Plays, playscripts, drama

Book SynopsisAn electrifying one-woman play inspired by the true story of a woman who served as a political assassin during South Africa's transition to democracy. As the protagonist confronts her past, she becomes a powerful symbol of defiance and compassion in a story of resistance and survival in a conflict-torn country.

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Book SynopsisSummer 1860, an elegant country house, a young boy is found dead in an outside privy. All clues point towards the murderer being a member of the grieving household. Called to the scene is the most celebrated detective of his day, Jonathan Whicher from Scotland Yard. But this case challenges him in ways he's never been challenged before. Over twenty years later, still haunted by the case, Whicher visits the murderer. As they replay the past, they start to question the nature of truth, the desire for certainty and the possibility of redemption. This compelling stage adaptation of Kate Summerscale's gripping bestseller opened at The Watermill Theatre, Newbury, in May 2023. This ensemble piece provides rich opportunities for companies looking to intrigue their audiences with a fresh take on a dark Victorian mystery. Trade Review'A true crime classic turned into a tense drama... ingeniously plotted... Kate Summerscale's Victorian potboiler is deftly condensed in a production that brings out the misogyny and class snobbery of the era' * Guardian *'Taut and magnetic... Alexandra Wood's bold adaptation turns the book's structure on its head... electric' * The Times *'An utterly transporting piece of storytelling that will keep you gripped as it carefully carries you towards its conclusion' * Broadway World *'Powerful... a wonderfully concise retelling and reexamination of the facts... The story unfolds with pleasing clarity' * WhatsOnStage *'Alexandra Wood's dramatisation for the stage intuitively captures the atmosphere of Summerscale's book... keeps the audience on its toes, piecing together fragments of the case and steering toward a remarkable conclusion... exposes the deep-seated, class-ridden misogyny of the Victorian era' * The Stage *

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Book Synopsis'O, full of scorpions is my mind.' The spellbinding story of love and murder, power and paranoia, and the internal struggles of a married couple as they try to control their destiny, and one another… This official tie-in edition to the Donmar Warehouse's hotly anticipated 2023 revival of Shakespeare's extraordinary psychological drama features rich and revealing behind-the-scenes material exploring how the production was conceived and developed. Starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo, and directed by Donmar Associate Director Max Webster, this bracingly fresh version used binaural sound technology to place the audience inside the minds of the Macbeths, asking us: are we are ever really responsible for our actions? In addition to the version of Shakespeare's text performed, this volume also includes a fascinating rehearsal diary, colour photos, and interviews with its leading cast and creative team: Tennant, Jumbo and Webster, plus designer Rosanna Vize, sound designer Gareth Fry and composer and musical director Alasdair Macrae.Trade Review'Magical and revelatory... Max Webster's production is so chilling and exhilarating that watching it is like discovering the play for the first time' * Telegraph *'Cool, cocky and utterly arresting... there is an intensely focused vision behind [this production]. Superbly directed by Webster, it is full of wolfish imagination and alarming surprise. The action takes place at under two hours' traffic yet it is not a classically fevered Macbeth but coolly creepy, and horrifying' * Guardian *'An ingenious and uncanny production full of shards of darkly glittering ingenuity... a sensory, helter-skelter plummet into horror, paranoia and psychological disintegration... a production of galvanising flair and originality, with two absorbing, highly charged and intricate performances at its centre. It's a murky psychodrama in which minds, bodies and body politic are shattered, and where nothing, thrillingly, is quite what it seems' * The Stage *'A Macbeth for the digital age... stylish and evocative... never for a moment can you tear your attention away... richly imaginative... The sense of mystery and of evil is all-encompassing... Macbeth has only to whisper his darkest thoughts and we are there, with his vaulting ambition, inside his head' * WhatsOnStage *'Astonishing... one of the most powerful and interesting takes on the play I've ever seen' * Sardines Magazine *'A radically inventive production that gives Shakespeare's tragedy a new lease of life' * Theatre Weekly *'The unique concept of this particular rendition propels the audience into 11th-century Scotland, and deeper into Macbeth's downfall than ever before... the technological risk pays off in big ways; witches whisper in your ears, ravens swoop from the skies and above all, the characters' innermost thoughts are spoken as if to you' * West End Best Friend *

