Modern and contemporary plays / drama

Book Synopsis• Stage adaptation of Mick Jackson's celebrated novel (1997), which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Whitbread First Novel Award and winner of the Royal Society of Authors' First Novel Award. • Adapted by Nick Wood, critically acclaimed playwright and bestselling author of A Girl With A Book and Other Plays; his works are performed extensively in the UK, USA and Europe. • Co-produced by Nottingham Playhouse (co-producer of the critically acclaimed stage version of 1984) and Nick Wood's AJTC (A Girl with a Book).Trade Review“a highly effective two-hander, with beautifully and suitably understated performances... A quietly strange, original and riveting piece of theatre.” Nottingham Post, 28 September 2016

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Book Synopsis• 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the deaths of two of the world's most famous authors, William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. • Pioneering writer and director, Asa Palomera (“a powerhouse on Melbourne's independent theatre scene”): “I've tried to bring forth the sheer humanity of theirs, to present them as it were in their under wears, to show that the emotions we feel from their work are as human as the emotions they, in turn, experienced when they were alive.” • Productions of The Curious Lives of Shakespeare & Cervantes: Adam House Theatre (Edinburgh, 2010), Bloomsbury Theatre (London, 2010), Thai premiere (Bangkok Theatre Festival, 2014). Staged reading at Tara Theatre (London, November 2016).Trade ReviewThere is a chemistry at work which transcends expectations...an engaging and hilarious 90-minute performance. THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS “this well-charted account of key events in each of their lives moves at a relentless pace ... dynamic narration...the audience never loses touch.” “The private lives of creative geniuses have long fascinated literary groupies in search of clues about where inspiration comes from... Asa Gim Palomera's restless piece of imagined history [treats] the two writers as equals with an awful lot in common, despite the age gap that nevertheless saw both men shuffle off this mortal coil within 11 days of each other.” Herald

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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 SynopsisThe Portuguese visual artist Paula Rego has inspired this trilogy of plays. Her paintings CrivellI's Garden, The Prey and Breaking China became the catalyst for writing by theatre maker Fiona Graham. Commissioned by Theatre Centre and Komedia, these three new plays were developed for specific audiences through a series of artist/audience residencies and collaborations. These works have toured Britain and been re-staged in Portugal and Singapore. Crivellis's Garden was created for a 16+ audience and explores rites of passage as two young women decide whether they should stay or leave their fishing village to go to university in Portugal. Between Friends is for 7 -11 year olds and examines the politics of friendship between three young people when they are shipwrecked and abandoned in a lighthouse. Breaking China is for 4-8 year olds and shows the importance of creative play and storytelling when making sense of change and adversity.Trade Review'Graham's poetically eloquent script flows like molten silver and should give students, teachers and other theatregoers much to think about' (on Crivelli's Garden) - The Stage 'A prime example of how an excellent script innovatively directed and beautifully performed can be applied to a wide age range. This joyful production provides much food for thought.' (on Breaking China) - The StageTable of ContentsTHE PLAYS Crivelli's Garden 7 Between Friends 43 Breaking China 73 Educational Resources 103

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Book SynopsisTaking place over a delicious two-course Chinese meal, From Shore to Shore blends live music, drama, English, Cantonese and Mandarin to tell an uplifting story of love and loss, struggle and survival. Three stories, three lives, three journeys, to find a place called home. Cheung Wing is escaping from war, Mei Lan’s had enough of the potato peeler, and Yi Di wants the impossible – her parents’ approval.Trade Review"… a memorable piece of theatre that will make you look anew at your fellow humans.” — British Theatre.Com

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Book Synopsis… A South African gunrunner turned Buddhist monk. … A gullible startup millionaire. … His radical feminist ex wife. … Their aid worker daughter. … The young British Muslim she met in Syria. … An ethical Serbian hitman. And an unstable Brazilian cleaner. Modern Britain. Moral chaos. Total nightmare. A new comedy about life in Brexit Britain, the lies we tell to each other – and to ourselves.Trade ReviewQuickfire is the word that comes to mind for Marmion's writing, though he would doubtless coin something vastly better: the language comes off the stage fast and clever.-- "The Arts Desk"; "Razor-sharp lines, utterly topical themes, incredibly funny delivery -- you can't really ask for more from contemporary comedy. Keith? is the most acute and factual lampoon of our times you can find at the moment out there.-- "Litro Magazine" Really funny.--Mick Jagger "Twitter" "Astoundingly clever" "Patrick Marmion's fascinating new play is a tense, blackly comic portrait of a community defined by barely- controlled chaos." **** -- Time Out "This skilful adaptation by Patrick Marmion captures its blend of shrewd observation, linguistic bravura and shameless puns."Table of ContentsAbout Arcola 6 Cast List 7 Biographies 8 Q&A With Playwright 13 The Play Keith? Or Moliere Rewired 15

