arrive, the men take Justa and her granddaughter Ángeles hostage. In the stand-off that ensues, Alonso de Santos deftly interweaves tense excitement, comic banter and moments of great tenderness, eliciting our sympathy for the residents of the Vallecas neighbourhood, equally ignored by Spain’s nascent democracy as they had been under the dictatorship.This edition features Stuart Green’s facing page translation, as well as a critical introduction that provides readers with knowledge of the historical and cultural context in which the play was written and performed. The edition also includes an extensive collection of classroom activities especially designed by Lucy Meyer and Stuart Green to enable secondary school and university teachers to use the play, its translation and other authentic materials to teach a variety of linguistic and grammatical features of Spanish in all four skills areas in language learning.Table of ContentsIntroduction There’s no-one quite like Grandma 1 Vallecas: from village to neighbourhood and on stage 2 Plot summary 5 Alonso de Santos and the theatre of his time: playwriting and politics 7 La estanquera de Vallecas: a blend of sainete and the picaresque 13 Characters 20 Premiere(s): critical and commercial reaction 28 Notes on the translation 32 Acknowledgements 35 Translator's Note 35 Bibliography 36 La estanquera de Vallecas / The Granny and the Heist 39 Teaching Resources Introduction 138 Addressing any concerns 139 Teaching and learning objectives 140 Skills activities 142 Speaking 142 Listening 151 Reading 153 Writing 155 Research project 159 Performance 160 Lesson sequence 163 Entrevista con Beatriz Bergamín / Interview with Beatriz Bergamín 166 Transcriptions of videoclips 172 Photographs from the 1985 stage production 176 Sample student work 178 Answers to questions 189

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Book SynopsisPart comedy, part thriller, part social critique, The Granny and the Heist (La estanquera de Vallecas) is the play with which José Luis Alonso de Santos reinvigorated the Spanish stage during a period of uncertainty upon the death of Francisco Franco and the end of theatre censorship. Premiered in 1981, it established Alonso de Santos as the most important playwright in Spain at a time when the country was emerging from decades of relative isolation from the rest of Europe.Set in a working class area of Madrid, the play tells the story of Leandro and Tocho, two out of work builders whose plan to rob a tobacconists goes awry due to the refusal of its owner, feisty grandmother Justa, to hand over the money. Barricading themselves in the shop as the forces of order arrive, the men take Justa and her granddaughter Ángeles hostage. In the stand-off that ensues, Alonso de Santos deftly interweaves tense excitement, comic banter and moments of great tenderness, eliciting our sympathy for the residents of the Vallecas neighbourhood, equally ignored by Spain’s nascent democracy as they had been under the dictatorship.This edition features Stuart Green’s facing page translation, as well as a critical introduction that provides readers with knowledge of the historical and cultural context in which the play was written and performed. The edition also includes an extensive collection of classroom activities especially designed by Lucy Meyer and Stuart Green to enable secondary school and university teachers to use the play, its translation and other authentic materials to teach a variety of linguistic and grammatical features of Spanish in all four skills areas in language learning.Table of ContentsIntroduction There’s no-one quite like Grandma 1 Vallecas: from village to neighbourhood and on stage 2 Plot summary 5 Alonso de Santos and the theatre of his time: playwriting and politics 7 La estanquera de Vallecas: a blend of sainete and the picaresque 13 Characters 20 Premiere(s): critical and commercial reaction 28 Notes on the translation 32 Acknowledgements 35 Translator's Note 35 Bibliography 36 La estanquera de Vallecas / The Granny and the Heist 39 Teaching Resources Introduction 138 Addressing any concerns 139 Teaching and learning objectives 140 Skills activities 142 Speaking 142 Listening 151 Reading 153 Writing 155 Research project 159 Performance 160 Lesson sequence 163 Entrevista con Beatriz Bergamín / Interview with Beatriz Bergamín 166 Transcriptions of videoclips 172 Photographs from the 1985 stage production 176 Sample student work 178 Answers to questions 189