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Book Synopsis'Love's irrelevant – we're talking about marriage.' This unique take on Jane Austen's beloved novel is an adaptation like no other, drawing on over two hundred years of romantic pop history, and featuring five young women with a story to tell. You might have seen them before, emptying the chamber pots and sweeping ash from the grate; the overlooked and the undervalued making sure those above stairs find their happy ending. Of course, these women have always been running the show – after all, 'You can't have a whirlwind romance without clean bedding' – but now the servants are also playing every part. Let the ruthless match-making begin! Isobel McArthur's acclaimed Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) was first produced in 2018 by theatre company Blood of the Young at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, before a UK tour the following year, produced by the two companies and the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh. It transferred to the Criterion Theatre in London's West End in October 2021, and won Best Entertainment or Comedy Play at the 2022 Olivier Awards, with its author winning the Emerging Talent Award at the 2022 Evening Standard Theatre Awards. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an amateur company in want of an irreverent all-female adaptation of a literary classic to perform, need look no further.Trade Review'Frankly sensational... the shocking truth of Isobel McArthur's smart, riotously funny five-woman adaptation is how faithful it is to Austen while being gloriously entertaining' * Variety *'This sweary, anarchic reboot of Pride and Prejudice, in which an all-female cast of five play all of the characters, pretty much nails it. It's a joy whether you're a paid-up Janeite or not... brilliantly blunt and wears its feminism on its sleeve. And… it's got KARAOKE, employed to excellent effect as a modern twist on Austen's social commentary... a deep affection for the source material is never in doubt... Teachers will go down in history for taking their students to see this... It's the kind of warm, big-hearted show the West End needs' * Evening Standard *'An awful lot of fun, a naughty-but-nice celebration of Austen's classic' * Time Out *'Isobel McArthur's roistering all-female pop musical adaptation remains unexpectedly true to the novel's familiar twin themes of hidden passions and economic hardships... There are laughs aplenty, both period and modern, as the cast exchange roles and genders at break-neck speed... It would have won the approval of Austen herself' * The Stage *'A raucous and transgressive, yet surprisingly faithful, adaptation... the gags are plentiful' * Guardian *'A total blast of hilarity from start to finish... sticks faithfully to Austen's brilliant story while opening it up into a riot of fun, colour and mischief-making. It is dramatic re-invention at its most enjoyable and if Austen aficionados don't enjoy it just as much as Austen virgins, I'll eat my pink Regency bonnet' * WhatsOnStage *'Unfettered joy from start to finish' * Herald *'Laugh out-loud funny, with sudden bursts of un-lady-like swearing too; Austen's foible-alert wit and emotionally astute reading of her characters are at once counterpointed and impeccably served... I doubt Jane Austen is turning in her grave. In fact I suspect she'd wish that she were there' * Daily Telegraph *'Clever, funny, feminist, and not even shy, in the end, of a few powerful moments of true romance' * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisMiller/Barbour/Woo''s ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION: APPROACHES AND PROCESSES, 8th Edition, presents organizational communication from both a communication and managerial perspective. Professor Miller, Barbour and Woo''s clear writing style and consistent use of examples and case studies ensures that you''ll find the material comprehensive and easy to understand.

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Book SynopsisA brilliant and unsettling play from one of the UK's leading dramatists. At the opening of the play, a young girl is questioning her aunt about having seen her uncle hitting people with an iron bar; by the end, several years later, the whole world is at war - including birds and animals. Caryl Churchill's play Far Away is a howl of anguish at the increasing – and increasingly accepted – levels of inhumanity in a world seemingly perpetually involved in conflict. The play was first performed at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, London, in November 2000.Trade Review'Conjures a devastatingly bleak dystopia... every word, every half sentence paints a picture that would make you laugh if it didn't want to make you cry... a tiny play, but an immense one. Chilling and thought-provoking' * WhatsOnStage *'A dystopia of incomprehensible proportions... a masterclass of spare theatrical writing, encompassing tense family drama, political horror story, romance as well as absurdist comedy' * A Younger Theatre *'Perhaps the ultimate fan favourite out of [Churchill's] kaleidoscopic oeuvre... revered because of how powerfully and pithily it reads on the page... a play to witness Churchill at hurricane force, savage, hilarious, totally unlike anyone else' * Time Out *'A short play, but not a small play: it's global in scope, untethered by time, part fable, part prophecy... interlaces the bucolic, the fantastical and the harrowing, pairing [Churchill's] characteristic economy with wild, imaginative flourishes... dread-filled, disturbing, and prescient' * The Stage *'A twisted fairy tale that demonstrates [Churchill's] matchless gift for merging the apocalyptic and the fantastical... brilliantly absurdist... A sliver of genius' * Independent *'Caryl Churchill was expected to produce something explosive in Far Away, but... she has exceeded the critics' highest expectations' * Observer *'You know you are in the hands of a master' * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA perfect Lysistrata for the new millennium: rich apparatus and a sparkling, metrical, accurate translation of this inexhaustible treasure of a play. --Rachel Hadas, Rutgers UniversityPresents a readable, clear translation with the assistance students will need to understand this play and the society that produced it. . . . A worthy addition to Hackett's growing series of translations of classical literature in accessible editions. --Anne Mahoney, New England Classical Journal

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Book SynopsisThis classic Victorian thriller was first produced in 1935. Jack Manningham is slowly, deliberately driving his wife, Bella, insane. He has almost succeeded when help arrives in the form of a former detective, Rough, who believes Manningham to be a thief and murderer. Aided by Bella, Rough proves Manningham''s true identity and finally Bella achieves a few moments of sweet revenge for the suffering inflicted on her.

