Plays, playscripts, drama

Book SynopsisA gripping and urgent play about a well-meaning teacher who intervenes on behalf of a troublesome student, with terrifying consequences. When white secondary-school teacher Amanda is pushed to the ground by black student Jason, she's reluctant to report him as she knows exclusion could condemn him to a future as troubled as his past. But when Jason decides to protect himself by spinning a story of his own, Amanda is sucked into a vortex of lies in which victim becomes perpetrator. With the truth becoming less clear and more dangerous by the day, it isn't long before careers, relationships and even lives are under threat. Vivienne Franzmann's first play, Mogadishu won the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2008 and the George Devine Award in 2010. It was first produced at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in 2011.Trade Review'Outstanding... Franzmann manages to make all the characters credible and well-rounded, even the damaged perpetrator... She gets to the rotten core of what's going on in these melting-pot battlegrounds... The play of the year? In my book, quite possibly' * Daily Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis'You've lies in the whites of your eyes, Nora. What have you done...?' Nora is the perfect wife and mother. She is dutiful, beautiful and everything is always in its right place. But when a secret from her past comes back to haunt her, her life rapidly unravels. Over the course of three days, Nora must fight to protect herself and her family or risk losing everything. Henrik Ibsen's brutal portrayal of womanhood caused outrage when it was first performed in 1879. This bold new version by Stef Smith reframes the drama in three different time periods. The fight for women's suffrage, the Swinging Sixties and the modern day intertwine in this urgent, poetic play that asks how far have we really come in the past hundred years? Nora : A Doll's House was first produced by the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, in 2019, at Tramway, Glasgow. A new production opened at the Young Vic, London, in February 2020. It was a finalist for the 2020 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, awarded annually to celebrate women who have written works of outstanding quality for the English-speaking theatre. 'A radical, stunning reworking which thrums with relevance and power... a wordsmith at the top of her poetic game... a classic play reinvented for our time' - BritishTheatre.com 'An intense, ambitious survey of women's shifting roles, which amplifies each step in Ibsen's elegantly crafted story, as though Nora's stamping through a cathedral in Doc Martens... Smith's ingenious dialogue makes what could be massively complicated feel simple and legible' - Time Out 'Smith's update is smart and thoughtful, balancing a sense of feminist history and activism with the tightness of a thriller and some rich personal drama' - The Stage 'Stef Smith's excellent adaptation... a provocation infused with Ibsen's radical spirit' - Guardian 'A beautiful and explosively significant piece of theatre' - ScotsmanTrade Review'A radical, stunning reworking which thrums with relevance and power… a wordsmith at the top of her poetic game... a classic play reinvented for our time' * BritishTheatre.com *'An intense, ambitious survey of women's shifting roles, which amplifies each step in Ibsen's elegantly crafted story, as though Nora's stamping through a cathedral in Doc Martens… Smith's ingenious dialogue makes what could be massively complicated feel simple and legible' * Time Out *'Smith's update is smart and thoughtful, balancing a sense of feminist history and activism with the tightness of a thriller and some rich personal drama' * The Stage *'Stef Smith's excellent adaptation... a provocation infused with Ibsen's radical spirit' * Guardian *'A beautiful and explosively significant piece of theatre' * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisOh if we can just quiet the world for a moment. And listen within. There''s avoice guiding you. I promise it''s there. And until you can hear it, I''ll be it foryou.The men are all fighting, again. An endless war. From nowhere, an unexpected leader emerges. Young, poor and about to spark a revolution.Rebelling against the world''s expectations, questioning the gender binary, Joan finds their power within, and their belief spreads like fire. I, Joan is apowerful and joyous new play which tells Joan of Arc''s story anew. It''s alive and queer and full of hope.

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Book SynopsisWritten specifically for GCSE students by academics in the field, the Methuen Drama GCSE Student Editions provide in-depth explanatory material alongside the play texts frequently studied at Key Stage 4.Whether for use in the classroom or independent study, these editions offer a fully comprehensive and lightly glossed play text with accompanying notes specifically directed towards readers of this age, which unravel essential topics and challenge all students to delve further into literary analysis. Shelagh Delaney's modern classic A Taste of Honey is a comic and poignant exploration of class, feminism, race, sexual orientation and optimism in post-war Britain. Fifty years after its hit premiere, working-class Lancashire lass Jo's story continues to engage new generations of audiences.In addition to some on-page explanatory notes and the play text itself, this edition contains sub-headed analyses of themes, characters, context and dramatic devices, as Table of ContentsPrinciple areas of focus include: Historical, socio-cultural and theatrical context Information the playwright and other work by her Detailed analyses of ideas, themes, characters, narrative and dramatic techniques Analysis of characterisation Key literary, linguistic and theatrical/dramaturgical features of the text, including style, form, structure, plot, narrative, character, dialogue, theme and symbolism) Production histories and adaptations, including up-to-date reflections on key productions A variety of activities, designed to allow students to reflect upon their learning and understanding in both the classroom and at home Suggestions for related and wider reading This material is frequently underpinned by: - references to critical/scholarly perspectives on the play and playwright - pedagogical 'checkpoints' that will comprise opportunities for students to reflect upon, and assess, their knowledge and understanding of the text in relation to drama, literature, language This edition makes critical use of existing scholarship about the play and certain 'schools' and trajectories in which it has been read, including feminist theatre and post-war British realism. In interconnecting clear, engaging and scholarly information and readings with a variety of activities for students, this guide features a genuinely interactive and dynamic quality. It is designed to give the student reader confidence in developing their own responses and analysis of the play.

