Plays, playscripts, drama

Book SynopsisI Have Before Me a Remarkable Document... was inspired by the real life experiences of Rwandan refugees in the UK. The play tells the story of two people from entirely different worlds who meet at a Refugee Centre in London: Juliette is a young Rwandan asylum seeker, determined to write a book on the genocide that killed her family; Simon is a middle-aged failing novelist, whose job is to help people write. The play follows their funny and touching relationship and tackles issues that face many refugees who live in the UK today.I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document... was a Time Out Critics'' Choice and was broadcast by BBC World Service as well as touring nationally and internationally. Following a London run and National UK tour, the play received its American premiere at Kansas City Rep in March 2005 and has subsequently gone on to receive more than 30 productions across the US.Trade Review“Outstanding…a powerful and beautiful piece of theatre.” The Stage “Sonja Linden's...play is a remarkable achievement.” Time Out “Buy, beg or steal a ticket...” The Times

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Book SynopsisIn 1916: India is simmering with discontent against the Raj. Enter English proto-feminist Annie Besant, notorious at home for the match-girls' strike, political, charismatic. In India she finds a new family and a new cause. This book explores the story of Annie Besant's relationship with India.Trade Review'...ripe with tension... tells the story of how family squabbles can become highly political when religion is involved... it stays with you.' Time OutTable of ContentsAuthor biography Playtext Notes on play and production by author, director, producer Vayu Naidu theatre company information Chronology of life of Annie Besant

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Book SynopsisIn his seventh autobiographical collection of domestic/fantastic theatre-verse, Gerry navigates an ocean of poems and little splashes. From Scottie Road to saunas, Hammer films to heartfelt and articulate politics, and the lost and found of loves and lives, this is where mythos becomes proven fact. Adult poetry & plays, LGBTQ+.

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Book SynopsisAnne & Emmett is an imaginary conversation between Anne Frank and Emmett Till, both victims of racial intolerance and hatred. Frank is the thirteen-year-old Jewish girl whose diary provided a gripping perspective of the Holocaust. Till is the fourteen-year-old African-American boy whose brutal murder in Mississippi sparked the modern American civil rights movement. The one-act play opens with the two teenagers meeting in memory, a place that isolates them from the cruelty they experienced during their lives. The beyond-the-grave encounter draws the startling similarities between the two youths' harrowing experiences at the hands of societies that couldn''t protect them. In memory, Anne recounts hiding in a cramped attic with her family after German dictator Adolf Hitler ordered the Nazi military to round up Jewish people throughout Europe, and put them in concentration camps

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Book SynopsisAnne & Emmett is an imaginary conversation between Anne Frank and Emmett Till, both victims of racial intolerance and hatred. Frank is the thirteen-year-old Jewish girl whose diary provided a gripping perspective of the Holocaust. Till is the fourteen-year-old African-American boy whose brutal murder in Mississippi sparked the modern American civil rights movement. The one-act play opens with the two teenagers meeting in memory, a place that isolates them from the cruelty they experienced during their lives. The beyond-the-grave encounter draws the startling similarities between the two youths'' harrowing experiences at the hands of societies that couldn''t protect them. In memory, Anne recounts hiding in a cramped attic with her family after German dictator Adolf Hitler ordered the Nazi military to round up Jewish people throughout Europe, and put them in concentration camps

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Book SynopsisThe theater of the 21st century in many ways is expanding to require new muscles of its actors and so should their scene choices. Today amid flourishing new play resources it can be difficult to nail down contemporary scenes for two people. These scenes all culled from plays written between 2000 and 2016 are useful to actors between the ages of 15 and 30. They range from about two to seven minutes'' running time ä appropriate for different classroom explorations ä and are grouped by scenes for two males two females and one male and one female.ÞÊContemporary Scenes for TwentysomethingsÊ offers the opportunity for emerging actors to explore work by playwrights both emerging and established that is truly contemporary. Jessica Bashline adjunct professor of acting at New York University has assembled a comprehensive collection featuring work written by Samuel D. Hunter Liz Duffy Adams Timothy Mason Nina Raine and many more. Every playwright in this book is currently writin

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Book SynopsisSo well-liked was the first collection of these contemporary monologues that we offer this sequel by popular demand. The monologues are wildly funny, tragically sad and yet courageous. The ultimate journey for this collection is to create the possibility of living lovingly as equals in our modern world. The monologues are organised in chapter themes with brief sketches to set the scene. The collection features well-known playwrights - Arthur Miller, Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson - and many superb, emerging new writers. There are several original monologues written especially for classroom discussion and exploration. Sample titles include: "The Last Yankee" by Arthur Miller, "Boy Meets Girl" by Wendy Wasserstein, "The Underpants" adapted by Steve Martin, "Romantic Fools2 by Rich Orloff, "Voices from September 11" by Lavonne Mueller, "Funnylogues for Women" by Mort Kaufman, Roger Karshner and Zelda Abel, "W.A.C. Iraq" by Mel Nieves and many more.

