Plays, playscripts, drama

Book SynopsisOdissi holds iconic status as one of the eight classical dance forms recognized and promoted by the Indian government. This book traces the dance's transformation from its historical role as a regional artistic practice to its modern incarnation as transnational spectacle, with a focus on the state's regulation of the dance form and the performances of gender embedded within it. Using an interdisciplinary approach that brings together social history, political theory, and dance and performance studies, the book explores three original themes: the idea of the state as a choreographic agent; the performance of extraordinary genders, or those identities and acts that lie outside everyday norms; and the original concept of the paratopiaa space of alterity produced by performance. Through an investigation of these themes, the author explores how Odissi has shown the potential to challenge dominant cultural imperatives in India.

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Book SynopsisOffers introductions to the two plays "God Resigns" and "Isis", which develop key themes of Nawal El Saadawi's work: that religions are inimical to women and the poor; that the oppression of women is reprehensible and not solely characteristic of the Middle East or the Third World; and that free speech is fundamental to any society.Trade Review'More than any other woman, El Saadawi has come to embody the trialsof Arab feminism.' San Francisco ChronicleTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction, by Adele S. Newson-Horst Introduction to Isis, by Rihab Kassatly BagnoleIsis, translated from the Arabic by Rihab Kassatly BagnoleIntroduction to God Resigns at the Summit Meeting, by Jane PlastowGod Resigns at the Summit Meeting, translated from the Arabic by Dr. Sherif Hetata Notes on Contributors

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Book SynopsisBalkan Plots: Plays From Central And Eastern EuropeIntroduced by Gina Landor This unique collection features four new plays about war, tyranny and discrimination by Eastern and Central European writers. Includes the plays: The Body of a Woman as a battlefield in the Bosnian war by Matei Visniec, Cordon by Nebojsa Romcevic, When I want to whistle, I whistle... by Andreea Valean and Soap Opera by György Spiró.The title of this volume alludes to the history of political double-dealing in a troubled region within southern Europe, surrounded by the Adriatic, Aegean and Black Seas. G.B. Shaw wrote Arms and The Man about a small Balkan plot in the 19th century. It''s in this tradition, rather than in a geographical sense that we use the title Balkan Plots. The plays in this volume are dramatic works which have emerged from, or which take as their subject matter, the struggle of individuals within societies affected by recent political upheaval.Trade Review“Incontestably one of the best, the most powerful plays of the Avignon Festival.” La Gazette ProvencaleTable of ContentsIntroduction by Gina Landor 7 The Body of a Woman as a battlefield in the Bosnian war by Matei Visniec translated by Alison Sinclair 14 Cordon by Nebojsa Romcevic translated by Sladjana Vujovic 66 When I want to whistle, I whistle… by Andreea Vălean translated by Cheryl Robson and Claudiu Trandafir 106 Soap Opera by György Spiró translated by Andrew Bock 132

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Book SynopsisUnusual Stories, Unusually Told celebrates some of the boldest contemporary American voices with seven plays from Clubbed Thumb''s Summerworks. Spanning 2001 to 2019 and accompanied by artist interviews and reflections on the work, this anthology presents a vital survey of formally inventive 21st century playwriting, and is a perfect collection for study and performance. U.S. Drag by Gina GionfriddoA serial killer named Ed stalks the city, luring his victims by asking for help. To protect themselves, a group of New Yorkers form SAFE, Stay Away From Ed. The first rule: don't help anyone. It's a matter of urban survival. Slavey by Sigrid GilmerIn which Robert and Nora, a couple on the rise, get a big promotion, a bigger house, and a brand new slave. Dot by Kate E. RyanIn which old Dot and the weird kid from the neighborhood become friends. Set in that kind of Florida town that makes you wonder: is this TV, a book, or maybe even a cabaret? Baby Screams Miracle by Clare BarTrade ReviewI've discovered so many of my favorite playwrights thanks to Clubbed Thumb, and I keep going back to their shows because I want to know who the most exciting new artists are. Theater in this country would be much less interesting without Clubbed Thumb. * Heidi Schreck, writer and star of What the Constitution Means to Me (which originated in Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks). *Clubbed Thumb is where the American theater is headed – it just doesn’t know it yet. * Amy Staats, playwright & actor *To your cherished list of warm-weather city pleasures, you should think about adding Summerworks. Now 23 years old, this staple of the East Village culturescape…allows you to say you knew certain rising playwrights before your friends did. * Ben Brantley, New York Times *A perfect summer show, a trick Clubbed Thumb seems to have mastered. The Summerworks home at the Wild Project in the East Village, with its garage-door entry open to the street, makes seeing the plays seem like a friendly invitation instead of a cultural duty. * Jesse Green, New York Times *As has become customary at Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks Festival, the cast, direction and design are top-notch, though it only costs a pittance to get in. In terms of dollars per laugh, the value here is extremely high. * Helen Shaw, Time Out NY *Table of ContentsForeword by Maria Striar, Producing Artistic Director & Co-Founder of Clubbed Thumb Each play includes the playwright's biography and additional material: Piano by Will Arbery (2018, 2019) Of Government by Agnes Borinsky (2017) Men on Boats by Jaclyn Backhaus (2015, 2016) Baby Screams Miracle by Clare Barron (2013) Dot by Kate E Ryan (2010) Slavey by Sigrid Gilmer (2008) U.S. Drag by Gina Gionfriddo (2001)