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Book SynopsisA funny, gripping and heartfelt play about fantasy, reality, and the blurred lines between the two. Premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2025.

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Book SynopsisRyan Calais Cameron is a writer for theatre and TV. His play Typical, which starred Richard Blackwood, sold out its run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019 and its transfer to Soho Theatre Upstairs, garnering 4 star reviews across the board. Queens of Sheba, co-written with Jessica Hagan, won the 2018 Edinburgh Untapped Award. Its four-week run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 sold out, garnering 4 and 5 star reviews and winning the Edinburgh Stage Award 2018; it transferred to the New Diorama Theatre, London and it went on national tour in 2019. Ryan was the winner of the 2018 Off West End Adopt A Playwright Award for his play Rhapsody, which was produced at the Arcola in March of that year. Retrograde, which he wrote on his year of adoption', was shortlisted for the 2019 Alfred Fagon Award and Verity Bargate Award 2020. Ryan is an alumnus of the Royal Court writer's programme 2017 and the Soho Young Company 2016/17. He has contributed to the Royal Court's Living Newspaper: Edition 2 and is currently under commission to the Royal Court, the Arcola, Soho Theatre and Theatre Centre. Ryan's smash hit For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy was nominated for a 2023 Olivier Award for 'Best New Play'; after its initial New Diorama Theatre run in 2021 and its transfer to London's Royal Court Theatre in 2022, it came to the West End's Apollo Theatre in March 2023 for a sold-out six week run and returned again to the West End's Garrick Theatre for a nine week run starting in February 2024.

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Book SynopsisOne of the great classics of European literature, Faust is Goethe's most complex and profound work. This title tells the story of one man's pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge and power.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION xi FAUST: A Tragedy DEDICATION 1 PRELUDE ON THE STAGE 3 PROLOGUE IN HEAVEN 9 PART ONE NIGHT (Faust's Study I: Easter Eve) 13 OUTSIDE THE CITY GATE (Easter-Day Walk) 23 FAUST'S STUDY (II: Easter Night) 32 FAUST'S STUDY (III: Pact and Student Scene) 40 AUERBACHS WINE-CELLAR IN LEIPZIG 53 WITCH'S KITCHEN (Rejuvenation) 60 A STREET (I: Margarete Accosted) 67 EVENING (Margarete's Room I) 69 PROMENADE (Street II: Mephistopheles' Report) 72 THE NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE (The Story of Schwerdtlein) 73 A STREET (III: False Witness) 77 (Martha's) GARDEN (I: Promenading Couples) 79 A SUMMERHOUSE (Martha's Garden II) 82 FOREST AND CAVE (Faust's Conscience) 83 GRETCHEN'S ROOM (II: Margarete at Her Spinning Wheel) 87 MARTHA'S GARDEN (III: Faust's Credo) 88 AT THE WELL (Gretchen and Lieschen) 91 BY THE RAMPARTS (Gretchen's Prayer) 92 NIGHT (Street IV: Valentine's Death) 93 CATHEDRAL (Mass, with Organ and Choir) 97 WALPURGIS NIGHT (Faust on the Brocken) 99 WALPURGIS NIGHT'S DREAM (Intermezzo) 108 AN EXPANSE OF OPEN COUNTRY (Faust's Rage) 112 NIGHT: OPEN FIELDS (The Gibbet) 114 PRISON (Margarete's Death) 114 PART TWO, in Five Acts Act I A PLEASANT LANDSCAPE (Faust's Recovery) 121 AN IMPERIAL PALACE THE THRONE ROOM (Council of State) 124 A GREAT HALL (Masquerade and Faust's Masque) 132 A GARDEN (Benefits of Paper Money) 154 A DARK GALLERY (The Mothers) 158 BRIGHTLY LI T ROOMS (Waiting for Faust) 162 KNIGHTS' HALL (The Rape of Helen) 163 Act II A HIGH-VAULTED, NARROW GOTHIC ROOM (Faust's Study IV) 169 LABORATORY (Creation of Homunculus) 175 CLASSICAL WALPURGIS NIGHT 180 The Pharsalian Fields 180 (Erichtho and the Aeronauts 180 * By the Sphinxes 181 * Peneus and Nymphs 186 * Faust, Chiron, and Manto 187 * Again by the Upper Peneus: Seismos' Mountain 191 * Mephistopheles and the Lamiae 196 * Anaxagoras, Thales, and Homunculus 200 * The Phorcides 202) Rocky Inlets of the Aegean Sea 204 (Nereus 206 * Proteus 209 * Galatea 214 * Homunculus merges with the sea 215) Act III (Helen: Classico-Romantic Phantasmagoria. An Intermezzo) BEFORE MENELAUS' PALACE AT SPARTA (Helen's Flight) 216 INNER COURTYARD OF A CASTLE (The Wooing and Defense of Helen) 231 A SHADED GROVE (The Life and Death of Euphorion) 241 Act IV HIGH MOUNTAINS 254 (Margarete Remembered 254 * Faust's Great Plan 256 * The Emperor in Danger 258 * Mephistopheles' Three Mighty Men 260) ON A FOOTHILL (Defeat of the Anti-Emperor) 261 THE ANTI-EMPEROR'S TENT (Rewards of Victory) 272 Act V A BROAD LANDSCAPE (Baucis and Philemon) 279 FAUST'S PALACE BEFORE THE PALACE 281 (Faust's Discontent 281 * The Destruction of Baucis, Philemon and Their Guest 285) FAUST ON THE BALCONY 286 (Mephistopheles' Report 286 * Four Gray Women in the Courtyard 287) WITHIN THE PALACE (Care, and the Blinding of Faust) 288 THE LARGE OUTER COURTYARD 290 (Faust's Death and Interment 292 * Mephistopheles Defeated 295) MOUNTAIN GORGES (Faust's Vision of Heaven and His Reunion with Margarete) 299 Chronology of the Composition of Faust 306 Goethe's Faust and the Present Translation 307 Bibliographical Note 314 Explanatory Notes 315