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Book SynopsisThe Father; A Dream Play; Miss Julie; The Ghost Sonata; The Dance of Death `Ibsen can sit serenely in his Doll''s House,'' Sean O''Casey remarked, `while Strindberg is battling with his heaven and his hell.''Strindberg was one of the most extreme, and ultimately the most influential theatrical innovators of the late nineteenth century. The five plays translated here are those on which Strindberg''s international reputation as a dramatist principally rests and this edition embraces his crucial transition from Naturalism to Modernism, from his two finest achievements as a psychological realist, The Father and Miss Julie, to the three plays in which he redefined the possibilities of European drama following his return to the theatre in 1898. Michael Robinson''s highly performable translations are based on the authoritative texts of the new edition of Strindberg''s collected works in Sweden and include the Preface to Miss Julie, Strindberg''s manifesto of theatrical naturalism.Introduction Textual Note Bibliography Chronology Explanatory Notes 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.Table of ContentsThe Father ; A Dream Play ; Miss Julie ; The Ghost Sonata ; The Dance of Death

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Book SynopsisA modern classic about the bitter rivalry between Mary, Queen of Scots, and her cousin and fellow ruler, Elizabeth I of England - retold by Scotland's most popular playwright. 'Once upon a time, there were twa queens on the wan green island, and the wan green island was split inty twa kingdoms. But no equal kingdoms...' Mary and Elizabeth are two women with much in common, but more that sets them apart. Following the death of her husband, the Dauphin of France, the beautiful, and staunchly Catholic Mary Stuart has returned from France to rule Scotland, a country she neither knows nor understands. Ill-prepared to rule in her own right, Mary has failed to learn what her protestant cousin, Elizabeth Tudor, knows only too well - that a queen must rule with her head, not her heart. All too soon the stage is set for a deadly endgame in which there can only be one winner and one queen on the one green island. Liz Lochhead's play Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off is presented in a distinctive cabaret style, with much of the dialogue in the 'Braid Scots' vernacular. It was first performed by the Communicado Theatre Company at the Lyceum Studio Theatre, Edinburgh, in August 1987. This revised version was published alongside the revival by the National Theatre of Scotland, which toured in 2009. Also included is a new introduction by the author.Trade Review'A triumph… the characterisations never slide over into caricature but are full-bodied, subtle, humorous and virile' * Time Out *'Twenty-two years on, it's a text that still takes the breath away with the fearless theatricality of its cabaret style, and the sheer force of the glittering poetic links it forges between the fraught and unresolved politics of Scotland in the 16th century, and tensions over gender and religion that still haunt our society today' * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisA hilarious and heart-warming comedy about football, friendship and finding your way. Luke wants Danny, but Danny's got a secret. Joe's happy in goal, but Geoff wants a headline gig. Viv just wants to beat the lesbians to the league title. Game on. Tom Wells' play Jumpers for Goalposts premiered at Watford Palace Theatre in 2013, before touring the UK, including a run at the Bush Theatre, London. This volume also includes Tom Wells' short play Jonesy, the underdog story of an asthmatic teen who dreams of making a name for himself as a 'Netball Maverick' and earning the respect of the lads from GCSE PE.Trade Review'Generous, warm-hearted and packed with telling, often very funny detail' * Evening Standard *'Blissfully funny but at times deeply affecting too... the dialogue is blessed with sharp one-liners... what makes [Tom Wells] so special is his gift of making the small change of everyday lives shine so brightly' * Telegraph *'Wells has that rare gift of being able to capture the goodness that resides amongst people with an unforced warmth and a highly observant ear and eye for comedy... unreservedly recommended' * Independent *'The delicate balance between humour and pathos is seldom achieved with such deftness... a stunning piece of writing - fresh, funny, painful, engaging' * The Stage *'Finds extraordinary beauty in the ordinary lives of its characters' * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisA simple and delightfully inventive re-telling of the stories from the Arabian Nights. It is wedding night in the palace of King Shahrayar. By morning, the new Queen Shahrazad is to be put to death like all the young brides before her. But she has one gift that could save her – the gift of storytelling. With her mischievous imagination, the young Queen spins her dazzling array of tales and characters. On her side are Ali Baba, Es-Sindibad the Sailor and Princess Parizade – adventurers in strange and magical worlds populated by giant beasts, talking birds, devilish ghouls and crafty thieves. But will her silver-tongued stories be enough to enchant her husband and save her life? This revised edition of Dominic Cooke's Arabian Nights was published alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company's production in 2009.Trade Review'The family show to see this Yule' * The Guardian *'Superb... weaves a potent spell of enchantment as it moves from cruelty to happiness and from the blissfully ribald to the deeply affecting' * Daily Telegraph *'A masterful piece of storytelling... a truly magical piece of theatre that delights all the senses' * Whatsonstage.com *

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Book SynopsisA collection of five extraordinary plays exploring and reflecting contemporary life across the Near East and North Africa. In Withdrawal by Mohammad Al Attar (Syria), Ahmad and Nour rent a flat so that they can spend time together away from their families, but is having a space to themselves going to solve all their problems? In 603 by Imad Farajin (Palestine), four Palestinian men share a cramped prison cell listening to the buses come and go outside. Will the next bus be the one to take them home? In Damage by Kamal Khalladi (Morocco), three weeks after Youssef and Sana’a’s wedding, Youssef accepts a military peacekeeping expedition in the Congo. Will either of them be the same people when he returns? In The House by Arzé Khodr (Lebanon), Nadia wants to remain in the house she grew up in. For her sister, Reem, it is filled with painful memories. Are their differences over the future of the house irreconcilable? In Egyptian Products by Laila Soliman (Egypt), Hadia is an independent woman in Cairo. Gasir is a painfully awkward lab assistant with attachment issues over his dead mother. Is he really her knight in shining armour? In 2007 the Royal Court Theatre’s International Department and the British Council embarked on an ambitious project working with twenty-one writers from across the Near East and North Africa. Seven of the resultant plays received rehearsed readings at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2008. This volume, introduced by Laila Hourani of the British Council, collects five of these unique new voices, each posing different but equally urgent questions.