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Book SynopsisSatoko Ichihara was born in Osaka in 1988 and grew up in Fukuoka Prefecture. She studied theatre at J. F. Oberlin University. Since 2011, she has led the theatre unit Q. Ichihara is known for creating and directing dramas that deal with human actions and the di scomfort of the physiological needs of the body, as well as for her distinctive use of language and physicality. Ichihara was a Junior Fellow Artist of the Saison Foundation. She won the 11th AAF Drama Award for her play Mushi Insects in 2011, and the 64th Kunio Kishida Drama Award in 2020 for her play The Bacchae Holstein 3 Milk Cows.Shiro Maeda is a Playwright, Director, Novelist, Film director, Screenwriter and Actor. Maeda founded the theatre company GOTANNDADAN in 1997 while he was a university student. He won the 52nd Kishida Drama Award for Isn't Anyone Alive? (2007). As a novelist, he won the 22nd Mishima Yukio Prize for The Mermen of Summer Water (2009) and was nominated for the 137th AkuTable of ContentsIntroduction Japanese Theatre by Playwrights of Generation X and on The Bacchae—Holstein Milk Cows Introduction to the Playwright and the Play Playwright Biography Playtext One Night Introduction to the Playwright and the Play Playwright Biography Playtext Isn’t Anyone Alive? Introduction to the Playwright and the Play Playwright Biography Playtext The Sun Introduction to the Playwright and the Play Playwright Biography Playtext Carcass Introduction to the Playwright and the Play Playwright Biography Playtext

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Book SynopsisIn his fifth collection of Plays, the work ranges from a spirited, raging drama that investigates police corruption in Jamaica through to two thrilling monologue plays written either side of the Covid-19 pandemic, first presented at London''s National Theatre. The political and the personal are drawn together effectively throughout, offering a rich selection of work that showcase Williams''s unique talent.Roy Williams has been described as ''one of Britain''s most important playwrights'' (WhatsOnStage). His career to date has seen him win the Alfred Fagon Award, the George Devine Award, the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright, a BAFTA Award and nominations for the Olivier Award for Best Play. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2008 and was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018. Advice for the Young at Heart (2013) A robust and poignant piece of theatre. - A Younger TheatreKingston 14 (2014) Shou

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Book SynopsisWhat gets me through is knowing I took this pain, and saved all of you from suffering the same.'Stumbling down Clifton Street at 11:30 a.m. drunk, Effie is the kind of girl you''d avoid eye contact with, silently passing judgement. We think we know her, but we don''t know the half of it. Effie''s life spirals through a mess of drink, drugs and drama every night,and a hangover worse than death the next day - till one night gives her the chance to be something more.This powerful new adaptation of the enduring Greek myth drives home the high price people pay for society's shortcomings.Winner of Best New Play at the UK Theatre Awards 2015Trade ReviewA furious piece; a tirade against welfare cuts piling up on the poor... Because Owen's writing about the unexpected turns that take one's life, there's no guessing where his play's going. His plot swerves like a getaway car. Just when you think you're watching one kind of play, it becomes another... Crushing. * What's On Stage *Three key factors are responsible for making Iphigenia in Splott what I think is an extraordinary play. The first is Owen’s excellent script – razor-sharp, witty and full of emotion, it’s the work of a writer who has his pulse firmly on the mood of the world around him. * The Public Reviews *Tense and moving... it shakes you violently and then pummels your heart. * Telegraph *The most shattering, angry call for immediate revolt that you will see on stage this year... By any measure going, this is perfect theatre: intelligent, moving, and horribly, horribly relevant. Most of all, though, in those final moments, it feels like the start of a revolution. -- Andrew Haydon * The Guardian *Strength and power was one of the hallmarks of Gary Owen’s writing right from the start with his early play Crazy Gary’s Mobile Disco. Strength and power and great story telling are here again in his latest work...It’s no wonder that the demand for tickets to see the show has resulted in an extended run. * Theatre in Wales *

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Book SynopsisI have kind of become invisible. Nobody looks at me. Not like they used to. You reach an age. Like my age and people stop looking at you. They stop checking you out. In Greenwich Village a generation or so ago, the city is alive. Joni Mitchell sings, friends and lovers come and go, and the regulars change at the White Horse Tavern. As 50 years pass, one woman's life is revealed in all its complexity, mystery and possibility in this enthralling world premiere about mothers and daughters, beginnings and endings in New York City. Simon Stephens's new play, commissioned by MTC, premiered off-Broadway in November 2021 starring Blair Brown, Edie Falco and Marin Ireland.Trade ReviewA lot of playwrights are poets, but not many are craftsmen like Simon Stephens ... His new play, Morning Sun, is a master class in theatrical precision. * TheatrerMania *

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Book SynopsisI am getting nearer to something. The answer to the question. Who am I? A woman who leaves her husband very suddenly for an old lover and heads to a cottage in Kerry?I needed someone strong. Someone who would sweep me along. Keep me here. In this world. Not allow me to wander down below, and I wanted a child. I dearly wanted a child.Mairead and Mal are struggling to keep their marriage together. Perhaps attending a wedding will help, or it might raise questions that are difficult to answer.Poignant, funny, and beautiful, Heaven is a new play that is full of humanity. It is presented by the Olivier Award-winning Fishamble, and written by Eugene O'Brien (winner of the Rooney Prize for Literature).This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at the Dublin Theatre Festival, followed by an Irish tour, in Autumn 2022.