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Book SynopsisThree women, two children, one story. Set in present day Senegal, Bavaria and post WW2 Sudentenland, Three Mothers immerses the audience in the personal stories and dilemmas of its characters. The story follows them as they attempt to make difficult decisions that will change their lives forever. Enforced migration and refugee status are the backdrop to this inspiring, uplifting and intertwined story spanning a time-frame of 60 years, of women's determination to carry on and create a new life. When KHADY's husband dies, she is forced to sell his goats. Sending her eldest son away from Senegal across desert and sea to Europe, in the hope that he will find a better life, she plunges her entire family into uncertainty. When GISELA's life in England is turned upside down, she goes home to Bavaria seeking comfort and familiarity. But her attempts to assist the steady flow of refugees arriving in her childhood village soon awaken memories from her own past. After being expelled from Sudetenland in 1945, ERIKA reveals the truth about the journey made on foot with her baby daughter. The bold choices made by these three mothers are brought together in one compelling narrative in this play.Trade Review"Matilda Velevitch's play Three Mothers shows how people can not only survive the most desperate and troubling events but can in that survival also help others in unexpected ways. A compassionate, optimistic play" - British Theatre Guide; 'The script is sharp, insightful, proving that history does indeed repeat itself and ultimately teaches us nothing. A beautifully acted piece of theatre that is not to be missed.' - Everything Theatre; "Matilda Velevitch’s play Three Mothers shows how people can not only survive the most desperate and troubling events but can in that survival also help others in unexpected ways." - British Theatre Guide; “Their stories creatively flow in and out of each other, hinting at connections.” - Spy in the Stalls; “Matilda Velevitch’s writing manages to incorporate humour and ultimately hope into a narrative that never fails to grip.” Theatre Bubble; “I have tried to do justice to this beautifully written and acted play, the best thing I can do is to urge you to go and see it.” - View from the Cheap Seat; “Four stars” - The Fourth Wall; “Astonishing” - The Stage; “Four stars” - British Theatre Guide; “Fascinating” - London Theatre 1.Table of ContentsForword 7 Cast and Creatives 9 Development of Three Mothers 14 The Play: Three Mothers 17

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Book Synopsis1981 & a hard right government make savage cuts as party members wear hang nelson mandela badges. poverty, racist attacks, hunger strikes, terrorism & a royal wedding ... & playground chants ov spaz change to joey because joey deacon who lived with cerebral palsy appears on blue peter. friend who played stiff little fingers loud, wore dm's with red laces & fought to learn cookery saw the future coming, knew they were going to get called joey so got in first by declaring their name wz joey from now on, a still breath-taking reclamation. ultimately joey is a high octane monologue about multiple possibilities for survival, about rewriting futures - its not too late. Embarking on a preview tour in June 2019, the play will be performed in english and British Sign Language at Queens Hall Hexham, Pulse Festival - Ipswich, ARC Stockton and Northern Stage Newcastle upon Tyne. The project is supported by ACE, Northern Stage, Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme, Live Theatre and PULSE.Trade Review"It's an epic, rebellious rollercoaster of a story that takes us out on the town squealing John Peel banshee, howling under every star." - Disability Arts Online; "Brought to life by incredible physical performances from Scott Turnbull and Faye Alyvi, both playing the central character but delivering in different languages (English and British Sign Language), the performances track our central character from early playground activities through to prison, shock therapy and hospitalisation to becoming the ultimate rebellion icon. Ending with a parable style monologue encouraging us all to ‘be joey’, joey is an impactful show which asks us to consciously consider how our lives, and the way we conduct ourselves, can be used to deliver small, but impactful, protests against ineffective, elitist, government policies. Brutal, hard-hitting and deeply thought provoking." - NARC Magazine;