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Book SynopsisThe second collection of plays from the multi-award winning author. Included in this volume is Conor McPherson's The Weir, one of the most successful plays of recent years. In a bar in a remote part of Ireland, the local lads are swapping spooky stories to impress a young woman from Dublin newly moved into the area... 'A spellbinder that transfixes you... No praise in fact is too high' Guardian Dublin Carol is set on Christmas Eve, when a Dublin undertaker is visited by his estranged daughter urging him to face up to the past. 'McPherson writes like a dream.... The play works an ingenious spell' Daily Mail Port Authority tells of three interwoven lives: a boy leaves home for the first time; a man starts a job for which he is unqualified; a pensioner is sent a mysterious package... 'Overwhelmingly poignant... desolate, searing eloquence' Evening Standard And in Come on Over, published here for the first time, a Jesuit priest, sent to investigate a 'miracle' in his home town, re-encounters the woman who loved him thirty years before. 'Piercingly evocative, powerfully exploring the tension between human and divine love' Daily Telegraph The volume also contains an Afterword by the author. Trade Review'Already heir to the great Irish tradition of absorbing tale-telling' * Guardian *'The finest dramatist of his generation' * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisA striking play from Northern Ireland about two women and the childhood tragedy they'll never be allowed to forget. For Emma and Clare, 1980 was the summer they met at the swings, the summer they built a tree house and stole from Dennis O'Donnell's shop. The summer a young mother and her infant daughter moved into number 14... Now in their thirties, Emma and Clare struggle to come to terms with the chain of devastating events that began that summer, to understand what they did, what they became and how they were judged. Lisa McGee's play Girls and Dolls was first performed by Tinderbox Theatre Company on a tour of Northern Ireland in 2006. It won the Stewart Parker Trust Award in 2007.Trade Review'Lisa McGee adds a new twist to a well-worn genre in this upsetting and powerful play about repressed memories' * Guardian *'Beautifully written and sensitively observed' * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Face, Subtle and Dol Common are three rogues intent on conning the gullible out of their money. Setting up a quack-doctor's practice in Lovewit's house they promise miraculous services that cost their customers dear. Everything goes swimmingly, until Lovewit returns and the three turn against each other. Ben Jonson's classic comedy The Alchemist was first performed by the King's Men in 1610. This edition of the play in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series is edited by Simon Trussler, with an introduction by Colin Counsell.Trade Review'Ben Jonson's comedy of dupes and conmen couldn't be more contemporary' * Time Out *

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Book SynopsisLate at night in a foreign land, an English army sweeps through the landscape under cover of darkness and takes the seat of power. Struggling to contain his men and the ambitions of his superiors, the commanding officer attempts to negotiate the unspoken rules of this alien country. He seeks to restore peace to a country ravaged by war. This is Scotland in the eleventh century at the height of the fight for succession of the Scottish throne. David Greig''s Dunsinane premiered in February 2010 at Hampstead Theatre, London, in a production by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

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Book SynopsisHear what I have to say about the cherry orchard, because it is mine. I say bring it down, tear it down. Smash it down and tear it down. Watch, watch. Just you watch. I will build holiday villas, as far as the eye can see. I will build a place for everyone to come and enjoy. For the future. And this will be the future. A new life. A new way of life. Here! Come now and play. Play. Play! Get the band to play.Ranyevskaya returns more or less bankrupt after ten years abroad. Luxuriating in her fading moneyed world and regardless of the increasingly hostile forces outside, she and her brother snub the lucrative scheme of Lopakhin, a peasant turned entrepreneur, to save the family estate. In so doing, they put up their lives to auction and seal the fate of the beloved orchard. Set at the very start of the twentieth century, The Cherry Orchard captures a poignant moment in Russia''s history as the country rolls inexorably towards 1917. The Cherry Orchard

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Book SynopsisMartin Wiggins is a Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham.

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Book SynopsisIncludes: Time of My Life; Neighbourhood Watch; Arrivals and Departures; Hero's Welcome; A Brief History of Women