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Book SynopsisJocelyn Bioh is an award-winning Ghanaian-American writer/performer from New York City. Her written works for theatre include: Jaja's African Hair Braiding (Broadway, Manhattan Theatre Club, 2023,) Merry Wives (Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park, PBS Great Performances, 2022 Drama Desk Award Winner for Outstanding Adaptation,) Nollywood Dreams (MCC Theater,) book writer for the Broadway bound musical Goddess (Berkeley Rep, 2022) and the multi award winning School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play which was originally produced at MCC Theater in 2017/2018 and has gone on to have over 60 regional productions and premiered in the UK in 2023. Jocelyn has also written for TV on Russian Doll, Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It, (Netflix,) Tiny Beautiful Things (Hulu,) the upcoming new Star Wars series The Acolyte (Disney+) and she is also writing the live screen film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Once on This Island for Disney.

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Book SynopsisThere's an unruly quality to Jung's idea of what theater can be, jagged and untethered, coy and dreamlike. It's thrilling to see that potential unleashed on the vagaries of love. New York TimesA southpaw boxer is on the verge of their pro debut when their wife signs the adoption papers for a Korean boy: the boy's original adoptive father was all set to hand him over to a new home until he realizes the boy would have no ''dad''. Caught in the middle, the child launches himself in a lone wolf's journey of finding a pack he can call his own.Mischievous and affecting, Hansol Jung''s Wolf Play deftly explores the intricacies of the families we choose and un-choose, and how far we would all go to defend our pack.Nominated for seven Lucille Lortel Awards after its initial production was postponed by the Covid-19 outbreak, Wolf Play is published in Methuen Drama''s Modern Classics series, featuring a new introduction by Dustin Wills.

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Book SynopsisLucy Prebble is a writer for film, television, games and theatre. Lucy is Executive Producer and writer on the BAFTA, GOLDEN GLOBE and EMMY award-winning HBO drama SUCCESSION, for which she has also won a WGA and a PGA Award. She is the writer and co-creator of I HATE SUZIE and I HATE SUZIE TOO which was nominated for five BAFTAs including Best Drama, Best Writer and Best Actress and won her the Royal Television Society Award for Best Writer. It was a huge hit for Sky, topping many major publications' lists for best shows of 2020 in both the UK and the US where it is available on HBOMax. She is also the creator and writer of the TV series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL(ITV/Showtime), and made a pilot for HBO starring Sarah Silverman. For theatre, Lucy has written the political and emotional meta-thriller A VERY EXPENSIVE POISON which was a sell-out, five star hit for the Old Vic in 2019 and was Olivier nominated for Best New Play, It won the Critics Circle Award for Best New Play

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Book SynopsisThe editor, Elizabeth Cook, is the author of the fiction Achilles (Methuen), editor of Dekker and Middleton's The Roaring Girl for the New Mermaids and of the Oxford Authors' John Keats. She has lectured at the universities of Essex and Leeds and now works freelance.Trade Review'Ben Johnson's timeless satire.' Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out London, 02/09/10

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Book SynopsisHarry J. Elam is the Olive H. Palmer Professor in the Humanities, and the Freeman-Thornton Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Stanford University. He is author of Taking it to the Streets: The Social Protest Theater of Luis Valdez and Amiri Baraka; The Past as Present in the Drama of August Wilson, winner of the Errol Hill Award; and co-editor of African American Performance and Theater History: A Critical Reader; Colored Contradictions: An Anthology of Contemporary African American Drama; The Fire This Time: African American Plays for the New Millennium and Black Cultural Traffic: Crossroads in Performance and Popular Culture. His articles have appeared in American Drama, Modern Drama, Theatre Journal, Text and Performance Quarterly as well as journals in Israel, Belgium, Poland and Taiwan and also in several critical anthologies. Douglas A. Jones, Jr. is Cotsen Fellow in the Princeton Society of Fellows atTable of ContentsIntroduction Section I: The New Black Family Bulrusher Good Goods Section II: (Post-) Blackness by Non-Black Playwrights The Shipment Satellites Section III: The Distant Present: History, Mythology, and Sexuality . . . And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi Antebellum Section IV: Re-Imagining/Re-Engaging Africa In the Continuum Black Diamond

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Book SynopsisOne will do well to read these hymns, these poems, and find nourishment in them in Slavitt's translations.-Anglican Theological Review, reviewing Slavitt's translation of Hymns of PrudentiusTable of ContentsPrefaceAjaxWomen of TrachisElectraPhiloctetes

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Book SynopsisÊ5-Minute Plays for TeensÊ is the latest collection from veteran editor Lawrence Harbison a man who has...We know - we''re already losing your attention. And that''s okay! In keeping with the spirit of this book we''ll give it to you in five.ÞÞ1.On any given day the average teen spends nine hours engaging with digital media. A fair chunk of that time is spent watching viral videos which run on average for about five minutes.ÞÞ2. Needless to say an average play runs far longer (and costs much more). Accordingly teens don''t have the time (or money) for theater.ÞÞ3. Adolescence is an emotional roller coaster rife with laughs and melodrama reality and fantasy. Whatever a teen''s mood bite-sized bits of online entertainment keep him/her covered.ÞÞ4. At long last the world of theater has caught up with the digital realm. Five-minute plays and festivals abound äÿyou can now plow through a full-fledged performance before your kids loses interestÞÞ5. Seems your children/students/kid