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Book SynopsisPublished here for the first time, Maura Laverty’s plays Liffey Lane, Tolka Row and A Tree in the Crescent are rooted in 1950s Dublin, its territories and enclaves. Teeming with the lives of the poor, the ambitious, the trapped and the struggling, the plays are moving, funny and vividly alive. They capture the capital in a state of transformation – reaching for modernisation while still enmired in stagnant class divisions, poor housing and narrow social values. Key to all three plays are questions of home, the lives of women and girls, and the impact of conservative government policies and church attitudes. Already a public figure in Irish life, and an influencer before her time through her fiction, cookery books and broadcasting, Laverty’s plays met with huge success when staged in 1951 and 1952 by Hilton Edwards of the Gate Theatre Company at Dublin’s Gaiety and Gate Theatres and on tour. Laverty’s trilogy is a significant and long-awaited part of the twentieth-century Irish theatrical canon. This volume presents the Trilogy, including a preface by Christopher Fitz-Simon, who knew and worked with Laverty. The editors’ introduction contextualises Laverty’s work and considers the theatrical values of the plays.Trade Review‘Maura Laverty bore vivid witness to newly independent Ireland in her journalism, broadcasting, cookery writing, novels for adults and children, and in the plays she wrote for the Gate Theatre in the 1950s. In publishing these three plays and providing valuable editorial commentary on them, Cathy Leeney and Deirdre McFeely have resurrected one brilliant writer’s perceptions of the problems, challenges, joys and sorrows of Dublin life in a decade of slow-burning social change.’ Caitriona Clear, Senior Lecturer in Modern Irish and European History, University of Galway‘Maura Laverty’s Dublin Trilogy was hugely popular when it premiered in Ireland in the 1950s. This landmark publication explains why, making these important plays available to a new generation of readers and theatre producers – while also providing a fascinating and comprehensive introductory essay that places these works in their social and theatrical contexts. The book’s overall impact is to retrieve the work of a writer who was celebrated in her own time, and who deserves to be better known in the present.’ Patrick Lonergan, Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies, University of Galway‘The trilogy is a significant and long-awaited part of the Irish theatrical canon.’ Books IrelandTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroduction: Maura Laverty’s Dublin TrilogyLiffey LaneTolka RowA Tree in the CrescentBibliography and Further Reading

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Book SynopsisWritten by acclaimed playwright and fiction writer Rosemary Jenkinson, Billy Boy is a fiery new play about Belfast bonfire builders. Aaron is looking after the biggest and most controversial "boney" in the East side of Belfast and is determined to fight the council’s ruling. The problem is, if he gets into any more trouble, he might have to pack his bags.

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Book SynopsisWhy Athena?I guess just like the goddess of strategic warfare and all that.In a New York City fencing club two warriors are ready to battle.Athena and Mary Wallace are training for the Junior Olympics. They practice together. They compete against each other. They spend their lives together. They wish they were friends.From award-winning playwright Gracie Gardner, following an acclaimed extended run in New York, comes a fierce coming-of-age comedy where two teenagers parry class, competition and power as they practice fencing and life. But only one will win - en garde.This edition was published to coincide with the UK premiere at The Yard in London in October 2022.Trade ReviewCritic’s Pick! A deadly serious comedy about ambition, success, and owning your superiority. In its delicate ferocity, it shows a playwright who is full-throttle funny and wise beyond her years. * New York Times *Wily and entertaining. * Village Voice *Smart, galvanising coming-of-age drama * Guardian *Athena’s strength is in its relatability. As is often the way with teenagers, the unlikely duo’s worlds are both small and all-encompassing. But as they advance and retreat from each other, in practice and beyond, you yearn for their bond to become long-lasting – even though, with such competition ahead of them, this seems an unlikely prospect. * The Stage *