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Book SynopsisFor hundreds of years, ordinary folk in the small Austrian village of Oberufer on the Danube gathered in the local tavern at Christmas time to perform these plays to their neighbours. With their roots lost in medieval times, the plays gradually evolved to incorporate a unique mixture of broad peasant humour and deep reverence in their celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus. "The Paradise Play" serves as a Preface, presenting the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, but with the promise of future salvation through Christ. "The Shepherds Play" follows with its portrayal of the birth of Jesus in a stable where he is sought out by a group of simple shepherds. "The Kings Play", the final in the trilogy, depicts the visit of three wise Kings to the birthplace of the 'King of Humanity', and the murderous measures taken by Herod to try and thwart Jesus' mission. This revised edition of the plays - eminently suitable for amateur and professional companies alike - offers a clear layout of the texts, greatly elaborated director's and make-up indications, stage and lighting directions, and detailed costume designs illustrated in colour.

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Book SynopsisA kaleidoscopic and compassionate play about a mother and daughter. Premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in 2025, starring Celia Imrie and Tamsin Greig.

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Book SynopsisA funny, thrilling and provocative play exploring race, resentment and community politics, from a leading South African playwright.

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Book Synopsis1964: Richard Burton, the firebrand Welsh actor, newly married to movie star Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new production of Hamlet under the exacting direction of John Gielgud. But as rehearsals progress, the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel. One of them is the most famous movie star in the world; the other, a patrician from an earlier age of theatre. The stage is set for two titans to collide. Jack Thorne's The Motive and the Cue is a fierce, funny play which offers a glimpse into the politics of a rehearsal room and the relationship between art and celebrity. This edition was published alongside the West End transfer in 2023, following its world premiere at the National Theatre, London, earlier that year. Originally commissioned and co-produced by Neal Street Productions, it was directed by Sam Mendes, and starred Johnny Flynn as Burton, Mark Gatiss as Gielgud and Tuppence Middleton as Taylor. It was named Best Play at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2023.Trade Review'Marvellous... a quite wonderful new play... full of compassion, funny, witty and utterly compelling... This play is Thorne and Mendes's own love letter to the stage, full of both intellect and passion, clever and profoundly moving' * WhatsOnStage *'Enjoyable and hugely adroit' * Evening Standard *'Witty, deft, and touching... a palpable hit' * Telegraph *'Magical... deeply affecting... not just a heartfelt plea for the power of theatre, but a moving, often very funny, story about two generations teasing and provoking one another' * Independent *'Fascinating... a dual of egos in which not just the play, but the two men's sense of their selves is at stake' * The Stage *'A riotous peek behind the scenes... sensational' * Time Out *'Thrilling... an undeniably magnificent tour de force. Theatre should thank its lucky stars for Thorne. He has reminded us all why we went to the theatre and why we continue to go' * Broadway World *'Blazingly triumphant... a story about humanity, vulnerability, reconciliation' * TheatreCat *'Beautifully written... Jack Thorne's dramatisation of the events is powerful and entertaining in equal measure' * The Upcoming *'Stunning... Thorne's gloriously rich script subtly dissects the various relationships of the players, and it's magical to see it all unfold... a brilliant piece of theatre' * Theatre Weekly *'Part mischievous comedy and part docu-drama... a funny and affectionate love letter from theatre to itself' * Reviews Hub *'Magic... breathtaking in its simplicity and beauty' * LondonTheatre1 *

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Book SynopsisA fully annotated critical edition of John Fletcher and Philip Massinger's ground-breaking comedy Love's Cure, or The Martial Maid (1615), a fascinating exploration of the journey of two transgender characters in an adverse heteronormative society. This Revels Plays edition offers a modernised text and a full critical commentary. -- .