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Book Synopsis “In the appallingly entertaining Dirty Story . . . Mr. Shanley has expanded his focus from the intimate to the international to create one of the liveliest, boldest and—against the odds—funniest studies ever of a subject that even hard-core satirists tend to approach on tiptoe.”—Ben Brantley, The New York Times Three new works by Pulitzer Prize–winning author John Patrick Shanley, one of our country’s most politically current and theatrically elastic playwrights. In Dirty Story a couple of sadomasochistic writers fight over rights to their New York City loft, in this sexy satire of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is “astonishing,” says Tony Kushner, “The analysis of the Middle East in this play is dead on, exactly perfectly pitched.” In his dark comedy Where’s My Money? Shanley takes on marriage, infidelity and divorce lawyers in a play that is “so harsh, it’s funny—terrifying, but funny,” (The New York Times). And in his Sailor’s Song, love becomes an act of courage, in this seaside romance about the certainty of death, the brevity of youth, and the importance of now. John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, and was chosen as best play of the year by over 10 newspapers and magazines. His other plays include Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Four Dogs and a Bone, Psychopathia Sexualis and Savage Limbo. He has written extensively for TV and film, including Moonstruck, for which he won an Academy Award for best screenplay.

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Book SynopsisJesus didn’t die so we could be reborn, lady, the stars did. The writer leads his followers towards the end of this world and the start of a new one. The book he’s written predicts it all – the equations, the black hole, all the words we’ll speak till then. On this last day, at this last hour, a defector finds her voice and returns.

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Book SynopsisDorian Gray – handsome, hedonistic, narcissistic – sells his soul for eternal beauty. Basil and Henry join him for the ride until it all goes too far, and the hangovers become murderous... Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was a succès de scandale on its publication in 1891, accused of violating the laws of public morality. It immediately captured the minds of its readers, the spirit of the age, and the soul of a man with nothing to declare but his genius. This thrilling stage adaptation by Phoebe Eclair-Powell and Owen Horsley follows one man's descent from glorious debauchery to epic self-destruction, intertwined with Wilde's own life story, his tragic persecution, and ultimate imprisonment in Reading Gaol.Trade Review'Eye-poppingly experimental... an explosion of glamorous and grotesque characters – some Victorian, some contemporary and some pure camp figments of the imagination... a dizzying adventure that always dares to dazzle... so very brave and original' * Guardian *'A radical adaptation of Oscar Wilde's gothic novel that reaffirms and celebrates the piece's significance as a touchstone of queer art' * The Stage *'Sizzles with homoerotic fervour... a deliciously camp rebuke of the attitudes which saw a man humiliated, brutalised and outcast for being gay' * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisLiam and Fletch grew up together. Born on the same street. Best mates since primary. Inseparable. The only difference was while Fletch was getting suspended from school, Liam was studying. And now he's going to Oxford. But with Liam gone, who's going to keep Fletch out of trouble? Sorry, You're Not a Winner explores aspiration, social mobility and getting caught between classes. It asks: if 'making it' means leaving everything you know and everyone you love behind – what's the point? This powerful and striking play by Samuel Bailey was first produced in 2022 by Paines Plough and Theatre Royal Plymouth, in association with the University of Plymouth's School of Society and Culture, before touring nationally.Trade Review'An intricate and moving study of social mobility... gripping and nuanced... Bailey continues his development as one of the most socially engaged writers working in theatre today' * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisPatricia has spent a year recovering from an abusive relationship. But when she bumps into her ex on the street, she accidentally agrees to go to dinner with him that night. Now she's got some big decisions to make. What to wear? What to say? And... whether or not to go? Martha Watson Allpress's Patricia Gets Ready (for a date with the man that used to hit her) is a play for one actor that was first seen at VAULT Festival 2020, directed by Kaleya Baxe and performed by Angelina Chudi, then at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2021, winning numerous awards and receiving rave reviews. It was revived on a UK tour in 2022, performed by Yasmin Dawes, including a run at Brixton House, London.Trade Review'The standout production of this EdFringe' * The Stage *'Brilliant... A script that refuses to simplify, to be neat and tidy, to apologise, to paint Patricia as just a victim. Rather, she is bold, funny (very funny) and sexually confident' * Guardian *'The script is fantastic – it's witty, it's aware, it's deep, and it deals with a hard subject matter in a real and often humorous way without trivialising it' * London Pub Theatre *'Powerful and emotionally satisfying... Martha Watson Allpress refuses to simplify a complex issue... an unflinching examination of a complex subject that challenges audiences to review their attitudes towards survivors of physical abuse' * British Theatre Guide *'Nothing short of superb... expertly crafted by Martha Watson Allpress... honest, complex and witty... a spectacular solo show' * Reviews Hub *