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisOne bitter Christmas Eve, a cold-hearted miser is visited by four ghosts. Transported to worlds past, present and future, Ebenezer Scrooge witnesses what a lifetime of fear and selfishness has led to, and sees with fresh eyes the lonely life he has built for himself. Can Ebenezer be saved before it's too late? Jack Thorne's joyous adaptation of Charles Dickens's timeless classic premiered at The Old Vic, London, in 2017, in a production directed by Matthew Warchus, and starring Rhys Ifans as Ebenezer Scrooge. It was revived at the Old Vic in 2018, 2019 and 2021.Trade Review'Dickens' tale of personal conscience and moral responsibility might be more relevant that ever... Thorne doesn't shirk the anger at social attitudes towards poverty, but also delivers a rousing festive feast that will leave even the most miserly curmudgeon filled with redemptive joy' * Radio Times *'Dickensian and modern, clever and heartfelt, gripping and touching and tuneable and serious and sometimes funny... its marvellously heartfelt Christmas quality would delight the original author' * TheatreCat *'Magical... Thorne's adaptation is traditional but with a modern twist that delights' * The Times *'Jack Thorne's new version of Dickens' story stands high on my list of favourites... combines the social anger with a genuine sense of festivity... this is Dickens done with love and affection. The fable's warning about the danger of treating poverty as if it were a moral vice could also hardly be more timely' * Guardian *'Provides everything you might want from a theatrical adaptation of Dickens's timeless (and never more timely) morality tale urging social responsibility and compassion... the new adaptation by Jack Thorne fuses fun with the macabre and a fine degree of psychological depth... both witty and deeply affecting' * Independent *'There is a contemporary resonance to it… a love song to Christmas and the redeeming power of theatre' * Observer *'Incredibly atmospheric... Jack Thorne's relatively faithful adaptation lets Dickens' words do their work, but then opens things up in a second half that is emotionally rich and, on occasion, truly moving' * The Stage *

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Book Synopsis“Chekhov, speaking simply and never otherwise than as an artist and a humane man, shows us in fullness and plenitude the mystery of our lives.”—Eudora Welty “What writers influenced me as a young man? Chekhov! As a dramatist? Chekhov! As a story writer? Chekhov!”-Tennessee Williams The Seagull is Anton Chekhov’s brilliant four-act play that is considered a monumental work of drama, and one of the most sublime literary examinations of the complexities of love and friendship. First performed over a century ago, this play remains one of the most widely staged productions throughout the world. The four protagonists in The Seagull are all artists; Trigorin is a well-established writer, Arkadina is a renowned yet aging actress, her son Treplev is a struggling writer, and Nina is a young aspiring actress who is in love with Treplev. Success in love and in their art is a shared intent, yet within the play each character experiences an existential crisis in the darkness of unrequited love. With its play-within-a-play, its nods to Shakespeare, and intimate and profound character portrayals, this is an essential read for all serious students of drama and Russian literature. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Seagull is both modern and readable.

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Book SynopsisThe Apple Cart, Too True to Be Good, On the Rocks, and The Millionairess is a collection of four of George Bernard Shaw's most interesting plays. They stretch from 1929 to 1935 and coincide with the Great Depression.Table of ContentsIntroduction Select Bibliography Chronology The Apple Cart Too True to Be Good On the Rocks The Millionairess Explanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisOn 19 April 1621, a woman named Elizabeth Sawyer was hanged at Tyburn. Her story was on the bookstalls within days and within weeks was adapted for the stage as The Witch of Edmonton. The devil stalks Edmonton in the shape of a large black dog and, just as Elizabeth Sawyer makes her demonic pact, the newlywed Frank Thorney enters into his own dark bargain in the shape of a second, bigamous marriage. Torn between sympathy for Sawyer and Thorney and a clear-eyed assessment of their crimes, the play was the finest and most nuanced treatment of witchcraft that the stage would see for centuries. Lucy Munro's introduction provides students and scholars with a detailed understanding of this complex play.Table of ContentsList of illustrations General editors’ preface Preface Introduction Prince Charles’s Men, 1618-22 Collaborations Reading Elizabeth Sawyer in 1621 Witchcraft and Bigamy: 1621 and 1658 Danger and Death: Tragicomedy and Domestic Drama in 1621 Curtain and Cockpit: Staging the Supernatural in 1621 London and Lancashire: Staging Witchcraft in 1634 The Witch and the Dog Staging The Witch of Edmonton: 1921 to 2014 Edmonton on Stage The Witch and the Dog: Reprise Forget the Hobby Horse! Printing The Witch of Edmonton: 1658 and 2014 Quarto Paratext THE WITCH OF EDMONTON Appendix: Doubling chart Abbreviations and References Abbreviations used in notes Works by and partly by Shakespeare Editions of The Witch of Edmonton collated Other works cited Modern productions cited

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Book SynopsisThe nineteenth-century French classic about the swordsman-poet with the nose too large to be taken seriously, in an acclaimed English translation by Anthony Burgess. This translation of Edmond Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Theatre, London, in July 1983, with Derek Jacobi as Cyrano. Burgess's translation was subsequently used as the basis of the sub-titles for the 1990 film version of Cyrano de Bergerac starring Gérard Depardieu.Trade Review'Anthony Burgess's ingenious translation serves Rostand's wit while adding a few fillips of its own' * New York Times *'Emotional depth Rostand himself would surely have envied... Burgess' extravagant verse keeps its contours, yet trips off the tongue almost as though it were contemporary speech' * The Times *'The bounce and brilliance of Anthony Burgess' translation' * WhatsOnStage *

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Book SynopsisAn ominous play set in a cruel world of dark realism, an acknowledged masterpiece from one of the twentieth century's most significant writers. Harry Hope's Saloon is a waterfront bar full of life's failures. They exist barely, living on the knowledge that love is a chimera and despair is perpetual; that the desires they cultivate of an impossible future are only ever pipe dreams, because the only thing to look forward to is death. And then one day Hickey walks in with his own personal brand of hope, and his urge to make them face the truth. Written in 1939, Eugene O'Neill's play The Iceman Cometh was first staged at the Martin Beck Theater, New York, in October 1946. It had its UK premiere at the Arts Theatre, London, in January 1958. 'A dramatised neurosis, with no holds barred, written in a vein of unsparing implacable honesty' Kenneth Tynan 'O'Neill, the great patriach of Broadway and the playwright who laid out the map on which all contemporary American drama is still written – Iceman is the first truly great epic of the modern American theatre, and its legacy is the intimate stripping of the soul which we now take for granted in drama worldwide' Sheridan Morley This edition of The Iceman Cometh includes a full introduction, biographical sketch and chronology.

