Nick Hern is home to many of the most exciting and renowned plays & playwrights working today – including Jez Butterworth, Helen Edmundson and Robert Icke - as well as numerous exciting, emerging voices
Theatre adaptations of many bestselling authors appear – such as Andrea Levy’s Small Island , Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman and Hilary Mantel’s short story collection The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher
Book SynopsisA landmark dramatisation for the Royal Shakespeare Company of one of the foundation stones of English literature. This two-play adaptation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales encompasses all 23 stories. All the famous characters are here – as well as many less well-known but equally full of life. Each of the stories has its own style – heroic verse for the Knight's Tale, vernacular rhymes for the Miller's Tale etc – echoing the many narrative voices employed by Chaucer himself. Mike Poulton's adaptation of The Canterbury Tales was first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 2005.Trade Review'Rumbustious and passionate... this is quite simply a glorious compendium of stories and poetry' * Daily Mail *'Scintillating... Poulton's admirable version... what takes one's breath away is the range of styles and emotions on display' * Guardian *'Mike Poulton's superb adaptation is both faithful and accessible, comfortably inhabiting the middle ground between Middle English and the modern vernacular' * The Times *
£10.44
Book SynopsisA poignant drama about attitudes to teenage pregnancy in 1960s Britain. Mary Adams, aged 19, is unmarried and seven months pregnant. Forcibly sent to a Mother-and-Baby Home in the north of England by a mother intent on keeping up appearances, Mary – along with the other girls in the home – has to cope with both the shame and the dawning realisation that she will have to give the baby up for adoption whether she likes it or not. Despite this – and an overbearing matron – the girls' youthful effervescence keeps breaking through as they sing along to the girl-group songs of the period. Amanda Whittington's hugely touching play Be My Baby was first performed by Soho Theatre Company at the Pleasance Theatre, London, in 1998. This edition of Be My Baby includes new scenes added for several successful revivals of the play.Trade Review'Poignant, powerful and still pertinent... Whittington's play about yesterday sings out to today' * Observer *'You don't have to be young, female or unmarried to find it immensely touching' * The Times *'Whittington cleverly coats the bitter pill of her characters' experience with the sugared naivety of popular girl-group routines' * Guardian *
£999.99
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Maxim Gorky's magnificent response to Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, written in 1904, the year Chekhov died. Summerfolk is a play about the Russian bourgeois social class and the changes occurring around them in the middle of the first decade of the twentieth century. It is set in a world of 'false hopes and unfulfilled promises', where dachas have been subdivided into summer colonies and the newly rich idle away their time in unhappy romantic alliances. Gorky's characters are still dreaming of a better life, but they are increasingly aware of impending revolution. Gorky's play premiered in November 1904 at the Komissarzhevskaya Theatre in Saint Petersburg. This English version, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Stephen Mulrine.
£5.78
Book SynopsisA treasure trove of drama games and exercises, House of Games has proved itself an immensely valuable resource for teachers, theatre directors and drama workshop leaders. Following on from Keith Johnstone's famous Impro and Augusto Boal's Games for Actors and Non-Actors, Chris Johnston's book provides ideas and guidance for drama groups of all kinds.Trade Review'This is an excellent resource book for anyone involved in participatory drama' * Guild of Drama Adjudicators Newsletter *'It is friendly, accessible, well structured and full of good advice - much of it plain common sense... Reading it is like being in a room buzzing with relaxed and informed conversation about basic principles, and good ruses for realising both general and specific aims' * Theatre Research International *'House of Games is a book I will return to and learn much from' -- Dorinda Hulton * Studies in Theatre Production *
£13.49
Book Synopsis'You were supposed to love me. You said it in front of sixty of our friends and family. Even my father cried.' A satirical comedy of modern manners set in contemporary Dublin. Neil is a maverick TV reporter struggling to re-integrate into domesticity. Back from Darfur with a head full of nightmares, he takes a hammer to his life – and his fifteen years of marriage. But is his extra-curricular relationship with Sarah going to mend anything – or is it just that she's new? Stella Feehily's play O go my Man (the title is an anagram of 'monogamy') was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2006 in a production by Out of Joint Theatre Company. It was the joint winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for 2006-07.Trade Review'Savvy, smart and witty... refreshingly ambitious' * The Times *'Brash, buzzy, fast, messy - a dazzling experience' * Daily Mail *'Combines a sharp look at the chaos of contemporary sexual mores with a wild surreal humour: imagine Closer with a touch of Lewis Carroll and you get the picture... a remarkable play' * Guardian *