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Book SynopsisAlmost 170 years on, Charlotte Brontë's story of the trailblazing Jane is as inspiring as ever. This bold and dynamic production uncovers one woman's fight for freedom and fulfilment on her own terms.From her beginnings as a destitute orphan, Jane Eyre's spirited heroine faces life's obstacles head-on, surviving poverty, injustice and the discovery of bitter betrayal before taking the ultimate decision to follow her heart.This inventive staging of Brontë''s masterpiece was first staged by Bristol Old Vic in 2014, when the story was performed over two evenings. Director Sally Cookson now brings her celebrated production to the National Theatre, presented as a single, exhilarating performance.Trade Review‘Even in what is fast becoming a very strong opening season from Rufus Norris at the National, Sally Cookson's staging of Jane Eyre still stands out.’ * British Theatre Guide *‘The book has been filleted cleverly… Inventive, moving and at times unexpectedly funny, this is an admirable piece of devised theatre.’ * The Express *‘clever, touching, minimalist yet expansive… makes you see entire new possibilities in theatre. I recommend it with a roar’ * Daily Mail ????? *‘Cookson and her company stripped Charlotte Brontë's novel down to its bones; what was left was plot and emotion… the magic, the passion, the raw pain is allowed to remain intact.’ * Culture Whisper *‘Newcomers and Brontë-holics alike will be gripped, amused and moved by a boldly theatrical show.’ * The Times *‘Sally Cookson’s production is full of wit, resource and invention.’ * Michael Billington, Guardian *'This is a production full of intelligent detail... Original, engaging and unexpectedly funny... an adaptation that Charlotte Bronte herself might have approved.' * Telegraph *‘A continually absorbing achievement.’ * Telegraph *‘A remarkable performance of startling modernity and unaffected honesty.’ * Guardian *‘A vivid two-part adaptation that combines powerful drama and unexpected humour.’ * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisCasting: 10 m / Scenery: InteriorThe greatest of all English war plays, Journey''s End shows the effect of war on a group of young officers. The play is a tragic and moving piece for advanced casts.

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Book Synopsis'So you know how on the news these days there's just this endless stream of horrendous shit going down, like every single night? Suicide bombs, mass shootings, genocides, drone strikes, school massacres – it's like the end of the world or something... And you're kind of like – "Could I even cope if that stuff happened to me?"' Six young people are caught in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in the heart of London. By turns terrifying, inspiring, brutal, heartbreaking and hilarious, BU21 is verbatim theatre from the very near future. Stuart Slade's play comprises six interlinking monologues. It premiered at Theatre503, London, in 2016, in a co-production with Kuleshov, before transferring to the Trafalgar Studios, London, in January 2017.Trade Review'Brave, blackly comic… the stories here are gut-churningly vivid, compassionate, yet often wildly, horribly funny' * The Times *'Slade offers six close-up, compelling and often blackly comic stories and the result is a constantly sparky 90 minutes that delights in surprising and wrong-footing us' * Evening Standard *'Amongst the trauma and suffering lurks an awful lot of humour… gallingly graphic, desperately bleak, heartrendingly sad and quite, quite hilarious' * Exeunt Magazine *'The real star of this show is Stuart Slade's script. It's not just the pace that runs relentlessly across the 90 minutes all-through, but his ear for how people speak, their lexicons and their rhythms. An Alan Bennett for the Millennial Generation is a big label to put on a young playwright, but Slade is building a corpus of work to justify it... superb work' * BroadwayWorld.com *'Intelligent, questioning and very funny' * The Stage *'What a daring feat of writing this is… hauntingly credible, shudderingly so… captures the internal conflict of global terror: the sense that it was somehow deserved, the pull to be part of something, the impulse to laugh and to cry' * WhatsOnStage *'Strikingly real, shocking and even heartbreaking at times… the dialogue is snappy and at some points surprisingly funny despite the tragic subject matter… a haunting piece that in the light of current events, will stay with the audience' * The Upcoming *'Around two-thirds of the way through I realised I'd become so caught up that I'd forgotten BU21 has not actually happened… Slade's fresh, intelligent writing is full of life and action' * West End Wilma *

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Book SynopsisA new volume of the greatest revenge tragedies of the seventeenth-century stageThese four plays, written during the reigns of James I and Charles I, took revenge tragedy in dark and ambiguous new directions. In The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil, John Webster explores power, sex, and corruption in the Italian court, creating two unforgettable anti-heroines. In The Broken Heart, John Ford questions the value of emotional repression as his characters attempt to subdue their desires and hatreds in ancient Greece. Finally, Ford's masterpiece 'Tis Pity She's a Whore explores the taboo themes of incest and forbidden love in a daring reworking of Romeo and Juliet.For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout historyTrade ReviewRevenge, hatred, villainy, incest, and murder upon murder are their constant themes . . . and they handle these horrors with little or no moral purpose, save that of exciting and amusing the audience . . . We should call him a madman who allowed his daughters or his servants to see such representations -- Charles Kingsley