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Book SynopsisA harrowing, intense drama about people-trafficking, set inside a container lorry. A freight container, somewhere in Europe. Inside are five people with one common aim: to reach England and start a new life. Can they trust the agent to get them there? Can they rely on each other? And how far will each of them go to get what they want? Clare Bayley's play The Container was first performed (inside an actual container lorry) at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2007. It won a Fringe First Award for outstanding new writing on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and an Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award.Trade Review'Riveting, eloquent drama' * Observer *'Devastating... dramatises the terrifying experience [of illegal migration] as one of the key journeys of our time... electrifying drama' * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisA heartrending drama about family, betrayal and forgiveness, spanning four generations and two hemispheres. From the writer of the award-winning film Lantana. When the Rain Stops Falling moves from the claustrophobia of a London flat in 1959 to the windswept coast of southern Australia, and into the heart of the Australian desert in 2039. It interweaves a series of connected stories as seven people confront the mysteries of their past in order to understand their future, revealing how patterns of betrayal, love and abandonment are passed on. Until finally, as the desert is inundated with rain, one young man finds the courage to defy the legacy. Andrew Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling was commissioned and first produced by Brink Productions in Australia. It was premiered at the Scott Theatre, University of Adelaide, in February 2008. The play received its European premiere at the Almeida Theatre, London, in May 2009.Trade Review'Superb... fiendishly ingenious... utterly compelling' * Guardian *'A work of gripping mystery and emotional depth... something very special' * Daily Telegraph *'Extraordinary... grabs you by its imagination, its heartrending originality, its tragic vision' * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisWhat is that, trailing your footsteps, breathing softly down your neck? Rediscover the magic and wonder of the original Grimm Tales, retold by master-storyteller Philip Pullman. In this stage version by Philip Wilson, you'll meet the familiar characters – Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel – and some unexpected ones too, such as Hans-My-Hedgehog, the Goose Girl at the Spring and the remarkable Thousandfurs. Full of deliciously dark twists and turns, the tales come to life in all their glittering, macabre brilliance – a delight for children and adults alike. These Grimm Tales, adapted for the stage by Philip Wilson from Philip Pullman's version of the original tales, were first performed as immersive storytelling experiences underneath Shoreditch Town Hall, London, in 2014, and Bargehouse on the South Bank in 2015. They also offer plentiful opportunities for youth theatres, schools and amateur companies looking for a vivid new version of the classic fairytales.Trade Review'A genuine delight… a compelling and brilliant collection for varying abilities, rich with imagination… gives teachers versions of these stories that would work with any year group' * Teaching Drama *'Beautifully done, and thrilling to stumble upon... atmospheric to the point of inspiring awe' * Telegraph *'A magic box of glittering surprises' * The Times *Table of ContentsThe First Set of Tales Little Red Riding Hood Rapunzel The Three Snake Leaves Hans-my-Hedgehog The Juniper Tree The Second Set of Tales The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich The Three Little Men in the Woods Thousandfurs The Goose Girl at the Spring Hansel and Gretel Faithful Johannes The Donkey Cabbage

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Book SynopsisA funny, painful and deeply moving play about loss - and cooking. Lucy has lost something very important. One minute Jo's there, the next he isn't, leaving Lucy with a pile of half-cooked food and a collection of invited (and uninvited) guests. As Lucy acclimatises to her new situation, she is absorbed, along with her visitors, into an intimate and sensory experience. Pamela Carter's play What We Know was first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in 2010. This edition includes recipes by Rosie Sykes that can be used in a production of the play.Trade Review'Painful, tantalising and deeply moving' * Herald *'A perfect metaphor for loss and for the disbelief and grief that ensues... innovative, sensitive, entertaining theatre' * edinburghguide.com *

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Book SynopsisEngland is in crisis. Fields are flooded, food is scarce and fear grips the land. William Bloor, a foxfinder, arrives at Judith and Samuel Covey's farm to investigate a suspected fox infestation. The Coveys' harvest has failed to meet their target and the government wants to know why. Trained from childhood, William is fixated on his mission to unearth the animals that must be to blame for the Coveys' woes. But as the hunt progresses, William finds more questions than answers… A darkly comic, spell-binding dystopian drama, Dawn King's Foxfinder won the 2011 Papatango New Writing Prize and premiered at the Finborough Theatre, London. Foxfinder had its West End premiere at the Ambassadors Theatre, London, in 2018, in a production directed by Rachel O'Riordan.Trade Review'Sharp of tooth and riddled with a clawing dread, Dawn King's 2011 rural drama is a fierce and fabulous beast... King's writing feels at once wonderfully strange and naggingly familiar, with echoes of Caryl Churchill's Far Away and Arthur Miller's The Crucible' * The Stage *'The play, riddled with alternative facts, conspiracy theories and fake news, sits right at home in the post-truth world we're told we live in' * WhatsOnStage *'A darkly thrilling new play' * Daily Telegraph *'Dawn King's play shines out like a beacon... the most compelling new work I have seen this year.' * Guardian *'Grippingly atmospheric, dark and tense... We may not find any foxes here but we'll certainly uncover some terrific young talent' * Evening Standard *'Clever and original... remarkable script' * Spoonfed *'Excitingly unusual... fascinating ideas' * The Times *