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Book SynopsisThis classic short novel gets a classic Mark Wheeller treatment. Ideal for students studying Edexcel GCSE English Literature to familiarise a class with the language of the novel and the story. An adaptation of a George Eliot novel might seem something of a departure, but as the play contains only words used in the novel the production exhibits narrative characteristics of other Mark Wheeller plays. He has created a beautifully taut and compelling script with immense skill. Karen Robson. Southern Daily Echo. Silas Marner, a member of a strict religious community, is wrongly accused of theft and is forced to move to the faraway village of Raveloe. A robbery at his new home leaves Marner without his hard earned gold and in the depths of depression. A mysterious, drug addicted woman is later found dead in the woods outside Marner’s cottage. That same night he thinks his gold has returned… but it proves to be something very different… Silas Marner was originally performed as a Promenade production. It offers opportunities for imaginative staging that has become the hallmark for all the best known Wheellerplays. It will serve as a great 'read around the class' script in English lessons because of its narrative style.

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Book SynopsisRevised and expanded 2021 edition Race To Be Seen was nominated as the Scottish Evening News Critics Choice Best Play and Pick of the Fringe by Radio Forth at the 1984 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Race To Be Seen tells the story of how an award-winning play came to be written about the amazing World Champion Blind Athlete Graham Salmon MBE, who tragically died in 1999. It charts his parents story when, as a baby, Graham had to have both eyes removed due to an incurable eye cancer. It follows his schooldays and how he was expelled for running a book as well as his trials in trying to secure a job and finally, his incredible sporting success! Graham went on to play golf for the international visually impaired team. He hit the headlines again for hitting a «hole in one». His final battle was against cancer. Graham surrendered first his leg and then his life … but never became downcast … he wanted his autobiography to be called “Wide Eyed And Legless”! Graham Salmon is the most inspiring athlete I have met; I say this without a moments hesitation even though I have enjoyed the rare privilege of sharing the company of Muhammad Ali, Stanley Matthews, Gary Sobers, Martina Navratilova, Nadia Comaneci, Arnold Palmer and countless others in the course of my job. – Robert Philip Daily Telegraph. A remarkable play ... a story of great courage and dedication; It is also entertaining and good Theatre, with plenty of scope for imaginative direction. – Amateur Stage Book Review (of the original Race To Be Seen). Snappily written episodes ... a moving, eminently performable show. Get this book if you are looking for something of real substance. – H. Wright National Association of Drama Teachers Broadsheet (of the original Race to Be Seen). Duration: 55 minutes Cast: 6 (3m 3f with doubling). Can be performed with a cast of up to around 30. (10m, 8f & 12 m or f)

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Book SynopsisFour inspirational tales of Essex resilience intertwine to make an unmissable world premiere by the region’s most exciting playwrights. The Essex Princess by Anne Odeke It’s 1908 and Joanna’s planning to provoke the attention of Southend and the whole of the nation, by becoming the first black woman to compete in a beauty pageant. Fiza by Guleraana Mir Fiza’s moved home with her parents. Under dire circumstances… At nearly 40. Will she pick herself up in time for the dreaded school reunion? Never Never Land by Kenny Emson Tag’s out with the lads in 1998 – it’s his last night as a proper Essex boy. But there are last nights, and there are last nights. Everybody Gets Born by Sadie Hasler Daisy’s having a baby. Yep, right now. Actually having a baby. The drugs kick in, the room goes fuzzy, and Daisy finds herself back in 1978… in her mum’s glam band.