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Book Synopsis'No one. No dark knight in shinin armour. Not even someone I'd let fiddle with me on a regular basis. Went through all my twenties thinkin don't worry he'll come. Well, I'm almost forty now, and he still hasn't, has he?' David is in love with King. But King is a superhero. After an unexpected encounter, David plunges himself into a world of sex, drugs and hero worship in the hope of being rescued, until fantasy and reality merge with devastating consequences. Danny Lee Wynter's play BLACK SUPERHERO is a brutal, unflinching, funny portrait of one man's life spiralling out of control, in an age where our idols are Kings and our superheroes Gods. It was premiered at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, London, in March 2023, directed by Daniel Evans and with a cast including Dyllón Burnside and the playwright Danny Lee Wynter.Trade Review'Audacious and inventive... full of punchy dialogue and quippy one-liners... Wynter's voice is an exciting one, and BLACK SUPERHERO a unique exploration of blackness, queerness, and mental health' * Evening Standard *'Wickedly funny and provocatively entertaining... some genuinely outrageous one-liners that bring the house down' * Time Out *'Alive and edgy, with plenty of kapow... slowly reveals its emotional powers... a seductive debut' * Guardian *'An incredibly witty play packed full of popular culture references and some crowd-pleasing theatrical sideswipes' * Reviews Hub *'Superb... wildly funny but also dark and deeply thought provoking... playfully and innovatively explores themes that other playwrights shy away from... a funny, sexy, and vital piece of theatre. A powerful debut from a very talented writer' * Theatre Weekly *'A witty debut... a talent to watch' * Telegraph *'Gripping and very funny... a first play that comes from the heart' * British Theatre Guide *'A funny and unflinching exploration of Black masculinity... radical and exciting... Danny Lee Wynter's ambitious play is witty and biting, with intense stand-out moments that force its audience to pay attention' * Independent *'A sexy show… Danny Lee Wynter proves himself a natural-born playwright' * Metro *'Sharp, witty and unflinching... A funny, sexy, and ultimately poignant portrait of fragility in love' * West End Best Friend *'Sexy, brimming with talent... It bristles with ideas and emotion' * Observer *

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Book SynopsisIn Lucy Kirkwood's version of Hedda Gabler, Ibsen's nineteenth-century heroine is relocated to London in 2008, to startling effect. Hedda, still mourning for the father she adored, returns from honeymoon with a husband she doesn't love, to a flat and a pregnancy she doesn't want. Trapped by her past and terrified of her future, bored by her life but too cowardly to walk away from it, she finds herself caught between three men. And in the end, something has to give. Lucy Kirkwood's play Hedda was first performed at the Gate Theatre, London, in August 2008.Trade Review'A Hedda for our times' * Guardian *'Ibsen's 19th-century masterpiece relocated thrillingly to London 2008... Kirkwood makes us believe absolutely in this modern-day world of mountainous mortgages and bitchy academia' * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisA fast-moving, exhilarating play about teenage hopes, dreams and frustrations in a rural part of England. Wheeler is a high-flying comprehensive kid destined for university, while football-mad Fitz is struggling to cope with his dysfunctional father and his schoolwork. They live in Walberswick, a sleepy Suffolk village known for hosting the British Open Crabbing Championship. Set on a sweltering summer's day on the eve of their last GCSE exam, they are ambushed by Dani, the fittest (and poshest) girl on the beach. So begins a crazy twenty-four hours that will change the lives of the three sixteen-year-olds for ever. Joel Horwood's play I Caught Crabs in Walberswick was first performed at the 2008 HighTide Festival in Suffolk in a co-production with Eastern Angles. The production transferred to the Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, as part of the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and then toured the UK before a sell-out run at The Bush Theatre, London, in November 2008.Trade Review'Sharp as a pin… impressive in its ability to get inside the heads of the teenagers' * Independent *'Catches that coming-of-age moment perfectly' * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisNicholas Wright's play about the controversial psychoanalyst Melanie Klein is a haunting and poignant study of mother-daughter relationships. In 1934 the son of Melanie Klein, Britain's most admired psychoanalyst, was reported killed in a climbing accident. There were no witnesses. Nicholas Wright's play shows the effect of this shattering and unexpected death on Mrs Klein, on her daughter and on her new assistant Paula, a young refugee from Hitler's Berlin. Melanie Klein had herself come to Britain from Berlin with a controversial mission to extend psychoanalysis to infants. But her analysis of her own children has damaged her relationship with them almost beyond repair, and the news of her son's death provokes a bitter confrontation with her daughter. Nicholas Wright's Mrs Klein was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in 1988. This edition was published alongside the revival at the Almeida Theatre in 2009.Trade Review'How rare and refreshing it is to encounter a play which is so literate, intelligent, amusing and, finally, moving' * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisEight compelling monologues offering a state-of-the-nation group portrait for the stage. From Millie, the jolly-hockey-sticks prostitute who mourns the loss of the good old British class system, to Miles, a 7/7 survivor, and Danny, an ex-squaddie who makes friends in morgues, Eight looks at what has happened to a generation that has grown up in a world where everything has become acceptable. Ella Hickson's play Eight was first staged at Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh, during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in August 2008. It was awarded a Fringe First Award and the Carol Tambor 'Best of Edinburgh' Award. The production transferred to Performance Space 122, New York, as part of the COIL Festival, in January 2009, and then to Trafalgar Studios, London, in July 2009. In its original performances, each audience voted for four of the eight monologues that they wished to see, resulting in a different line-up at every performance. A ninth unperformed monologue is included in this edition. The monologues are ideal for performance by student and amateur groups; any number and any combination can be performed. They also provide excellent opportunities for actors looking for audition material.Trade Review'Hickson's writing remains astonishing, with a huge, angry energy and poetry' * The Scotsman *'Ella Hickson has already found her voice and it's a powerful one - a potent show indeed' * New York Times *'One of the most self-assured, startlingly well-written and moving pieces of theatre around' * Herald *