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Book SynopsisHortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica. Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer. Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Three intimately connected stories, tracing the tangled history of Jamaica and Britain. Andrea Levy's epic novel, adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, journeys from Jamaica to Britain in 1948 – the year that HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury. Small Island was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in 2019, in an acclaimed production directed by Rufus Norris. This revised edition of the play was published alongside the revival of the production in 2022.Trade Review'Extraordinary. A spectacular adaptation of Andrea Levy's Windrush novel' * Observer *'Edmundson has a knack for skilfully distilling story... ferociously entertaining' * Time Out *'A landmark in the National Theatre's history: a tumultuous epic about first-generation Jamaican immigrants... skilfully adapted... one of the most important plays of the year' * Guardian *'Inspiring adaptation... a gripping state-of-the-nation epic... the show acknowledges struggle and strife on all sides, flies the flag for compassion and achieves a hard-won (and still to be fought for) inclusivity' * Telegraph *'A passionate engagement with the past that's sure to resonate with audiences at a time when the very idea of Britain is under such fierce scrutiny' * Evening Standard *'Utterly sensational – an engrossing, all-embracing piece of theatre... a staggering achievement' * WhatsOnStage *'Beautifully translated to stage by adaptor Helen Edmundson, using thrilling theatrical solutions to honour Levy's epic - and still urgent - tale... a stirring spectacle that never loses sight of the people at its heart' * Broadway World *'What a huge-hearted achievement this is, a sweeping, captivating dramatisation... thrilling in its scope and exquisite in its detail... Helen Edmundson's adaptation feels at once effortlessly epic and delicately intimate' * iNews *

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Book SynopsisThis new edition of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus offers the complete 1604 A-text with embedded selections from the 1616 B-text. Its innovative format will make it easier for readers to note differences between these texts and to consider what is gained and lost in viewing them both separately and together. A full Introduction to the play, notes, and a rich selection of related texts further enhance the value of this edition to students of Renaissance drama, Reformation theology, magic, and occult philosophy.Trade Review“This most recent edition of Doctor Faustus is guaranteed to appeal to a fresh, widespread audience of students and scholars. Uniquely combining the full A- and B-texts of the play, the edition offers new possibilities for analysis and interpretation. In addition to a generous introduction, replete with crucial data, the edition supplies readers with a bibliography, notes, and an abundant selection of related texts, including the Faustbook. The range of valuable information will surely attract not only Marlovians and all those interested in Renaissance drama and related, historical contextual matters, but anyone interested in accounting for how Doctor Faustus has achieved its enduring fame.” —Robert A. Logan, Emeritus Professor of English, University of Hartford

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Book Synopsis'We know all too well that we're up to our necks in the shit, and it is for this very reason that we walk with our heads held high!' An irrepressible fraudster known only as the Maniac is brought into Police Headquarters just as the officers are preparing for a judicial review of the recent 'accidental' death of a suspect in custody. Outwitting his captors, the Maniac dupes them into performing a farcical recreation of the incident, exposing the absurd corruption and terrifying idiocy at the heart of the system. Dario Fo and Franca Rame's riotous satire has been widely performed around the world since its premiere in 1970. Tom Basden's acclaimed adaptation was first performed at Sheffield Theatres in 2022, directed by Daniel Raggett, and starring Daniel Rigby as the Maniac. The production transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in 2023, before moving to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London's West End.Trade Review'An Italian classic reborn as an unmissable police satire' * Metro *'A glorious comedy that leaps off the stage' * The Times *'A riotous satirical farce brought bang up to date... Tom Basden's full-blooded adaptation [is] a furious but funny broadside against police malpractice... supremely, dazzlingly funny' * Guardian *'A glorious romp from the super-talented Tom Basden' * Observer *'Wickedly funny... nothing less than brilliant... the audience is constantly in stitches... much cheaper than a therapy session and vastly more entertaining' * Time Out *'Fabulous... an unforgettable theatrical experience. Brilliantly adapted by Tom Basden, it is a biting, bang-up-to-the-minute satire... Each minute is packed with jokes, word play and punchy references... The laughs aren't just one-a-minute – there seems to be one every second. A fantastic show' * Reviews Hub *'Brilliant... a whirlwind high-speed farce... Tom Basden's bang up-to-date English version would undoubtedly have met with Signor Fo's whole-hearted approval... wildly inventive... glorious chaos' * WhatsOnStage *'Pretty special... Basden's script is packed with contemporary references, but among the comic zingers are weightier concerns about undercover police work and corruption.... It's brilliantly executed... unforgettable' * The Stage *'Simply brilliant... The comic lines come thick and fast, but the underlying political punch is serious and to the point... A tour de force, a great night out… A must-see' * British Theatre Guide *'Both deeply political and utterly hilarious... a biting indictment of British law enforcement... a comic work for the ages with a script packed with zingers... a masterclass in how to combine social issues and comedy' * Broadway World *'A sure-fire, fearlessly political, no holds-barred, angry hit of a show' * Everything Theatre *'Gloriously unruly... one of the most daring and original shows to arrive in the West End in recent memory' * Independent *'Uproarious... a bomb-blast comedy... an institutionally funny play' * Evening Standard *