£9.49
Book SynopsisAn adaptation for the stage of this modern children's classic by the best-selling author and 2005 Children's Laureate. Thirteen-year-old Violet has plenty to wish for. She wishes Will, her older brother, would be kinder to her. She wishes beautiful charismatic Jasmine would be her friend for ever. Most of all she wishes she could meet her favourite author, Casper Dream. Violet is sure that someone who can create the fairy tales she loves so much would be able to conjure up a solution to her problems. Seen all over the country and in the West End, this resourceful dramatisation of Jacqueline Wilson's Midnight is suitable for young actors as well as young audiences. The adapter, Vicky Ireland, has provided production notes to indicate how the play can be staged even with minimal resources - plus a lot of ingenuity! 'Vicky has adapted a handful of my books for the stage. I hope she works her magic on many more to come!' - Jacqueline WilsonTrade Review'Balances the magical world of the imagination with the harsher realities of growing up in modern Britain... Never shies away from the dark and difficult' * The Times *'For many youngsters, this adaptation will be a first experience of serious theatre, so it's heartening to find a play that is well performed, engaging and above all inspiring' * Yorkshire Post *
£11.39
Book SynopsisAn adaptation for the stage of this modern children's classic by the best-selling author and 2005 Children's Laureate. For her history project, Charlie hits on the idea of writing the diary of Lottie, a young Victorian serving girl. When Charlie's mother loses her job as a shop manageress and starts work as a cleaner, Charlie's previously happy and comfortable lifestyle is threatened, and she finds her own hardships and struggles are not so different from Lottie's. First staged at the Polka Children's Theatre in 1999, this adaptation is suitable for young actors as well as young audiences. The adapter, Vicky Ireland, has provided production notes to indicate how the play can be staged even with minimal resources - plus a lot of ingenuity! 'Vicky has adapted a handful of my books for the stage. I hope she works her magic on many more to come!' - Jacqueline WilsonTrade Review'Both thought provoking and very funny, while giving a young audience a real sense of what it feels like to be a Victorian' * Evening Standard *
£10.44
Book SynopsisTwo plays from the acclaimed playwright debbie tucker green. trade is a short play dealing with the controversial topic of female sex tourism. Three black women on a Caribbean island: a hip young thing from London, an older tourist and a resident native. One subject. Two worlds. Three points of view. trade was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company as part of the 2005 New Work Festival in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in October 2005. (An earlier version of the play was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company as part of the 2004 New Work Festival at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, in October 2004, and Soho Theatre, London, in March 2005). generations is a 30-minute drama about three generations of a black South African family who contest their relative culinary skills. But food isn't the only topic and the family numbers are declining... generations was first seen as a Platform performance at the National Theatre, London, on 30 June 2005. The play was revived at the Young Vic, London, in March 2007, in a production directed by Sacha Wares.Trade Review'Poetry laced with shards of broken glass... short, sharp and pungent theatre' * Guardian on trade *'Packs more into its single intense act than most plays twice its duration manage... shocking emotional violence... a riveting examination of the queasy relationship between two parts of our economically divided world. A small wonder' * The Times on trade *'An entire continent made personal in debbie tucker green's devastating play... runs for fewer than 30 minutes, but will last you a lifetime' * Guardian on generations *
£9.99
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price John Gay's bawdy and burlesque pastiche of classical Italian opera, often regarded as the world's first ever musical. Peachum the thief-catcher is horrified when he discovers his beloved daughter Polly has married Macheath the highwayman; he and his wife plot Macheath's death in the knowledge that they would be entitled to their daughter's inheritance once he was out of the way. But Lockit the prison warden is also after the highwayman's treasures, and daughter Lucy his crown jewels... The Beggar's Opera was premiered at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, London, in January 1728. This edition of The Beggar's Opera is edited and introduced by Colin Counsell
£6.12
Book SynopsisThree remarkable short plays for one (female) actor. Jordan by Anna Reynolds with Moira Buffini The true story of Shirley Jones, who kills her baby boy, Jordan, rather than have him taken away by his abusive father. The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret by Catherine Johnson The alternating stories of two women (played by the same actress), both of whom 'lose' their sons - one murdered, the other a runaway. Unsuspecting Susan by Stewart Permutt The story of Susan - whose life revolves around her dogs, am-dram, bell-ringing and village gossip - and her adult son who's converted to Islam. Also available: Singular Male Voices.