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Book SynopsisThe Ching Room A pitch-black two-hander set in a toilet cubicle. Rory realises he is out of his depth once he becomes trapped by the terrifying and enigmatic drug-dealer, Darren. Cast size: 2M. “Has subtle depth as a meditation on drug culture… The character of Darren is a demon for our times.” The Scotsman “Exudes the same sort of self-assurance as Gregory Burke’s debut, Gagarin Way… You can see real talent at work here.” Metro “As tight as a short drama set in a toilet cubicle should be…A curiously compelling little play… A script riddled with priceless back-alley gems.” The Herald “It’s exciting, totally absorbing theatre.” City Life, Manchester Turbo Folk A sharp look at Scottish nationality at home and abroad. Set in the sort of bar you wouldn’t take tourists to, in an unspecified Balkan country, Turbo Folk earned Bissett a nomination for Best New Play at the 2010 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). Cast size: 3M. “Tells its story with pace and economy and delivers a real and frightening dramatic punch… The games Bissett plays with language are dazzling.” The ScotsmanTrade Review‘Exudes the same sort of self-assurance as Gregory Burke’s debut, Gagarin Way… You can see real talent at work here.’★★★★ Metro‘As tight as a short drama set in a toilet cubicle should be…A curiously compelling little play… A script riddled with priceless back-alley gems.’★★★★ The Herald‘It’s exciting, totally absorbing theatre.’★★★★ City Life Manchester

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Book SynopsisFive women go camping in a remote mountain range. None return. Chloe, Hayley, Rachel, Lisa & Zoe. Each has their own reason for needing to get away. But what starts as a camping trip takes a dark turn when they start to question if they’re really alone on the mountainside. What really awaits the girls outside the relative safety of their tent? And more importantly, do they really know who’s inside it? Based upon the real events of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, this psychological thriller transfers the setting to the modern day, but explores the mysteries that have remained unsolved since the 1950s. Why was the tent cut open from the inside out? Why were the bodies partially dressed in each others’ clothing? And what was meant by the group’s chilling final journal entry: ‘We know now snowmen exist.’ ‘A production that proves why thrillers work so well in the theatre.’ London Theatre Reviews

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Book SynopsisFunny Peculiar Zsa Zsa, Raquelle, Blanche and Cuba are in quarantine – four disabled women locked down, locked in, shut up and shouted down. While the rest of the nation is in meltdown, it takes a lot to phase this quartet. The new terrain is worrying and frustrating but these women are prepared - perhaps they have waited for a moment like this their whole lives. In a sequence of four original, cross-cutting, witty and wise monologues, broadcasting from their own homes during quarantine, these women are myth-busters giving their all to expose the lie of vulnerability. 'Acted with verve, wittily scripted, both funny and hard-hitting' ★★★★ The Stage Siege Siege is a short, filmed character monologue exploring what it means to be disabled and ‘looked at’. It’s from a longer-term piece of work and centres on the character of Mim (rhymes with quim). Mim is a funny, edgy radical, trying to live a subversive lifestyle right slap bang in the middle of the radar, with a shame-free approach to the disabled female body, who can’t get a gig. What’s it gonna take to change that? “Chock-full of witty and cleverly explored disability politics and feminist issues.” Disability Arts online

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Book SynopsisEveryone has football fever, but not in the usual way. England’s Lionesses are tearing up the pitch and making a real name for the female game. Lexi, who never had the opportunity to be taken seriously, inspires a group of school leavers to redefine the game in her home town of Dagenham. Squad Goals is a brand new immersive experience from Caspa Productions. The show had its world premiere at Dagenham & Redbridge Football Ground in September 2020 as a socially distanced, outdoor, immersive experience, before being closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 'Packed with humour and charm' The Stage ★★★★

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Book SynopsisA town is in turmoil. A hospital is closing. And an MP is dead on the train tracks... Accident? Or opportunity? When a local hospital announces its closure, panic ensues. Healthcare Assistant Rhea is forced to look for work elsewhere. Local lad Aaron worries about his mum’s treatment in the cancer unit. And Curtis just isn’t sure where he’s going to sleep. But when the three witness a horrific accident, a rare opportunity presents itself. As a dangerous decision triggers a wild chain of events, Rhea, Aaron and Curtis soon find themselves gathering power, influence and infamy – and inspiring a cohort of vigilante activists. What does it take to enact real change? And what would you sacrifice to keep it? WINNER: COMMON Award 2020 'Definitely worth seeing. Full of swagger and moral ambiguities.' - Lyn Gardner 'Amy Guyler’s engagingly funny play The Nobodies reminds us that social discontent will have its expression...which offers hope that, even in the darkest times, the nobodies of the world can find ways to resist' British Theatre Guide ★★★★★ 'Amy Guyler’s script is genius, masterfully balancing stark political commentary with bold theatricality' A Younger Theatre