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Book SynopsisA play about grief and looking at someone that little bit more closely. Tom's brother Luke is dead. This has upset a lot of people but it hasn't upset Tom. Or, rather, it has upset him, but in ways he can't explain and other people can't understand. You see, Tom and Luke were never friends. In fact, Tom didn't really like Luke at all. So it's an odd decision - to try and bury Luke in the pavement of the Tunstall Estate where he was killed. But to Tom, it sort of makes sense, in a stupid-weird kind of way. As he sleeps out on the pavement, he comes across planning officials, tramps, undertakers, police officers, sisters, mothers, estate agents, ghosts, pavement elephants, sky dragons and a strange lad called Tight who wants to sell him a Travelcard. Written specifically for young people, Burying Your Brother in the Pavement was part of the 2008 National Theatre Connections Festival and was premiered by youth theatres across the UK.Trade Review'Holds a central place within the canon of challenging plays for young people... full of fantastic, carefully crafted characters... challenges the audience to rethink their relationships with those closest to them' * Drama & Theatre Magazine *

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Book SynopsisA powerful, provocative play about international relations and the shifting balance of power between East and West. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play (2014), the Evening Standard Best Play Award (2013), the Critics' Circle Best New Play Award (2014), and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Tiananmen Square, 1989. As tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door, Joe – a young American photojournalist – captures a piece of history. New York, 2012. Joe is covering a presidential election, marred by debate over cheap labour and the outsourcing of American jobs to Chinese factories. When a cryptic message is left in a Beijing newspaper, Joe is driven to discover the truth behind the unknown hero he captured on film. Who was he? What happened to him? And could he still be alive? A gripping political examination and an engaging personal drama, Chimerica examines the changing fortunes of two countries whose futures will shape the whole world. Lucy Kirkwood's play Chimerica was first performed at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2013 before transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End.Trade Review'Gloriously rich, mind-expanding... if we see a better new play this year, we'll be extremely lucky' * Guardian *'Hurtles along with a mixture of humour, dramatic tension and terrific visual ingenuity... a hugely entertaining and at times deeply affecting play... I cannot recommend it too highly' * Telegraph *'A gripping, multilayered and meticulously researched thriller... like an expansive HBO mini-series expertly compacted into an evening at the theatre... Kirkwood's sharp, incisive dialogue is splendid' * Time Out *'A tremendously bold piece of writing... topical without being gimmicky and well-informed without being showily so... a landmark production' * Evening Standard *'Ambitious, sprawling, morally fascinating, as gripping as a good novel' * The Times *'A taut, complex and nuanced thriller with [an] exhilaratingly ambitious scope' * Exeunt Magazine *'Rich, riveting and theatrically ambitious... fizzing with wit and intelligent ideas... a work of real brilliance' * The Arts Desk *'Absolutely riveting... an important, far-reaching drama' * The Stage *

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Book SynopsisA love story about transition, testosterone, and James Dean. Josh and Isabella are childhood sweethearts. They were meant to spend their gap year together, they were meant to be together forever. But Isabella has now become a boy. Pronoun was commissioned as part of the 2014 National Theatre Connections Festival and premiered by youth theatres across the UK. Especially written for young actors, the play can be performed by a cast of seven, with some doubling of roles, or a much larger cast.Trade Review'Honest, touching and relevant… as thought-provoking as it is engaging' A Younger Theatre

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Book SynopsisThese five plays provide an excellent introduction to Kaiser's vision of the regeneration of man, which he illustrated in his works by a total paring down of detail, penetrating to the core of the matter and revealing man's true potential.In From Morning to Midnight the cashier, downtrodden victim of the capitalist system, turns bank robber in order to test the power, freedom and happiness that money can bring. His grand gesture of setting himself and others free turns into an odyssey of disillusion and ends in his violent death. The unique stage technique employed by Kaiser is as challenging today as it was when the play was first performed. The Burghers of Calais has always been considered Kaiser's greatest play and the classic of Expressionist drama. In it, Kaiser exploits the non-naturalistic technique of Expressionism. The play embraces vast expansiveness and total concentration, stylized gesture and lengthy monologues.Trade Review"These Kaiser plays … must be read by anyone with more than a passing interest in drama … One now realizes how prophetic these works are – both in content and technique." * The Cork Examiner *