£24.18
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price A fresh, performable version by John Clifford of Goethe's 'unstageable' masterpiece. God and Mephistopheles vie for the mortal soul of Dr Faust. Signing a pact with the nihilistic spirit, Faust is privy to knowledge unbound and sensual delights of which most men can only dream. But before long, the Doctor comes to realise that you should always be very careful what you wish for. Goethe began working on Faust in about 1772-5. He published a first fragment of it in 1790, then the whole of Part One in 1808. He saw the first performance of Part One in Brunswick in 1829, and was still making minor revisions to Part Two shortly before his death in March 1832. This two-part English version by John Clifford, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, was first performed at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in February 2006.Trade Review'A thoroughly modern interpretation, a litany of society's soul-selling compromises - sexual commoditisation, academic dumbing-down and capitalistic rapaciousness - that is entirely about today. It's frequently funny but never less than serious' * Guardian *
£999.99
Book SynopsisA revered modern classic about life in the closing days of World War II. Set in 1945 during the days between victory in Europe and victory in Japan, Touched follows the fortunes of a group of women in a working-class suburb of Nottingham. Stephen Lowe's play was first staged at Nottingham Playhouse in 1977 in a production directed by Richard Eyre. It transferred to the Royal Court, London, in 1981 in a new production by William Gaskill.Trade Review'Touched is truly identified with working people and a radical vision, unlike many contemporary plays for which the same claim is made' * Time Out *'Triumphantly repays a second viewing. It is a beautifully written piece effortlessly linking the private and public worlds' * Guardian *
£9.49
Book Synopsis'I like London. I like the pavements. I like to walk out my door and not sink up to my tits in primordial sludge.' A comedy thriller from the author of the Olivier Award-winning Jerusalem. West waits in a burnt-out farmhouse, on Dartmoor, in the depths of winter, for two associates from the city. The wine has been poured and the revolver loaded. But who is waiting upstairs? Jez Butterworth's play The Winterling was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2006.Trade Review'Characteristically moreish thanks to its high-definition misfits and clash of casual domesticity and menace' * Time Out *'Dazzling' * Guardian *'A gobsmacking verve that is sadly rare in today's British theatre... written with all of Butterworth's characteristically high-octane flair, the text flashes with jokes, shines with images and oozes menacing bonhomie... it really rocks' * Tribune *
£11.39
Book SynopsisPart of the Globe Quartos series, co-published with Shakespeare's Globe marking their rediscoveries of forgotten plays by Shakespeare's contemporaries. Edward Sharpham's The Fleer is a bawdy, satiric and theatrically allusive comedy that was extremely popular with seventeenth-century readers. It is considered an early response to Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and Marston's The Malcontent. The Florentine duke Antifront is deposed by a usurper and escapes to London, where he disguises himself as a misanthrope called Fleer. When not jeering at Jacobean society, Antifront busies himself with preventing his dissolute daughters from committing murder and with steering them into marriage. Meanwhile, two sisters find that disguising themselves as boys to win their sweethearts is not as simple as other dramatists might have you believe... The Fleer was first performed in 1606. This edition in the Globe Quartos series is edited by Lucy Munro.