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Book SynopsisThis vital anthology includes fresh translations of four of Paco Bezerra''s plays in one edited collection for the first time in English. Winner of the National Literary Drama Award in 2009 and the Calderon de la Barca Theatre Drama Prize for New Authors in 2007, Paco Bezerra has become one of the most lauded and essential voices in the Spanish theatrical scene. His works have received both critical and audience acclaim, and his plays have been performed throughout Europe, South America and Asia. In the four plays included in this volume, Bezerra addresses critical issues such as child abuse, racism and women's rights. And, in a manner common to all of his works, Bezerra continually explores how marginalization weaves into all aspects of human existence. Together with an edited introduction to Bezerra''s work and world, this collection offers a rare insight into contemporary Spanish theatre for performance and study.Table of ContentsIntroduction Translator's Notes Grooming - Grooming follows one middle-aged man and one young woman who meet in a park at night after flirting online. The man blackmails her with sensitive material from their online chats, but the tables soon turn, and it will be the young woman who entraps the man in a game where the playwright daringly explores the limits and consequences of paraphilias. Mr. Ye Loves Dragons - Mr. Ye Loves Dragons explores the issue of racism with four neighbors in a low-income building: a Chinese mother and her daughter and two Spanish women who believe the daughter is illegally hiding people in the basement. Lulú - In Lulú, Amancio, a widower, discovers the body of an unconscious, naked woman in the middle of a forest. He takes her to the home he shares with his two grown sons where tragedy will soon unravel. Bezerra’s retelling of the Lilith or Lulu’s myth abruptly changes when the woman addresses the audience and utters her real name: Lucía. I Die for I Die Not - One of Bezerra’s most recent works, I Die for I Die Not is an experimental dramatization of a woman whose story has been silenced and heavily manipulated by the powers-that-be; a women whose agency has been stolen by the respective hegemonic narrative that plagues the world to this day.

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Book Synopsis‘If the essence of drama is conflict, the crossing of wills, of culture versus barbarism, the Norwegians have a natural spring to tap into – and it is explosive.’ – Line Rosvoll, Artistic Director of the Norwegian Centre of New Playwriting, from her Introduction. The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Norwegian Plays brings together a selection of exciting playwrights reflecting the breadth and vitality of Norwegian theatre’s booming new writing scene. Six plays, translated by Neil Howard and published for the first time in English, demonstrate a common willingness to push formal boundaries and to find new ways to tackle the universal experiences of the human condition; grief and loss, violence, manipulation, abuse and despair. Grief Work by Eirik Fauske; Kinder K by Kristofer Grønskag; A Remarkable Person by Pernille Dahl Johnsen; Time Without Books by Lene Therese Teigen; Why Not Before by Liv Heløe; Watching Shadows by Hans Petter Blad

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Book SynopsisImagine swapping places with a monster for day... A funny and thrilling play for children (aged 6+) about friendship and facing up to your fears. Ben has a BIG problemo. His best friend Vince has stolen his precious binoculars, his Dad is far, far away... oh, and there's a monster under his bed. But when Ben swaps places with the underbed monster, Ben's life - and his school - is turned inside out, and upside down. First presented as a staged reading in April 2008, at the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C, USA, as part of New Visions/New Voices. First produced at Polka Theatre, 6 June 2009. North American premiere at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, Toronto, March 2010. Resources for teachers and parents: Polka Theatre's free Monster Under the Bed Activity Pack download contains activities for you to do with your children after you have seen and/or read the play. Most of these exercises are drama based and are good for developing speaking and listening skills. All of the exercises are suitable for both KS1 and KS2 pupils. Watch Allen MacInnis, Artistic Director of Young People's Theatre (Toronto), talk about the play https://youtu.be/sYyqA6rR7F8.Trade Review“Drawing with delicacy and wit upon the childhood fantasy of the monster under the bed, writer Kevin Dyer proves why that endangered species, the original play for children, is worth saving. This is a terrifically entertaining story about fathers and sons and the monster inside all of us. What's more, it is positively postmodern in its literary references, with shades of The Borrowers, and a Father Underbed Monster who bears more than a passing resemblance to Roald Dahl's BFG. There's plenty of fun as the Little Underbed Monster takes Ben's place at school for the day, causing havoc in the classroom ... the over-sixes will just enjoy the romp. It's a joyful examination of the benefits and snares of believing the ridiculous.” Lyn Gardner, Guardian