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Book SynopsisSophocles (497/6–406 BC), considered one of the world’s greatest poets, forged tragedy from the heroic excess of myth and legend. Seven complete plays are extant, including Oedipus Tyrannus, Ajax, Antigone, and Philoctetes. Among many fragments that also survive is a substantial portion of the satyr play The Searchers.Trade ReviewSir Hugh is providing, that is, what Nabokov, in rendering Eugene Onegin, called a metaphrase—a scrupulous, bare explanation of the original… Plainspun prose indeed, but attractively diaphanous. We can be pretty sure that these were the exact lexical intentions of Sophocles… Reading the seven Sophocles plays in the new Loeb version only confirms his impenetrable greatness. -- Donald Lyons * New Criterion *Hugh Lloyd-Jones was a very natural choice of editor… He gives a 22-page introduction on Sophocles’ life, together with a very brief consideration of the seven plays and a short guide to further reading. * Greece and Rome *

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Book SynopsisEuripides (ca. 485–406 BC) has been prized in every age for his emotional and intellectual drama. Eighteen of his ninety or so plays survive complete, including Medea, Hippolytus, and Bacchae, one of the great masterpieces of the tragic genre. Fragments of his lost plays also survive.Trade ReviewA well-executed and stimulating production. * Classical Review *An excellent 48-page general introduction… The translation…is close to the Greek and reads fluently and well. All in all this is an excellent little volume. * Greece and Rome *Both experts and generalists will benefit from the work of this experienced Euripidean scholar. -- John E. Thorburn * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisPeter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy embark on a magical mystery tour to the Land of Narnia through the wardrobe. There they encounter the wicked White Witch, representing the forces of evil, and the King of the Beasts, Aslan the lion, representing all that is good and right. The White Witch is destroyed, allowing good to triumph over evil in the time-honoured way. 

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Book SynopsisMenander was the founding father of European comedy. From Ralph Roister Doister to What the Butler Saw, from Henry Fielding to P. G. Wodehouse, the stock motifs and characters can be traced back to him.The greatest writer of Greek New Comedy, Menander (c.341-290 BC) wrote over one hundred plays but until the twentieth century he was known to us only by short quotations in ancient authors. Since 1907 papyri found in the sand of Egypt have brought to light more and more fragments, many substantial, and in 1958 the papyrus text of a complete play was published, The Bad-Tempered Man (Dyskolos) . His romantic comedies deal with the lives of ordinary Athenian families, and they are the direct ancestors not only of Roman comedy but also of English comedy from the Renaissance to the present day.This new verse translation is accurate and highly readable, providing a consecutive text with supplements based on the dramatic situation and surviving words in the damaged papyri. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade ReviewPeter Brown provides a sharp and wide-ranging, yet coherent introduction ... Balme's translation is the most meticulous yet to appear in English. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsThe Bad-Tempered Man (Dyskolos) ; The Girl from Samos (Samia) ; The Arbitration (Epitrepontes) ; The Shield (Aspis) ; The Girl with the Shaven Head (Perikeiromene) ; The Man she Hated (Misoumenos) ; The Man from Sikyon (Sikyonios) ; Twice a Swindler (Dis Exapaton) ; The Hero (Heros) ; The Lyre-Player (Kitharistes) ; The Farmer (Georgos) ; The Apparition (Phasma) ; The Flatterer (Kolax) ; The Girl Possessed (Theophoroumene) ; The Girl from Leukas (Leukadia) ; The Girl from Perinthos (Perinthia) ; The Man from Carthage (Karchedonios) ; The Women drinking Hemlock (Koneiazomenai) ; Title Unknown ; A Selection of Fragments Quoted by Other Authors ; Fragments of Doubtful Authorship

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Book SynopsisA revised, definitive version of this riotously funny take on the celebrated Sherlock Holmes story, a firm favourite with theatre companies, both professional and amateur.

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Book SynopsisA car wreck on the slopes of Mount Morgan puts insurance tycoon Lyman Felt in the hospital. While Lyman recovers, two women meet in the hospital waiting room only to discover that they are both married to him. With his secrets exposed, Lyman tries to justify himself to the two women - the prim, cultured Theo and the restless, ambitious Leah - at the same time hoping to convince himself that he is blameless. Moving between broad farce and delicate tragedy, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan explores the struggle between honesty with others and honesty with oneself.

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Book SynopsisThe MotherAnne loved the time in her life when she prepared breakfast each morning for her two young children. Years later, spending hours alone, Anne convinces herself that her husband is having an affair. If only her son were to break-up with his girlfriend. He would return home and come down for breakfast. She would put on her new red dress and they would go out. The Mother, in this English translation by Christopher Hampton, was commissioned by the Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal, Bath, and premiered in May 2015. Florian Zeller''s The Mother was awarded the Moliere Award for Best Play 2011.The Father''A wonderfully peculiar, quietly stunning depiction of dementia... A controlled, unforgettable portrait of losing your memory.'' Times''A vivid, lucent translation by Christopher Hampton.'' Observer''One of the most acute, absorbing and distressing portraits of dementia I''ve ever seen.'' Daily Teleg

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Book SynopsisThomas Kyd’s highly influential and popular revenge play is now available in a richly documented and critically engaging Norton Critical Edition.