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Book SynopsisThe last night of a dysfunctional relationship precedes its one-night stand beginnings in this bittersweet heartbreak comedy. Tender, awkward and painfully funny, 'I Lost My Virginity to Chopin's Nocturne in B-Flat Minor' probes the murky line between devotion and destruction in a modern relationship. 'Chopin' is a bittersweet comedy which focuses in on the disparity between classes and how much of your self identity you would comprise for someone you love. Its fresh look at 'privilege', challenges how this is defined by both gender and upbringing, highlighting darker elements of toxic masculinity and the unhealthy nature of a dependent relationship. The piece explores a modern relationship being pulled apart by the divides of the class system and treads a murky line between devotion and destruction. It explores the politics of both the middle class and the working class, pitting them against each other to interrogate privilege, the gender divide and stereotypes. ‘ a delightful slice of relationship hell’ - Christopher Brett Bailey ‘A terrific two-hander. I’d prescribe this show for a bit of short sharp relationship counseling. - THE SCOTSMAN, * * * * ‘Sebastian Gardner is a truly gifted writer, and one you will want to keep an eye on if your interest is cutting edge theatre. His dialogue bounces back and forth with unabashed vigour and viewed as a whole, I Lost My Virginity To Chopin’s Nocturne in B-Flat Minor is its own symphony of modern theatre, pulling together all of the elements required for a fascinating and intuitive character study. A searing insight into modern-day relationships. ‘The heated and often distressing confrontation in Act I tells us more about our characters than any other dramatic device could ever hope to achieve. - Theatre Weekly, * * * * ‘There is no point in this show during which you might be tempted to wonder off in thoughts to your own life – you are riveted to the situation unfolding in front of your eyes.’ -SCOTSGAY, * * * * ‘An honest, bitter, and endearing portrayal of modern relationships that throws away any pretence of romanticism to create an original work. A must-see during this year’s fringe.’ - Ed Fringe Review, * * * *

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Book SynopsisThis new verbatim play is based on the testimony of Hungarian Holocaust survivor Susan Pollack MBE, aged only thirteen when she was sent to the notorious Auschwitz -Birkenau in the summer of 1944. Interwoven with complementary narratives and layered with Holocaust history, this is a powerful new piece for Drama and History teachers alike. Commissioned by Europe’s only specialist Holocaust theatre in education company, Kindness offers tremendous challenge to Drama students. It allows the stories of survivors, as well as the voices of some of the millions more who did not survive, to not be lost as living memory increasingly becomes becomes a history that must never be forgotten. “I sincerely felt very moved and grateful that the play so accurately represented my experiences, and the mood and political situation of the time is so accurately shown. It is most wonderful and I give you my legacy most willingly. Thank you so much.” Susan Pollack MBE Duration: 60 minutes approximately Cast: 21 female / male, or 2 female and 2 male with multiroling Suitable for: Key Stage 3/4, BTEC, GCSE, A Level

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Book SynopsisBILINGUAL EDITION - EDICIÓN BILINGÜE ENGLISH Across a series of imagined swimming pools, arranged like the ascending levels of a retro video game, a sequence of intimate monologues are gently teased out, all balanced on a knife-edge between revelation and delirium. As our protagonists whisper their confessions through the voices and bodies of the four women onstage, the swimming pool itself is re-conceived as a kind of manmade utopia, a paradise in miniature, a site of ecstatic miracles and otherworldly beauty. Wrestling fearlessly with the particular demons of the early 21st century – rampant capitalism, toxic masculinity, internet boredom – Swimming Pools is a psychedelic new show about desire and melancholia and how we might live together in the blinding brightness of the future. This special bilingual, parallel-text edition of Swimming Pools also includes the full text for the unperformed work Paradise. Sleepwalk Collective is an award-winning live-art and experimental- theatre group creating fragile, nocturnal performances between the UK and Spain. Their shows include As The Flames Rose We Danced To The Sirens, The Sirens, Domestica, Kourtney Kardashian, and Psychodrama (with Christopher Brett Bailey). ‘Few theatre-makers capture the vertiginous thrill and terror of contemporary existence as captivatingly as Sleepwalk Collective’ - The Guardian ESPAÑOL A través de una serie de piscinas imaginadas, dispuestas como los niveles ascendentes de un videojuego retro, se desborda una secuencia de monólogos íntimos, todos ellos equilibrados sobre el fino filo que separa revelación de delirio. A medida que nuestras protagonistas susurran y ejecutan sus confesiones a través de las voces y cuerpos de las cuatro mujeres que habitan la escena, la piscina en sí misma vuelve a concebirse como una especie de utopía artificial, un paraíso en miniatura, un lugar para milagros extáticos y belleza comprometedora. Luchando intrépidamente con los demonios particulares de principios del siglo XXI: capitalismo desenfrenado, masculinidad tóxica, aburrimiento cibernético y fatiga emocional, Swimming Pools es una nueva pieza psicodélica acerca del deseo y la melancolía, y de cómo parece que podríamos vivir juntos bajo el brillo cegador del futuro. Esta edición especial bilingüe de Swimming Pools incluye también el texto completo de la pieza no estrenada Paradise. Sleepwalk Collective es una galardonada compañía de arte en vivo y teatro experimental que crea experiencias escénicas e íntimos entre el Reino Unido y España. Sus piezas para teatros incluyen As The Flames Rose We Danced To The Sirens, The Sirens, Domestica, Kourtney Kardashian, y Psychodrama (con Christopher Brett Bailey). ‘Pocos creadores escénicos capturan la emoción vertiginosa y el terror existencial contemporáneo de forma tan cautivadora como Sleepwalk Collective’ - The Guardian