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Book SynopsisA sequel collection of winning monologues in the style and format of "100 Great Monologs" by the sane author. Rebecca Young knows how teenagers think and act -- and what they like to talk about. These monologues and duologues may be used for auditions, class assignments or contest competitions. With such a wide variety of topics, there is a monologue to fit any student''s personality. All of the monologues are non-theatrical in style -- they speak as teenagers live. Easy to stage.

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Book SynopsisThese scenes for two female actors are divided into two sections: comedy and drama. The comedy scenes will have audiences laughing at the outrageous yet believable scenarios. Comedy scenes include: On-line Love, Dirty Laundry, Marriage Phobia, New Best Friend Forever and more. The dramatic scenes will have the audience and actors thinking about the relevant topics. Dramatic scenes include: The Wishing Well, Night Storm, Broken Promises, The Red Dress and more. All scenes are entertaining and enjoyable. Actors will be challenged by each scene in this collection. Sets and costumes can be elaborate or simple. The length of every scene is perfect for the female dramatic duo competitions sponsored nationally. They may also be used for auditions, acting practice, or an evening of entertainment. Laurie Allen''s plays for teens have had great success in productions across the United States. Many of her competition pieces have advanced to national Speech and Forensics competitions.

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Book SynopsisIntense. Poignant. Moving. Powerful. The twenty short plays in this collection cover a broad spectrum of dramatic situations, including revenge, abuse, loneliness, homelessness, eating disorders, death, and relationships. With moods ranging from sentimental to hard-hitting and from heart-warming to heart-wrenching, the wide variety of topics provides ample opportunities for actors to explore stunning character arcs. These short plays, varying in length from 8 to 15 minutes, are all set in the present day and have cast sizes ranging from two to seven. Designed for optimal ease of use, each play comes complete with a synopsis, cast of characters, setting, and prop list, while the table of contents indicates the cast size and topic. Intended for actors high school age and older, most characters are in their teens or twenties and use language realistic for the situations with some mild profanity. Laurie Allen packs an incredible punch into each and every one of these scenes, making these short plays ideal for contests, a dramatic showcase, or as a conversation starter on a specific topic.

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Book SynopsisWhile film genres go in and out of style, the romantic comedy endures—from year to year and generation to generation. Endlessly adaptable, the romantic comedy form has thrived since the invention of film as a medium of entertainment, touching on universal predicaments: meeting for the first time, the battle of the sexes, and the bumpy course of true love. These films celebrate lovers who play and improvise together, no matter how nutty or at what great odds they may appear. As Eugene Pallette mutters in My Man Godfrey (1936), "All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people." Daniel Kimmel's book about romantic comedy is like watching a truly funny movie with a knowledgeable friend.Trade ReviewYou may think you know everything about the great romantic comedies of Hollywood, but unless you've read this book you're wrong. Dan Kimmel puts it all in one place with scholarly diligence, an ear for gossip and great dialogue, and a sheer love of the movies. A treat for neophytes and hardcore cineastes alike, not to mention a handy guide for in-home night viewing. -- Ty Burr, author of The Best Old Movies for Families * The Boston Globe *Tony Curtis said romantic moments with Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot were like 'kissing Hitler' and Hector Elizondo was paid out of Garry Marshall's pocket for Pretty Woman because Disney balked at paying him top dollar for a small role. One of the surprises of this entertaining behind-the-scenes look at romantic comedies is how miserable everyone was. Comedy is hard, love is worse. * New York Post *This collection of self-contained essays about films, ranging from Adam's Rib to Annie Hall is full of behind-the-scenes details on the making of the movies. It's almost like being there. * Chicago Tribune *