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Book SynopsisA beautifully simple adaptation of one of Dickens's best-loved novels, bringing it thrillingly to life for the stage. When the orphan Pip meets the convict Magwitch in a graveyard and is forced to help him escape, his life takes a series of unexpected turns. Invited to the house of the mysterious Miss Havisham, he falls in love with her adopted daughter, the beautiful but cold-hearted Estella. Then the generosity of an unknown benefactor sends him to London to become a gentleman. But the truth behind his change of fortune, once revealed, is not what Pip expects... Jo Clifford's adaptation of Great Expectations was first performed at Richmond Theatre, London, in 2012, before transferring to the West End. Eminently actable and stageable, this version is also ideal for schools and amateur theatre companies. This edition contains introductions by Simon Callow, Lucinda Dickens Hawksley (great-great-great granddaughter of Charles Dickens) and Clifford herself.Trade Review'What is so admirable... is that it decisively shrugs off the many screen adaptations to make something that is pure theatre' * The Times *'A striking piece of theatre... potently evocative' * Telegraph *'Breathtaking... one feels transported back to the Victorian era' * The Stage *'Arresting... the adaptation is a model of its kind' * Whatsonstage.com *'An incredibly cohesive and careful adaptation' * Exeunt Magazine *'Clifford's script is a miracle of intelligent compression that wraps itself elegantly round every essential element in the story' * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA dark and compelling vision of a world infected by violence. A seemingly normal detention in a seemingly normal modern-day comprehensive school. A teacher valiantly battles on with biology revision. She believes only education will set her pupils free. For outside the classroom, the world is in the middle of a long and bloody war. Despite her best efforts, the tide of conflict is soon lapping at the school gates and, one by one, pupils and teacher are pulled under as their hopes and dreams float away from them. 'Sam Holcroft is uncompromising in her ideas and deeply ambitious for the power of theatre. It's a long time since a young writer has thrilled me this much' Vicky Featherstone, director of the National Theatre of Scotland's production of CockroachTrade Review'Hauntingly powerful... a playwright brave enough to do battle with the big ideas' * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisPassionate, highly entertaining and gloriously funny - Robert Tressell's classic pre-First World War account of the working lives of a group of housepainters and decorators is vividly adapted by Howard Brenton. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists recounts the little daily successes and the disasters of a group of working-class men, living under the constant fear of being laid off by employers forever looking for new corners to cut. Both workers and bosses are caught in a system spiralling out of control, but why is it the workers always come out worse? Howard Brenton's stage adaptation, first performed at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool in June 2010 in a co-production with Chichester Festival Theatre, lays bare the many social injustices perpetrated on these men whilst capturing their individual characters with touching truth to life.Trade Review'Speaks with passion and eloquence' * Guardian *'Sparkles with so much wit and integrity it is impossible not to warm to the ethos that lies at its very core' * Stage *'Wisely, Howard Brenton has shown confidence in Tressell's original story and has concentrated on creating a piece of theatre without compromising the impact of the original text...Brenton has produced the definitive stage version' * Amateur Stage *

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Book SynopsisWritten in a blaze of rhyming couplets, La Bête is an exuberant, wildly distinctive comedy that encompasses timeless concerns about life and art. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Elomire, high-minded head of the Royal theatre troupe, is incensed. His patron, the Princess, has decreed that the Court ensemble admit a new actor – the scandalously boorish street entertainer, Valere. With Elomire's pride and the troupe's livelihood on the line, the company is duty-bound not only to accept the outrageous troubadour, but to perform one of his ludicrous plays, an event that has dramatic consequences for them all. David Hirson's La Bête opened on Broadway in February 1991 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, and had its UK premiere at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in 1992. A new production, directed by Matthew Warchus and starring Mark Rylance, opened at the Comedy Theatre in the West End in June 2010, and subsequently transferred to Broadway.Trade Review'A gutsy, genuinely original writer who revels in extremes of intellectual virtuosity and pop culture savvy' * Newsday *'A tour-de-force that dazzles the audience' * Time Out *'Wow!... Grown-up panto, clever and deep... you'll never see anything quite like it again' * The Times *'This is a play that is all about language. It is clever without being highbrow. It treats the audience with intelligence but it is still accessible... Challenging, certainly but anyone brave enough to take this on would surely find the experience most rewarding' * Amateur Stage *

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Book SynopsisA collection of wide-ranging and ambitious short plays reflecting the complexities of women and political power in the United Kingdom. The five plays in this volume look at the impact and influence that women have today. In Acting Leader by Joy Wilkinson, Margaret Beckett finds herself Acting Leader of the Opposition after the sudden death of John Smith. The Panel by Zinnie Harris is about the power politics underlying the selection of any candidate. Playing the Game by Bola Agbaje is about the election of a new President of a Students' Association. In Pink by Sam Holcroft, a millionaire businesswoman is confronted by an unexpected visitor. You, Me and Wii by Sue Townsend is set in a council house in a small Leicestershire town at election time. The plays were first performed at the Tricycle Theatre, London, as part of the Women, Power and Politics season in June 2010. The other plays presented in the season are available in the companion volume, Women, Power and Politics: Then.Trade Review'A terrific achievement and crucial, frightening viewing, for both sexes' * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisA funny and foreboding play about what happens when gaming and military technology collide. Seventeen-year-old student Adrian has a serious habit - playing military shooters on his computer games console. Single mum Maggie wants him to study Classics at uni and stop locking himself in his room pwning* n00bs**. With the help of computer geek Tom, Maggie deciphers gaming lingo in an attempt to reconnect with Adrian. But when a revolutionary new technology Tom has invented gets picked up by the Ministry of Defence, their lives are rocketed from the virtual to the actual battlefield. Paul Jenkins' play First Person Shooter was first staged at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 2010. *Pwn – (verb) to kill, to annihilate, or to totally dominate your opponent **n00b – (noun) a novice or somebody unskilled at a particular gameTrade Review'A substantial, ambitious play of ideas...a play for today that’s also a rare theatrical treat for game-heads. Bullseye!' * Telegraph *'The play has emotional heart and entertainment value. First Person Shooter is smart and driven – if this is grim reality, let's have more.' * Birmingham Post *