£999.99
Book SynopsisA fiercely funny play about what it's like to be a young woman living, working, drinking, loving and having sex in the 21st century. It's Bella's 29th birthday. Friends and former lovers meet for a drink to celebrate. But as the Bloody Marys flow, the bar soon becomes a battlefield. Nina Raine's Rabbit was first performed at the Old Red Lion Theatre, London, in 2006. It subsequently transferred to the Trafalgar Studios in the West End, before playing at the Brits Off Broadway festival in New York in 2007. The play won Nina Raine both the Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards for Most Promising Playwright in 2006.Trade Review'Excellent' * Time Out, Critics' Choice *'Razor-sharp' * Observer *'Terrific. A smart and bracing battle-of-the-sexes comedy. As accomplished and penetrating as Patrick Marber's Closer' * Sunday Express *'Electric. This sharp, witty play about sex, success and self-knowledge is a must-see' * Stage *'A writing debut of exhilarating punch and real comic perspicacity' * Independent *
£12.34
Book SynopsisA hilarious, real-life comedy about pensioners going in search of love - from the sublime to the downright saucy. Maureen is a pensioner in search of passion. After 33 blind dates, 12 cruises and one broken heart, she is still determined to find Mr Right. But when best friend Margaret beats her to the altar, Maureen has her doubts - is Margaret just on the rebound and, more importantly, will she lose her pension? Alecky Blythe's verbatim theatre play Cruising was first staged at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2006 in a co-production with Recorded Delivery, using an innovative verbatim-theatre technique. The technique consists of recording interviews with real people, editing them and replicating them on stage in all their uncanny verisimilitude. The result is both disconcertingly comic and profoundly moving, as all the individual peculiarities of the 'characters' are scrupulously reproduced.Trade Review'A heart-warming piece of theatre' * Metro *'Gloriously idiosyncratic dialogue, which even the most skilful writer would struggle to devise' * Time Out, Critics' Choice *'Both shocking and uncomfortable ... [Blythe] has discovered theatrical gold' * Daily Telegraph *
£11.39
Book SynopsisThe moving account of the life and early death of a young female activist, adapted from her own writings. Why did a 23-year old woman leave her comfortable American life to stand between an Israeli army bulldozer and a Palestinian home in the Gaza strip? Compiled from her letters, diaries and emails by Alan Rickman and Guardian journalist Katharine Viner, My Name is Rachel Corrie recounts, in her own words, her short life and sudden death. My Name is Rachel Corrie was first performed by Megan Dodds at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in April 2005, winning Best New Play at the 2006 WhatsOnStage Awards.Trade Review'Funny, passionate, bristling with idealism and luminously intelligent, Corrie emerges as a bona fide hero for this brutalised world of ours' * Time Out *'A deeply moving personal testimony... Theatre can't change the world. But what it can do, when it's as good as this, is to send us out enriched by other people's passionate concern' * Guardian *'Deeply moving' * Independent *'Extraordinary power' * Time Out *
£10.44
Book SynopsisJames Joyce's startlingly modern portrait of a marriage. Back in Dublin after nine years abroad, Richard and Bertha have to confront two other people who love them, and ask themselves questions about guilt and responsibility. Will infidelity hold them together? Exiles is based in part on Joyce's own relationship with Nora Barnacle. His only play, it was written in 1914 during his own self-imposed exile from Ireland, between A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses.Trade Review'A neglected landmark of modern theatre that explores the byzantine complexities of marriage with the honesty of genius' * Guardian *'Never for a second does it lose its grip' * Independent *'Astonishing... a play that asks sharp, searching questions about the difficulty of emotional honesty and, above all, the sheer complexity of our sexual feelings' * The Times *
£9.49
Book SynopsisA quick-witted satirical farce set in the Whips' office at Westminster. It's a week before Christmas, and the new Tory government is facing dissent over its latest Bill. With a majority of only three, the Whips' office is out in full force, and they'll stop at nothing to keep the strays in line. But they're in for a long night: boy scouts are rioting in Whitehall, the PM's golfing with the President, five Tory rebels are on the loose and the Chief Whip's playing at Santa – could this be the beginnings of a leadership challenge? Steve Thompson's play Whipping It Up is a fast-moving switchback of a comedy, with more twists and double-bluffs than a poker game between conmen. It was first staged at the Bush Theatre, London, in November 2006, in a production starring Richard Wilson. It transferred to the West End in March 2007.Trade Review'The sharpest new comedy of the year' * Telegraph *'Pungent... the funniest political satire since Alistair Beaton's Feelgood' * Guardian *'A vitriolic political comedy that makes the average alligator pond look like a health spa' * Sunday Times *
£11.69