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Book Synopsis'If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.' One of the most prolific and respected playwrights of the twentieth century, Bernard Shaw's legacy shows no signs of waning, and his beautifully written plays, laced with wry wit and invective alike, have seen countless performances over the years, their finest lines paraded in literary conversation and review. Meticulously selected by Simon Mundy, the Wit and Acid series collects the sharpest lines from Shaw’s oeuvre in small neat volumes, allowing the reader to sample some of the very best barbs and one-liners the twentieth century has to offer, and this, the first volume, covers lines from the great writer’s works published before 1911.Trade Review'He was a Tolstoy with jokes, a modern Dr Johnson, a universal genius who on his own modest reckoning put even Shakespeare in the shade.' (The Independent)

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Book SynopsisBarber Shop Chronicles is a generously funny, heart-warming and insightful new play set in five African cities, Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, Accra, and in London.Inspired in part by the story of a Leeds barber, the play invites the audience into a unique environment where the banter may be barbed, but the truth always telling. The barbers of these tales are sages, role models and father figures who keep the men together and the stories alive.Inua Ellams''s celebrated play was first produced by the National Theatre, Fuel and Leeds Playhouse in 2017.Trade ReviewThis is an absolute cracker. Inua Ellams has the simple but ingenious idea of exploring black masculinity through the humble barber's shop... It's funny, fast, laced with music and dance, and performed with irresistible good humour and style... But deep down this is also a thoughtful, serious and moving piece of drama... he writes with zip and a wonderful ear, and the piece is beautifully woven. * Financial Times *It's a play crammed with questions, discussing African attitudes to parental discipline in one scene, and the role Nigerian Pidgin plays in cultural identity in the next. Idea follows idea: Christianity as a business fattening the wallets of pastors; the western media's depiction of Lagos; the way that words can be used to debase and destroy. Again and again the plays returns to the theme of black masculinity and the different shapes it can take... The tone of the play shifts fluidly from comedy to poignancy to rage... This is all handled with skill and a huge amount of warmth. Barber Shop Chronicles is a pleasure to experience. The level of joy in the room is high... Rich, exhilarating theatre that opens a window into a world of men. * The Stage *It's always bracing to watch the National open its arms, doors and repertoire to new work, new audiences, new experiences. There's certainly not been anything like this all-male, all-black piece from poet/playwright Inua Ellams, which bounces with brio as it whisks us around a series of African barber shops in six countries on two continents over the space of a single day... it becomes gradually clear that these resolutely female-free spaces are also part confessional, part psychiatrist's chair for both the staff and customers. Hefty topics ripple and re-echo over the thousands of miles that separate the establishments: how to be a father, how to be a son, how to be a man. A joke about a fly in a pint also travels effortlessly. * Evening Standard *

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisWritten in the early fifties when Rattigan was at the height of his powers, The Deep Blue Sea is a powerful account of lives blighted by love - or the lack of it. The play opens with the failed suicide of Hester Collyer (Peggy Ashcroft in the first production), who has deserted her husband for the raffish charms of an ex-fighter pilot. Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea was first performed at the Duchess Theatre in the West End in March 1952. This edition includes an authoritative introduction, biographical sketch and chronology. 'Few dramatists of this century have written with more understanding of the human heart than Terence Rattigan' Michael BillingtonTrade Review'A masterpiece... a play that cuts at the heart' * Telegraph *'Probably his greatest play... Ibsenesque' * Financial Times *'Masterly... a perennially moving play' * Guardian *'Excellent... particularly moving... interlaced with moments of humour and black comedy' * WhatsOnStage *

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Book SynopsisThis second volume of plays by Georg Kaiser contains five plays ranging from his early work through the time of his prolific maturity in the 1920s to his last period as an exile in Switzerland, where he died in 1945.David and Goliath is set in Denmark and deals with the power of money over men. The President, set in France, is ironical in tone and revolves around a lottery and, once again, the power of money. The Flight to Venice was written at the height of the Expressionist movement in 1922, and is one of the principal plays of the period. One Day in October is highly complex, using nineteenth-century French literary personalities to make points about literary creation and the relationship between art and life. The final play, The Raft of the Medusa, takes its title from Gericault's painting, and concerns the regeneration of man overlaid with the pessimism of the European struggle.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 SynopsisThe first collection of plays by Marina Carr introduces the work of a major new voice in playwriting. Low in the Dark''One of the most exciting, new and absolutely original aspects of Carr''s writing is the manner in which the sexism of the language and religious imagery is exposed... Marina Carr is a playwright to be watched.'' Sunday TribuneThe Mai''The writing is at once gentle and raucous... capable of articulating deep-seated woes and resentments in a manner you rarely find outside Eugene O''Neill.'' ObserverPortia Coughlan''A play of precocious maturity and accomplishment.'' Irish Times''Portia Coughlan packs a hell of a punch. It hurts to look at it. But it has to be seen.'' Irish IndependentBy the Bog of Cats...''A poetic realism steeped in the past... Carr has an extraordinary ability to move between the mythic and the real.'' Guardian''A great play.

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Book SynopsisThomas Middleton, one of the greatest of Jacobean dramatists, was born in 1580, the son of a well-to-do London bricklayer. He went to Oxford but seems not to have gained a degree. Thereafter he pursued the precarious career of a professional writerin London. In a quarter of a century he wrote, either on his own or in collaboration, nearly fifty plays and other theatrical pieces. His greatest contemporary success was A Game at Chess, which was suppressed by the government. He died in 1627.