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Book Synopsis"...And we watch American men play with knives on the internet For entertainment... Flicking, Spinning, Twisting...they say, That, is a thing of beauty..." Balisong is a story about Finlay Richards. A name that everyone at school knows. An average 15 year old boy who just wants to be seen. But you won’t see Finn. You won’t ever meet him. Balisong is a play written for schools as part of the No Knives Better Lives Programme promoting positive and active citizenship among young people when they become aware of a pupil carrying a knife. Recommissioned twice, Balisong has toured schools in every local authority in Scotland. It was nominated for the Partnership Award at the Herald Society Awards and the Collaboration Award at the Creative Edinburgh Awards in 2018. In the autumn of 2017 it toured 58 schools and was seen by 12,200 people. From September 2018 to February 2019 the play visited secondary schools in every local authority across Scotland and was be seen by more than 22,000 pupils.

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Book SynopsisRevised 2022 version including additional testimony from Ruth Dearnley (CEO of STOP THE TRAFFIK) One Million to STOP THE TRAFFIK tells true stories of people who are trafficked. Sunni and Whinney, at just six and eight years old, were sold by their parents and their story inspired the formation of the charity STOP THE TRAFFIK. Their mantra? ‘People should not be bought and sold’. One Million to STOP THE TRAFFIK goes on to tell the incredible true story of the charity’s determined quest to get 1,000,000 signatures to enable them to go to the United Nations and call on governments to fight human trafficking. ‘I was blown-away. It was like watching Slumdog Millionaire only this was live theatre... the young actors’ hearts are beating and breaking in front of you. One Million to STOP THE TRAFFIK should be recognised as Mark Wheeller’s most far-reaching, insightful and accomplished play to date.’ Paul Mills, Head of Drama, Westgate School, Winchester ‘The hour long show was spellbinding and quite disturbing... it was one of the best productions I have seen in a long time, anywhere.’ Ian Murray, Chief Editor Daily Echo Duration: 70 minutes approximately Cast: 20 characters The play is suitable for a large cast and multi-roling is also possible.

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Book SynopsisJoin Fran's quest for a "normal" sex life – featured in The Guardian's Best Shows of Edinburgh Fringe 2018, written and performed by Fran Bushe. Fran wants to fix sex. No matter how many wonder-cures she tries, how many trips to the doctor or offers of help from friends, she doesn’t feel like her fire’s been lit. Sometimes it hurts. Join Fran on this ‘relentlessly hilarious’ (★★★★ Stage) quest, with songs, as she pursues a satisfying sex-life. Expect toe-tapping tunes, a magic penis and a visit to sex camp. Oh, and dolphins. ★★★★ "Relentlessly hilarious" The Stage ★★★★ "Smart and audacious" The Guardian ★★★★★ Londontheatre1 ★★★★★ Arthur's Seat ★★★★★ Fringe Review ★★★★ Theatre Weekly ★★★★ Upper Circle Theatre Performer of the Year - Sexual Freedom Awards 2019 The Guardian's 'Best Shows of the Fringe 2018'