Book SynopsisA gripping psychological thriller adapted for the stage by Émile Zola himself from his own notorious novel, in a version by Nicholas Wright. Stifled by an oppressive mother-in-law and a sickly husband, Thérèse Raquin falls passionately for another man. Their feverish affair drives the lovers to an act of terrible desperation, which catapults them headlong into a world more claustrophobic than the one they sought to destroy. This English version of Thérèse Raquin was first staged at the National Theatre, London, in 2006.Trade Review'Nicholas Wright's outstandingly well-written and acute new version... unforgettable' * Observer *'A potent, dark group portrait of selfishness and obsession' * Independent on Sunday *
£10.99
Book SynopsisA spiky play about the clash between suburban and itinerant ways of life in present-day Liverpool. Bobby, Paul and Ange. Three people, four walls: the basic recipe for family life. Down the road in Curzon Park there are no walls, just wheels, and a fierce sense of belonging that has nothing to do with place. Two ways of life: yards apart and yet worlds apart. But when Bobby starts skipping school to hang out with Danny, their friendship forces both families to look beyond the walls that divide them. Chloë Moss's play The Way Home was first performed at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, in October 2006.Trade Review'Moss has produced a quietly impressive string of tender, slender coming-of-age dramas' * Guardian *'Her dialogue crackles with authenticity' * Time Out *'A genius for catching the currents - and undercurrents - of everyday conversation' * The Times *'An observant, sensitive and sad play, never preaching, always generous' * Sunday Times *
£8.54
Book SynopsisAn enthralling detective story based on the true life story of BBC reporter James Mossman. A brilliant man kills himself mid-career, leaving behind a cryptic suicide note. Based on the remarkable life of the star BBC correspondent James Mossman during his last years, 1963 to 1971, Nicholas Wright's play The Reporter searches for the truth behind his bewildering suicide. What lies beneath the surface? Or is the surface ultimately all there is? The Reporter was first staged at the National Theatre, London, in 2007.Trade Review'Fascinating and witty' * Evening Standard *'Brilliant... captures precisely the internal politics of institutional existence' * Guardian *'Fascinating and moving... a study of addictive love, bereavement and depression, of male competitiveness and weakness, of the pursuit of truth and personal cover-ups' * Independent on Sunday *'Haunting... every bit as impressive as Wright's last big hit, Vincent in Brixton' * Sunday Telegraph *
£18.15
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price The best comedy of manners written in England before Congreve, The Man of Mode was first staged in 1676 and contains all the classic ingredients of Restoration Comedy: adultery, intrigue, gossip - as well as the first and greatest of the Restoration fops, Sir Fopling Flutter. This edition, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is edited by Trevor Griffiths, presenting the complete text, uncluttered by footnotes, with a full introduction setting out the historical context.
£6.71
Book SynopsisRudyard Kipling's classic jungle tales, in an acclaimed stage adaptation by Stuart Paterson, 'a master of children's theatre' (Scotsman). Saved from the jaws of Shere Khan the tiger, Mowgli must learn the Laws of the Jungle from Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther to survive. A brave little man cub grows into a confident and care-free young boy, but danger is never far away and Shere Khan is hungry for revenge. As Mowgli faces each peril and pitfall, he must decide whether he belongs in the world of men or with the animal kingdom. Stuart Paterson reimagines Kipling's much-loved stories for a new generation in a vibrant, colourful family adventure that's full of surprises. This adaptation was first staged by Birmingham Stage Company in 2004.Trade Review'This exhilarating production ticks all the boxes for families looking for an uplifting treat' * Time Out *'A top-class production, a tropical cocktail of intense and comical moments, shaken and stirred with heart-stopping dangers and surprises' * Daily Telegraph *'Up against Disney, you have your work cut out to produce a show that's entertaining, fast-moving and fun in comparison. The Birmingham Stage Company does exactly that... It's fun, it's poignant and it's entertainment at its very best' * Darlington News *'Paterson has mastered the art of injecting new zest and colour into classic children's stories' * The Times *
£10.44
Book SynopsisA gripping and darkly humorous play about the camaraderie of a trio of obsessive mountaineers. Grizzly, Dog and Gnome live to climb mountains. They're good at it. They're not looking for death. They love what they do and they do it to the limit. But they're climbing up to places where death is only one mistake away. Suffused with black humour, Rona Munro's play Long Time Dead is an expedition into ghosts frozen in time, immediate bonds of camaraderie and horizons yet to be discovered. Long Time Dead was first performed by Paines Plough at The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth, in October 2006. The production was revived at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in August 2007 as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Trade Review'Captures all the absurd romance of climbing and the mad buggers who do it... a knotty and often thrilling drama which not only succeeds in recreating some of the tingling physical sense of climbing, but which neatly avoids the easy metaphors about living life to the full' * Guardian *'A searching, moving, healing play' * Sunday Times *'A hugely enjoyable combination of action theatre and good old-fashioned dramatic dialogue... superb' * Scotsman *