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Book SynopsisAn irreverent and unsettling play that interrogates paranoia, ambiguity and innocence in our highly sexualised world. Gethin has just finished his film course and reckons he's the next Scorsese. His mum is on at him to do her friend's wedding video - before the couple get divorced! But Gethin is interested in a much more daring project - one that will get him into dangerously deep water, question his idealism and turn his life and that of his family upside down. Stacey Gregg's play Perve was first staged at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in 2011.Trade Review'Gutsy, polished... Gregg's concept is stunningly good, and uncannily timely... this is a gripping paranoia drama' * Irish Independent *'In her first full-length play, Stacey Gregg tackles very current concerns about the sexualisation of children and loss of innocence' * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisHelen Edmundson's celebrated and 'exemplary' (The Times) adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's enduring classic is a vibrant and deeply moving meditation on the nature of love. Anna is beautiful and admired but empty – until a chance meeting throws her into emotional turmoil and a scandalous affair. Contrasting with this tale of destructive love is the story of Levin, an idealistic man striving to find meaning in life – and a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself. Helen Edmundson's stage adaptation of Anna Karenina was first performed by Shared Experience at the Theatre Royal, Winchester, in January 1992 at the start of a nationwide tour. The production went on to win the Time Out Award for Outstanding Theatrical Event of 1992. This edition of the play was published alongside a revival at the Arcola Theatre, London, in 2011.Trade Review'Theatre this engrossing is rare' * Time Out *'The aim is not to report the novel but to recreate it as a piece of theatre... a dramatisation which is symbolically accurate as well as theatrically compelling' * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA blackly comic vision of Dublin infested with demons. 'We go, see the slo-mo ebb and flow; the mill, the babble, the rabble of wobbling waywards, exiled and aimless, unlike us as, purposeful and double-file, like kids on a dare, we head who the fuck knows where?' Three people are ripped from their daily lives and catapulted into a fantastical world of singing serial killers, avenging angels and lovesick demons. Hold tight as the ordinary turns extraordinary in Mark O'Rowe's urban fantasy. Terminus was first performed at the Abbey Theatre Peacock, Dublin, in June 2007. The production transferred to the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in August 2008 as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it was awarded a Fringe First.Trade Review'Hilarious, stunning, surprisingly touching and enormously satisfying... a fantastic piece of writing' * Irish Times *'Dazzling... O'Rowe is expanding his language and dramatic form as far as they can go' * Guardian *'Gripping, grotesque and deliriously good... [Terminus] makes O'Rowe pretty much the most exciting contemporary Irish playwright' * Sunday Tribune *

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Book SynopsisA dark and penetrating thriller of modern morals. Captured in an award-winning shot, Alex was rescued from Rwanda and adopted by the man behind the lens. Years later, she's back from university, returning to the Hampstead home in which she was raised. As a long-hidden secret is exposed, the distance between father and daughter stretches taut. Vivienne Franzmann's play The Witness was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, in June 2012.Trade Review'If there is a finer new play than The Witness this year, I'll be astonished' * Evening Standard *'Powerful, original and deeply moving' * The Telegraph *'A marvellous piece of writing, delivered with quiet intensity and not an atom overdone' * Financial Times *'A play whose depth, compassion and courage eclipses by far the success of her Bruntwood-winning Mogadishu... triumphant' * The Times *'Clever, gripping... noble, inventive' * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisBleak, funny and excruciatingly accurate, Sex with a Stranger examines what it is to be in your twenties, lonely, hollow and uncertain. Adam meets Grace in a club. They go back to hers. Earlier that day, his girlfriend watches as he prepares for his big night out. Stefan Golaszewski's play Sex with a Stranger was first performed at Trafalgar Studios, London, in February 2012.Trade Review'A dazzling achievement' * Independent *'Wonderfully frank, true and tender.... extraordinarily touching' * Telegraph *'Skilfully constructed, painful-to-watch but very funny... a talent on the move' * Whatsonstage.com *

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Book SynopsisA fascinating, witty and characteristically exuberant dramatic exploration of the Shakespeare authorship debate. Is it possible that the son of an illiterate tradesman, from a small market town in Warwickshire, could have written the greatest dramatic works the world has ever seen? It’s a question that has puzzled scholars, theatre practitioners and theatregoers for many years. The philosopher, Francis Bacon; the Earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere; and Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke: all of them have been put forward as the real author of the plays. But why would they hide behind an anonymous actor? Who was the real Bard of Stratford? Why should we care? Mark Rylance is one of a number of leading actors who seriously question the idea that William Shakespeare was the man behind the thirty-seven plays that have moved, inspired and amazed generations. First performed at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, in 2007, and subsequently on tour, Rylance’s provocative play introduces us to four candidates and their respective claims – whilst asking fundamental questions about what makes a genius, and why it all matters anyway.Trade Review'Witty, gloriously funny and wonderfully well-written… the best thing I have seen for years' * The Stage *