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Book SynopsisMatty May was conceived during a drunken one-night stand on his Nan’s settee in July 1988. Since then, he has tried to end his life three times. An uncensored and funny show about rage, suicide and so-called self-care, If You Love Me This Might Hurt explores mental health, council estates, the trauma men can inflict and the magic of having a brilliant nan all through a queer lens. Some conversations will always be uncomfortable. Society wants change for our mental health care system, but the system doesn’t want to make the necessary changes within society that will allow us to take these needed steps forward. In this show, Matty dismantles the roots of the problem that would actually enable everyone to put their mental health first. **Trigger Warning** This piece discusses suicide and suicidal ideation, and some people might find it disturbing.

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Book SynopsisRory and Gemma break in to the Mersea Island RNLI station on Halloween. He wants to run away to London. She wants him to notice that she’s not drinking. Over the course of the next thirty-four years the consequences of that night will tear their lives apart. A haunting new play about family ties, grief and forgiveness. ‘a superbly well tuned piece of writing’ Evening Standard on Terrorism 'The best piece of new writing currently on the London stage' Aleks Sierz on Plastic

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Book SynopsisRacing across the savage inner-landscape of the human mind, two unlikely (anti)heroes pursue a nightmare vision of freedom through spiralling episodes of intense sensuality and phantasmagoric violence. Psychodrama is a gooey, drippy dream of a show, a pop-cultural exorcism, a runaway train riding a burnt synapse through the centre of your skull. A celebration of the corrosive power of storytelling that asks who are all those voices inside your head? and how did they get there? and if you could silence those voices, would you? Psychodrama is a show created and performed by writer, performer and musician Christopher Brett Bailey and UK/Spanish experimental theatre group Sleepwalk Collective.Trade Review‘Few theatre-makers capture the vertiginous thrill and terror of contemporary existence as captivatingly as Sleepwalk Collective’ – The Guardian‘what a fucking genius’ – Smiths Magazine on Christopher Brett Bailey

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Book SynopsisA play about youth work. In one of the thousands of forgotten youth centres across our country, Eric works for a single hour each week to break Daniel out of his spiral towards jail or the grave. But what happens when the work itself becomes a matter of life and death? The Shit by Kenny Emson is an honest, unflinching examination of the relationship between those on the margins of society and the people employed to help them.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2021 ETPEP Award Eighty-year-old Fitz sits in a counselling session trying to piece together fragmented memories of joining the British Army and finding himself posted to Cyprus. Before coming to England, his counsellor Dimitris deserted from the Cypriot army, but he can’t share that with Fitz… A stunning award-winning new play, Service is a complex conflict of masculinity, colonialism and loyalty – in a room at the heart of the Empire.

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Book SynopsisGordon is homonormative and fears he might be pathologically boring until he meets Cumpig and Manpussy at a sex party in Leith. When they tell him about Europe’s biggest gay sex party in Berlin, Gordon obviously wants to go, but can he really transform into a sex pig? A new LGBTQ play about love, friendship and Schokoladenkuchen from James Ley. First previewed on 21 July 2022 and presented at Edinburgh Festival Fringe as part of the 2022 Made in Scotland Showcase, by Stories Untold Productions Ltd. ‘A filthy and brilliantly-paced joyride’ ★★★★ The Scotsman on Wilf Shortlisted for 2023 Best New Play CATS (Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland)

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Book SynopsisSisters Fatemeh and Shirin have been living together, in the same flat in Edinburgh, for 43 years. In this flat they cook, read their coffee grains, listen to the radio, and try to remember their childhoods in Tehran but they no longer talk to one another. When a global pandemic hits and the sisters are locked in their flat, they are forced to reckon with their memories of a betrayal that changed the course of their relationship.