£8.54
Book SynopsisA play about division, destiny and the undimmed potency of memory itself, from the author of the award-winning The Pull of Negative Gravity. East Berlin, 1990. The Wall has just been pulled down. A man arrives at the flat of his grandmother with awkward questions about the past. Meanwhile, a generation later, in Bethlehem the Israeli security barrier is going up... Jonathan Lichtenstein's play Memory was first performed at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in 2006.Trade Review'Lichtenstein explores the shattering of dreams and future happiness... wit, humour and resilience surface in these memories... beautiful' * Independent *'Powerfully explores one of the great cataclysms of the 20th century and the potentially explosive legacy it has bequeathed today... utterly absorbing and emotionally powerful' * Stage *
£18.22
Book SynopsisIn Stacy, the sole protagonist finds life confusing in a world of unwritten rules. If there’s no one around to tell him right from wrong, he just has to guess. But he’s never been very lucky, and sometimes he gets his guesses very wrong. Fanny and Faggot presents two distinct moments in the life of Mary Bell.
£9.49
Book SynopsisA darkly humorous play about the people behind the tabloid stories of migrant workers and sex-trafficking in today's Europe. The first play in English by an award-winning writer who is well-known in her native Croatia. London 2007: an aspiring actress from Croatia, a Serbian stand-up comedian, a Bulgarian mafioso, a Norwegian journalist, a sex-trafficking victim... Big city, big dreams, big fall. Tena Štivičić's play Fragile! was first performed at the Arcola Theatre, London, in September 2007.Trade Review'A real find... an acute ear for the subtleties of language... strongly recommended' * The Times *'Powerfully depicts the real lives behind the new wave of eastern European immigration to the capital' * Time Out *
£11.69
Book SynopsisA tender and funny play about growing up in Romford in the shadow of Canary Wharf. 1995. Big buildings are rising in London's Docklands. But marooned miles to the east, half-in and half-out of the city, Romford has not been invited to the party. Confused about its identity, the inhabitants of the 'only town in London with its own ring road' are trying to cope. The relationships they forge have painful implications, in this poetic and passionate play that explores growing up, identity and loss. Ben Musgrave's play Pretend You Have Big Buildings won the 2005 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting and was first performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in 2007. 'An exceptional play... original, sophisticated, intelligent... and highly entertaining' Brenda Blethyn, Bruntwood Playwriting Competition panel of judgesTrade Review'Touching, funny, immensely assured... Musgrave's fresh take on forbidden desire in unforgiving surroundings races with a vitality all of its own' * Telegraph *'Musgrave has a bright future... this play has a scope and a sense of recent history that too many new plays lack' * The Times *
£12.59
Book SynopsisA hugely warm-hearted, comic tale of close-knit Indian family life in England, by the author of East is East. The wedding feast is over and the bridegroom's father is dancing the bhangra, but the groom himself is curiously reluctant to make his way to the bedroom... In fact he's so woefully inhibited by the proximity of his parents and his brother's childish pranks that his beautiful virgin bride remains just that. Six weeks later, the whole family start to panic. But 'Rafta, rafta...' or 'All in good time'! Based on Bill Naughton's 1963 play All in Good Time, Ayub Khan Din's play Rafta, Rafta... was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in the Lyttelton auditorium in April 2007, directed by Nicholas Hytner. It won Best New Comedy at the 2008 Olivier Awards. Rafta, Rafta... was later adapted for the big screen with the title All in Good Time.Trade Review'Triumphant' * Time Out *'Tremendous... a superb piece of popular theatre that has you laughing uproariously at one moment and surprised by tears the next. It fills the whole theatre with an unforgettable sense of communal warmth' * Daily Telegraph *'A hearty, hilarious good natured romp fitted with gloriously earthy characters' * Daily Mail *
£8.54
Book SynopsisReformed womaniser Nick is approaching thirty and has fallen head over heels with the girl he wants to marry and have kids with. But then a dark little fling he'd rather forget comes back to threaten everything. For the first time he understands that a picture-perfect, middle-class life might not be a given. How far will he go to keep himself in the game that everyone else seems to be playing?