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Book SynopsisThis collection features Chekhov’s best-known short plays in brand new translations: three farces, two comic duologues and a monologue, all of them referred to by Chekhov as ‘vaudevilles’ and all written in the late 1880s before any of his great full-length plays. ‘I don’t much care for theatre,’ he wrote at the time, ‘but I do enjoy vaudevilles.’ The Bear, The Proposal and The Wedding are all farces on the preposterous business of courtship and marriage. A Tragic Figure and Swansong are comic duologues: one about a civil servant sweltering in Moscow coping with the incessant demands of his family from their summer dacha, the other about a melancholy old actor perked up by memories of past glories. On the Evils of Tobacco is a bittersweet monologue in which a scientific lecture is hijacked by thoughts of domestic misery. These accurate and actable translations by Chekhov expert Stephen Mulrine reveal a dramatist revelling in the broad comedy of human behaviour, a comedy which was refined in his later masterpieces. Highly entertaining, these comic shorts offer a fascinating insight into Chekhov’s development as a dramatist, and will provide actors at any level – student, amateur or professional – with an ideal showcase. This edition also includes an introduction, a chronology of key dates, and a pronunciation guide.

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Book SynopsisA painfully comic excavation of a family history that asks if there is an authorised version of the past - or just the one we can live with. Kate Bane returns home to her parents for a winter weekend to introduce her new boyfriend. As the snow falls, Kate finds herself searching with increasing desperation for the truth about her family's past. Are her memories fact, or are they continually shifting acts of imagination? Unable to pin down the truth, can she write a version of the family mythology that will ensure her own happiness? Ella Hickson's play The Authorised Kate Bane first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in October 2012 in a production by Grid Iron Theatre Company. It then transferred to the Tron Theatre, Glasgow.Trade Review'Couples the uncertainty of Six Characters in Search of an Author with the soul-bearing family relevations of a minor Tennessee Williams play' * The Guardian *'Fascinating... an Escher-like playfulness in its examination of the nature of creation' * The Stage *'An amusing piece, well-crafted' * The List *

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Book SynopsisBy turns dark and shimmering, Moth is a fast, funny and heartbreaking story about two young people with nowhere to go. Sebastian is "that kid" at high school. He's weird. He smells. He's obsessed with comics, and talks to himself. But after a catastrophic fallout with his only friend, Claryssa, he wakes up with a moth in a jar by his bed, and a calling to save the souls of all humanity. And so begins the Passion of Sebastian: a journey into a terrifying and starless night. Declan Greene's play Moth was first produced by Arena Theatre and Malthouse Theatre at the CUB Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, in May 2010. It was premiered in the UK at HighTide Festival and the Bush Theatre, London, in 2013.Trade Review'Gripping... it rivets the attention' * Telegraph *'Bursts with a startling visceral energy' * Time Out *'Both witty and emotionally accurate... an intense theatrical experience' * Whatsonstage.com *'Compelling, ambitious... an inventive, energetic piece of writing' * Londonist *'Fantastic... a play to lose yourself in' * British Theatre Guide *

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Book SynopsisA raw, uncompromising drama about bigotry and racism that explores the insidious rise of the British National Party. As a BNP rally gathers momentum on the streets outside, four women meet to play bridge. Struggling to find common ground, they talk about the men they married, their gifted and delinquent children and what their own heritage means. But beliefs and loyalties are tested to the limit when Stephie's fourteen year old son, Jack, is implicated in a brutal racist attack that leaves an eleven year old Pakistani boy close to death. Louise Monaghan's play Pack won the 2012 Papatango New Writing Competition and was first staged at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2012.Trade Review'A really gripping piece of fraught, emotional drama' * Exeunt Magazine *'Knocks spots off much of the new writing I have seen this year' * The Guardian *'Sharp characterisation... fantastic' * Whatsonstage.com *

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Book SynopsisAn arresting and angry look at conflict and its effect on soldiers returning home – to a world they no longer know how to cope with, and a society that doesn't know how to cope with them. Carl doesn't fit in at home. He doesn't fit in anywhere. When he signs up for the Army, he sees it as a way out of his life in Blackpool. But the Army takes him to Afghanistan. And when he comes home, it's not as a war hero but as a changed man. Gareth Farr's play Britannia Waves the Rules won a Judges' Award in the 2011 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting. It premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in May 2014.Trade Review'A thrilling onslaught of explosive eloquence... oozes testosterone... often insolently, defiantly funny... its language, sliding in and out of verse, blends hip-hop rhymes with lyrical poeticism' * The Times *'Gritty, well researched... a real tour de force' * WhatsOnStage *'Fast, furious and action-packed... filled with rage' * Manchester Evening News *

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Book SynopsisA play about what happens when you push things underground, set in New York 1969 in the sweltering few days before the eruption of the Stonewall riots. Kicked out of the military after a year in Vietnam, Ruby rocks up in Greenwich Village in high heels and a rage, and meets the street kid who will change his world. Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper's vibrant drama unfolds in a mafia-run bar greased with smart-talking queers, bribe-happy cops and nervous Wall Street high-flyers. A Hard Rain premiered at Above the Stag Theatre, London, in 2014.Trade Review'Packed with sharp gags and vibrant characters' * Time Out *'Moving, colourful drama' * The Stage *'Amidst the drama, there is plenty of humour' * Attitude *

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