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Book SynopsisIn this throat-ripping zombie play, Tobias hates mash and Steve hates Tobias, but when they discover their Mom is patient zero in a world of flesh-eating zombies, there’s no time left for ‘feelings’. Pitting the gore of horror against the hysterical instability of family life, we watch brothers torn apart get pieced back together, only to be torn apart all over again. Steve and Tobias versus Death is a comedy about two brothers trapped in their living room during a zombie apocalypse. Under-pinned by a deep sense of tragedy through a kaleidoscope of black comedy, we follow Steve and Tobias as they care for their infected mother, fend off the incoming zombies and mend their fractured relationship. Improvised physical comedy and a post-modern backdrop collide to tell the nightmare story of an absentee father, an uncommunicative mother and a zombie apocalypse bursting through the door. CASTING: 3 women / 3 men This book is illustrated with blood-curdling anime by Daniel Kettle, introducing the characters and action in all their gruesomeness. "Borderline anarchic and beyong absurd" - LondonTheatre1 "Hilarious script - perfect comic timing" - Korean Theatre Review "An onglaught of bloody good fun" - Theatre Weekly

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Book SynopsisDo you believe in love at first sight? Will didn’t. It was just something people said to sound romantic at weddings and that. Though he’d not felt it himself, he was pretty sure love itself was a thing, it just wasn’t, you know, the Cupid’s-arrow/heart-eyes kind of love. He didn’t even think he was missing out on anything; he was happy with his lot — a decent job, a good group of mates to get plastered with every weekend… even living with his mum and Great Aunt Toadface wasn’t that bad, really. He was fine. Until he sees Candy. One look at her and his whole world turns upside down. And no, Candy’s not her real name. Candy is his old schoolmate, dressed to the nines in thoroughly convincing drag. But to Will, she’s another person entirely. An epiphany. A revelation. A woman. Candy tells the story of Will as he attempts to make sense of his newfound feelings, and everything he thought he knew about himself is brought into question. It’s a one-man comedy-drama about identity, masculinity, mental health, sexuality and, most importantly, love. ★★★★★ 'Illuminating and entertaining' - Londontheatre1 ★★★★ ‘Evocative’ - The Scotsman ★★★★ ‘Storytelling in its finest form’ - Theatre Weekly ★★★★★ ’‘A gem. Demands to be seen’ - The Indiependent CASTING 1 actor Running time: 60 minutes

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Book SynopsisThis intense and riveting story is set in a Perthshire country house during the Scottish Independence referendum of 2014. It revolves around retired academic and political heavyweight, George Rennie and his fractured family and former students, coming together for a dramatic reckoning. There are secrets to be exposed. Peter Arnott’s play is an exploration of a way of life which is coming to its end, a family struggling to connect in the wake of political pain, grief and the beginnings and ends of great love affairs. A bold, funny and deeply thoughtful play about family and the forces that shaped the country we live in today. CASTING 9 actors (5 male, 4 female) Running time: 2 hours

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Book SynopsisIt’s the near future and Europe has failed. A domino effect of nationalist, isolationist policies has left the continent’s economies on the brink of collapse, and citizens of the countries who closed their borders to immigrants are forced to flee across the seas. In a claustrophobic shipping container, three unnamed travellers place their lives at the mercy of a mysterious people-smuggler. Forced to exist on the brink between civility and chaos, they pray that they will reach their destination. And yet there are natural - and human - forces at work which are far beyond their control. This darkly comic, absurdist, and political piece offers us a refracted story of European migration - asking us how well we would fare if we were forced to make a perilous journey across the sea, and what lengths we would go to in order to survive. Playwright Emanuele Aldrovandi is one of Italy’s foremost theatre-makers. His work has been performed across Europe and the United States. ★★★★ ‘Ambitious, darkly funny and absurd... an extremely memorable night’ Everything Theatre ‘Emanuele Aldrovandi is on the rise, with a unique talent for off-kilter stories, situations and characters’ La Repubblica Casting: 4 actors (1 female / 3 male) Duration: 75 minutes

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Book SynopsisIn his latest play Australia''s best known and multi-award winning playwright David Williamson tackles the rise and rise of ex-Australian citizen and one of the planet''s most powerful, influential and feared men, Rupert Murdoch. Spanning most of Murdoch''s lifetime -- from his early student days at Oxford to the most recent phone hacking scandal that rocked News Corp. -- Williamson asks who the real Rupert Murdoch is and tries to uncover what makes this complex and fascinating character tick. In the process Williamson peels back the façade and we glimpse the character of an ''apex predator'' who almost single-handedly built a media empire that spans the entire globe.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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