£9.49
Book SynopsisThe funny, heart-warming sequel to the enormously successful Ladies' Day, following the lasses from Hull on their adventures down under. After hitting the jackpot at Ladies' Day in York, the fishfilleting foursome - Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda - are celebrating in style with the trip of a lifetime to the land of Oz. While Shelley dreams of luxury and glamour, the rest of the gang decide to go native and camp out under the stars at Uluru. But Shelley soon discovers there's more on offer than posh hotels, stunning beaches and sun-kissed surfers; and Pearl finds that she's got a mountain of her own to climb... Ladies Down Under is the second play in Amanda Whittington's Ladies Trilogy, alongside Ladies' Day (Hull Truck, 2005) and Ladies Unleashed (Hull Truck, 2022), all of them featuring the same four principal characters, Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda.Trade Review'Whittington's creations could run and run' * Guardian *
£10.44
Book SynopsisA remarkable play about what can happen when we become stuck in the stories we tell about our lives. Visceral and tender, The Walworth Farce combines hilarious moments with shocking realism. It's 11 o'clock in the morning in a council flat on the Walworth Road in London. In two hours' time, as is normal, three Irish men will have consumed six cans of Harp, fifteen crackers with spreadable cheese, ten pink biscuit wafers and one oven-cooked chicken with a strange blue sauce. In two hours' time, as is normal, five people will have been killed. Enda Walsh's play The Walworth Farce was first performed by Druid Theatre Company at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway, in March 2006, before touring to Cork and Dublin. It was revived at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in August 2007 as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning a Fringe First Award, and received its London premiere at the National Theatre in September 2008.Trade Review'An unsettling but exhilarating blend of the hilarious with the horrifying' * Irish Times *'Walsh has outdone himself with a new play more complex, dark and emotionally rich than any of his previous efforts... a theatrical experience that claws at the imagination for days afterwards' * Variety *'If there is a bleaker, funnier or more desperate play in Edinburgh this year, I'll eat my hat' * Guardian *'Brilliant and savage... a mind-blowing combination of Marx Brothers madness and exploded Irish cliché' * Scotsman *'Enda Walsh makes his own distinctive stage music in the fury of his writing talent and the irresistible surge of his blatant theatricality' * Independent *'Fast and furious... Enda Walsh's queasy thriller is masterpiece of virtuoso tale-telling' * Arts Desk *'Genius... a first-rate farce concealed in a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions... an astoundingly clever piece of writing... as hilarious as it is heartbreaking' * Theatre Weekly *'A fascinating mixture of trauma, fantasy and jet black comedy... testosterone-fuelled, no holds barred mayhem... a macabre delight' * WhatsOnStage *'A twisted classic... disturbing and violent... The play's black humour twists and yawns into darker depths... an affecting allegory for the damage that families do' * Time Out *'A special piece of theatre... challenging and uncomfortable, but also a pure delight' * British Theatre Guide *
£9.99
Book SynopsisThe extraordinary and mesmeric play by the Swedish author who was reputedly a model for Miss Julie and Hedda Gabler. One sunny day in Paris, Gustave Alland, famous artist and philanderer, visits Louise Strandberg - convalescing in her brother's studio - and casts her effortlessly under his spell. In a vain attempt to escape, she exiles herself to her provincial hometown in Sweden. But a letter propels her back to Paris and into his arms. And for a brief moment, ecstasy is hers. Victoria Benedictsson's play The Enchantment was written shortly before her suicide in 1888. This English version by Clare Bayley was first staged at the National Theatre, London, in July 2007.Trade Review'An extraordinary play... Clare Bayley's immaculate version is a major act of reclamation' * Guardian *'Many thanks to Clare Bayley, who has unearthed and translated this fascinating play... an astonishingly mature work... a cry for equality that still resonates today' * The Times *
£12.34