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Book SynopsisThree plays by RacineFor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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Book SynopsisThe plays in this volume focus on the family and how it struggles to stay together by telling lies - and exposing them. In Ghosts, Osvald Alving returns home only to discover the truth about the father he always looked up to, and learns the horrific effect his father's debauchery has had on him. It was Ibsen's most provocative drama, stripping away the surface of a middle-class family to expose layers of hypocrisy and immorality. A Public Enemy sets two brothers against each other when one wishes to make public the facts about the polluted water in the public baths of their home town. And When We Dead Wake tells of an artist meeting an old lover by chance and rejecting his wife, in a symbolic exploration of Ibsen's own literary life and the sacrifices he made in his work.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best w

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Book SynopsisBased on the legends used in Greek drama, Seneca's plays are notable for the exuberant ruthlessness with which disastrous events are foretold and then pursued to their tragic and often bloodthirsty ends. Thyestes depicts the menace of an ancestral curse hanging over two feuding brothers, while Phaedra portrays a woman tormented by fatal passion for her stepson. In The Trojan Women, the widowed Hecuba and Andromache await their fates at the hands of the conquering Greeks, and Oedipus follows the downfall of the royal House of Thebes. Octavia is a grim commentary on Nero's tyrannical rule and the execution of his wife, with Seneca himself appearing as an ineffective counsellor attempting to curb the atrocities of the emperor.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throTable of ContentsSeneca: Four Tragedies And OctaviaIntroductionAcknowledgementThyestesPhaedra (or Hippolytus)The Trojan WomenOedipusOctaviaAppendix I. Elizabethan translations and imitationsAppendix II. Passages from Seneca's prose

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Book SynopsisOf all the ancient Greek tragedians, Euripides was the most sensitive to the lives of women and other outcasts in Athenian society, and Electra and Other Plays collects five plays demonstrating his talent for bringing to life their plight. This Penguin Classics edition is translated by John Davie with an introduction and notes by Richard Rutherford.Written during a period overshadowed by the fierce struggle for supremacy between Sparta and Euripides'' native Athens, these five plays are haunted by the shadow of war - and in particular its impact on women. In Electra the children of Agamemnon take bloody revenge on their mother for murdering their father after his return from Troy, and Suppliant Women depicts the grieving mothers of those killed in battle. The other plays deal with the aftermath of the Trojan War for the defeated survivors, as Andromache shows Hector''s widow as a trophy of war in the house of her Greek captor, and Hecabe portrays a defeated queen avenging the murder of her last-remaining son, while Trojan Women tells of the plight of the city''s women in the hands of their victors.John Davie''s compelling translations are accompanied by an introduction by Richard Rutherford describing the tragic genre and Euripides innovations, along with a chronology, prefaces to each play, notes, a bibliography and a glossary of names.Euripides (c.485-07 BC) was an Athenian born into a family of considerable rank. Disdaining the public duties expected of him, Euripides spent a life of quiet introspection, spending much of his life in a cave on Salamis. Late in life he voluntarily exiled himself to the court of Archelaus, King of Macedon, where he wrote The Bacchae, regarded by many as his greatest work. Euripides is thought to have written 92 plays, only 18 of which survive.If you enjoyed Electra and Other Plays, you might like Euripides'' Medea and Other Plays, also available in Penguin Classics.''The most intensely tragic of all the poets''AristotleTable of ContentsElectra and Other PlaysGeneral IntroductionNote on the TextChronological TableTranslator's NotePreface to AndromacheAndromachePreface to HecabeHecabePreface to Suppliant WomenSuppliant WomenPreface to ElectraElectraPreface to Trojan WomenTrojan WomenNotesBibliographyGlossary of Mythological and Geographical Names

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Book SynopsisLiving in Rome under Caligula and later a tutor to Nero, Seneca witnessed the extremes of human behaviour. His shocking and bloodthirsty plays not only reflect a brutal period of history but also show how guilt, sorrow, anger and desire lead individuals to violence. The hero of Hercules Insane saves his own family from slaughter, only to commit further atrocities when he goes mad. The horrifying death of Astyanax is recounted in Trojan Women, and Phaedra deals with forbidden love. In Oedipus a nervous man discovers himself, while Thyestes recounts the bitter family struggle for a crown. Of uncertain authorship, Octavia dramatizes Nero's divorce from his wife and her deportation. The only Latin tragedies to have survived complete, these plays are masterpieces of vibrant, muscular language and psychological insight.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more t

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Book SynopsisVictor, a New York cop nearing retirement, moves among furniture in the disused attic of a house marked for demolition. Cabinets, desks, a damaged harp, an overstuffed armchair - the relics of a lost life of affluence he''s finally come to sell. But when his brother Walter, who he hasn''t spoken to in years, arrives, the talk stops being just about whether Victor''s been offered a fair price for the furniture, and turns to the price that one and not the other of them paid when their father lost both his fortune and the will to go on ...Fraught, but cut through with humour, The Price is one of Arthur Miller''s finest plays.

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Book SynopsisQuentin is a successful lawyer in New York, but inside his head he is struggling with his own sense of guilt and the shadows of his past relationships. One of these an ill-fated marriage to the charming and beautiful Maggie, who went from operating a switchboard to become a self-destructive star - a singer everyone wanted a piece of. With tremendous psychological acuity and depth, and a brilliant, dreamlike structure, After the Fall is a literary masterpiece, drawing on Miller''s own life - the story of a man striving to comprehend his feelings for his friends, family and the women he has loved.

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