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Book SynopsisStage adaptation of the classic tale with songs and original music by Conor Mitchell. In this theatrical version of the much-loved tale, we follow Mowgli, the boy-cub, as he meets Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther and fights the terrifying tiger Shere Khan. After life in the jungle, can Mowgli ever return to his village?Trade Review“...a totally captivating piece of theatre...” Scotsman “...Excellent entertainment for bright kids - without in any way being patronising to adults...” The Sunday Times “...A strong story tackles the need for a tribe, for laws and for rites of passage with room for moral ambivalences...” Guardian

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Book SynopsisMayflower Street runs between Jamaica Road and the Thames in Bermondsey, South London. In 1939, 34 houses and 121 residents occupied the street. Between 1940 and 1941 bombs fell on 7 of these houses and at the end of war, the street - with its corner shop, was demolished. The London Bubble Theatre backs on to Mayflower Street overlooking the new houses and flats that now stand there. Over the past year members of our drama groups have been researching the history of the Blitz, consulting the electoral roll and interviewing residents who grew up nearby. BLACKBIRDS is the drama that has emerged from this process. Using personal testimony, physical theatre and the combined skills of a cast of contemporary Londoners, ranging in age from 7 to 78, the project aims to share some of the experiences and events that made our city into the place we know today. Suitable for use in schools, colleges, youth theatres and community groups.Table of ContentsForeword 6 Blackbirds playscript 14 Blackbirds in the classroom 52 1. Note to teachers 52 2. The script in your classroom 53 3. Session plans 54 i) On evacuation 56 ii) On bombing 58 iii) On sheltering 62 4. Appendix 64 Track List for CD 64 Transcription of recorded extracts 65 Bomb Damage Maps of Bermondsey, Rotherhithe and Deptford 68 Links to additional resources 71

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Book SynopsisMacho men or metrosexual guys? Mummy's boys or blokes under their missus' thumbs? Self-made entrepreneurs, pukka professionals and successful executives with their Mercedes Benz lives and designer-clad wives; husbands, sons, uncles, brothers and fathers - these successful, soulful and spirited Asian men have come a long way from their origins but they've all got roots! The Trouble with Asian Men is a vital, tender and hilarious insight into lives that surround us every day, from the award-winning theatre company that brought us East is East. The Trouble with Asian Men is a revealing verbatim comedy which has played to sell-out houses internationally.Trade Review“Highly entertaining, enough to make you snort with laughter.” Guardian “Glorious, not to say essential viewing.” What's On Stage

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Book SynopsisOriginal by Charles Dickens Adapted for the stage by Charles Way Dominated by Gradgrind and Bounderby, Coketown's prosperity is built on the cotton mills where thousands of men and women slave away for long hours and little pay. Gradgrind's obsession with material progress damages his children Louisa and Tom, leading to scandal and disaster. Hard Times celebrates the importance of the human heart in an age obsessed with materialism. Circus, music, and dark comedy all go into the rich mix of this truly Dickensian theatrical tale.Trade Review“A stellar adaptation by Charles Way, moving, thoughtful and wonderfully drawn.” What's on Stage ***** “Way gives real depth to characters, replaces Dickens' sentimentality with warmth and his censoriousness with moral indignation.” The Independent ***** “Daringly restructures Dickens' plot, yet sticks to the motto of his lisping ringmaster Mr Sleary: People mutht be amuthed.” Observer “Charles Way's new adaptation uses no narration—it is so refreshing to see a Dickens adaptation that isn't like having sections of the book read to you—apart from when the actors tell us what eventually happens to their characters right at the end. It also doesn't bite off more than it can chew, using only storylines that can be told in sufficient detail to make sense and tie in with other elements of the plot.” British Theatre Guide “A re-reading of the novel showed Way’s adaptation to be faithful to the original, including the pathos and the humour.” Manchester Theatre Awards

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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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