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Book SynopsisAs well as being the author of the greatest of all children's plays, Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie also wrote sophisticated social comedy and political satire. The Admirable Crichton and What Every Woman Knows are shrewd and entertaining contributions to the politics of class and gender, while Mary Rose is one of the best ghost stories written for the stage.Table of ContentsThe Admirable Crichton ; Peter Pan ; When Wendy Grew Up ; What Every Woman Knows ; Mary Rose

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Book SynopsisPlautus was the single greatest influence on Western comedy. Shakespeare''s Comedy of Errors and Molière''s The Miser are two subsequent classics directly based on Plautine originals.Plautus himself borrowed from the Greeks, but his jokes, rapid dialogue, bawdy humour, and irreverent characterizations are the original work of an undisputed genius. The comedies printed here show him at his best, and professor Segal''s translations keep their fast, rollicking pace intact, making these the most readable and actable versions available. His introduction considers Plautus'' place in ancient comedy, examines his continuing influence, and celebrates his power to entertain. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authoTrade ReviewThese translations are unrivalled in English. The dialogue is brisk, puns and alliterative strings trip from [Segal's] pen with an abandon that rivals the master himself, and the lyrics really ache to be sung. It is great theatre! * Professor Walter Moskalew, Classics Department, Ball State University *Table of ContentsThe Braggart Soldier ; The Brothers Menaechmus ; The Haunted House ; The Pot of Gold

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Book SynopsisThe three plays collected in this volume demonstrate Sheridan''s unerring ability to create unrivalled comedy out of ingenious plots, witty repartee, farcical situations and flamboyant characters. And while he never overtly moralizes, Sheridan uses brilliant comedy to deflate hypocrisy and satirize the manners of his age. In The Rivals, Captain Absolute becomes his own rival for the hand of Lydia Languish - wooing her under another name, while her aunt, the verbally inept Mrs Malaprop, wishes her to marry the real Captain. School for Scandal continues the theme of imposture when Sir Oliver tests his nephews by appearing to them in disguise, and learns that reputation and the approval of society are of little value. And The Critic, featuring the pompous Puff and the arrogant Sneer, is a mocking depiction of the theatre, playwrights and, of course, critics.

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Book SynopsisThe only surviving play of Aeschylus to be based on a historical eventthe Greek victory at Salamis just a few years before the play was writtenPersians appears in Deborah H. Roberts'' brilliant new verse translation accompanied by her Introduction, Notes, Maps, and Chronology. Also included are newly translated excerpts from Herodotus' Histories that should fascinate any reader of the play.

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Book SynopsisThe acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series, now repackaged in award-winning modern covers to inspire Shakespearians of all ages.

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Book SynopsisThis fourth volume of Tom Stoppard''s work for the stage brings together five of his most celebrated translations and adaptations of plays by Arthur Schnitzler (Dalliance and Undiscovered Country), Ferenc Molnar (Rough Crossing), Johann Nestroy (On the Razzle) and Anton Chekhov (The Seagull).

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Book SynopsisKay Ridgeway has led a charmed life. Blessed with beauty, enormous wealth and a new husband, she embarks on a honeymoon voyage down the Nile. Fatal circumstances await when the idyllic surroundings are shattered by a shocking and brutal murder. Under scrutiny is a multitude of memorable passengers, all with a reason to kill. The tension and claustrophobia builds, as a shocking and audacious conspiracy is laid bare. As slick a vehicle as any theatre company could wish for. THE NEW YORK TIMES

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Book SynopsisMike Kenny's imaginative stage adaptation of E. Nesbit's much-loved children's classic. Famously filmed, this story of a prosperous Edwardian family - mother and three children - forced into near-penury in the rural north of England captures the anxieties and exhilarations of childhood with great tenderness and insight. As Mike Kenny says of his remarkably faithful adaptation, 'You don't need a real train to perform this play… the most powerful prop is the imagination of the audience, the most effective tool the skill of the actors.' So this version of The Railway Children, which offers three plum roles for young performers, is eminently suitable for schools, youth theatres and drama groups - anywhere, in fact, where the cry of 'Daddy! My Daddy!' is likely to provoke a tear. Mike Kenny's version of The Railway Children was first staged at the National Railway Museum in York in 2008, before receiving a major production at Waterloo Station in London in 2010.Trade Review'Lavish, warm-hearted... one of the very finest children's stories of the 20th century, and it is served superbly by Mike Kenny's adaptation' * Whatsonstage.com *'This glorious adaptation... profoundly moving... it never for a moment runs out of steam' * Guardian *'Mike Kenny's script provides everything needed for a cracking evening at the theatre' * Amateur Stage *'Mike Kenny's adaptation shows his mastery of playwriting for children and families... adults and children alike are enthralled by the clever mix of imagination and reality' * Financial Times *

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