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Book SynopsisRavishment of Reason examines the heroic dramas written for the restored English theatres in the later seventeenth century, reading them as complex and sophisticated responses to a crisis of public life in the wake of the mid-century regicide and revolution. The unique form of the Restoration heroic play, with its scenes of imperial conquest peopled by hesitating and indecisive heroes, interrogates traditional oppositions of agency and passivity, autonomy and servility, that structure conventional narratives of political service and public virtue, exploring, in the process, new and often unsettling models of order and governance. Situating the dramas of Dryden, Behn, Boyle, Lee, and Crowne in their historical and intellectual context of civil war and the destabilizing theories of government that came in its wake, Brandon Chua offers an account of a culture’s attempts to reconcile civic purpose with political stability after an age of revolutionary change.Trade Review[An] intelligent reconsideration of the Restoration heroic play. * SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction One: “Heroicall Pictures”: Government and the Restoration Heroic Play Two: “New Rights we Grant not, but the Old Declare”: History, Friendship, and Consent in Roger Boyle’s Henry V (1664) Three: “Tis All but Ceremony Which Is Past”: Conversion and Heroic Passions in John Dryden’s The Conquest of Granada, Parts One and Two (1670-1672) Four: Shakespeare's History Lesson: John Crowne's Misery of Civil War (1680) Five: “Cajoling the People with his Known Industry”: The Passions and Spectacular Politics in Nathaniel Lee’s Lucius Junius Brutus Six: The Politics of Cowardice: Fear, Interest, and Security in Aphra Behn’s The Widdow Ranter (1689) Seven: “Half Loath and Half Consenting”: Interpretive Relativism and Incest in John Dryden's Don Sebastian (1690) Conclusion Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisCollecting Daniel Alexander Jones's plays and performance texts Bel Canto, Black Light, Blood:Shock:Boogie, clayangels, Duat, Phoenix Fabrik, and The Book of Daniel, this volume offers a panoramic view of Jones's shifting, glimmering, transformational body of work. Each play a provocation to the possibility of a more just world with love as civic practice at its center, Jones's writing moves with lithe and associative grace through histories personal, political, cosmological, and sublime. A reunion not only of Jones's revolutionary work in the course of twenty-five years in the avant-gardes of New York, Austin, and Minneapolis, among others, Love Like Light is also a reunion of collaborators and friends, featuring essays by Vicky Boone, Jacques Colimon, Eisa Davis, Omi Osun Joni L. Jones, korde arrington tuttle, Aaron Landsman, Deborah Paredez, and Shay Youngblood and an interview with Faye Price. Awarded the 2021 PEN/Laura Pels Theater Award for his expansive, multidisciplinary, radical body of work, Jones has, in the words of judges Jeremy O. Harris, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Leigh Silverman, “continued perfecting a dramaturgy all his own based in the traditions of Africana studies, performance studies, queer theory, and mysticism, challenging established traditions while creating space for audiences to ponder what theater is and who it is for.” A companion volume, Particle and Wave, features a book-length conversation between Daniel Alexander Jones and poet, scholar, and activist Alexis Pauline Gumbs about Love Like Light and the way that love, like light, suffuses everything and is the condition and power of change in the world.

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Book SynopsisThree distinctive adaptations from a master of total theatre, Steven Berkoff fuses all the elements of drama together in a whole theatrical experience. Combining movement and mime with text to achieve a heightened dramatic intensity, Berkoff takes Kafka's stories and transforms them into a powerful dramatic expression of the inhumanity which plagued the twentieth century and continues unchecked today.Trade Review"Berkoff has a master's ear for vocabulary and rhythm. Everything is heightened - physically, emotionally, intellectually... There's so much to work with and draw from." - Theatre Weekly; "Throughout the play, you find yourself relating to both Gregor, as the one being isolated, but also to his family members who are the cause of that. That makes the show eerily relatable, and it's this quality that allows you to ponder the topic on a deeper level." - everything-theatre.co.uk; "The totality of alienation was stressed through the theatre of shadows. [The family's] greed and stupidity were the forces that concealed, distorted and destroyed what was essential in human nature." - Theatre JournalTable of ContentsSteven Berkoff Author biography Bibliography of Steven Berkoff Foreword by Cheryl Robson preface to The Trial by Steven Berkoff The Trial by Franz Kafka adapted for the stage by Steven Berkoff preface to Metamorphosis by Steven Berkoff Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka adapted for the stage by Steven Berkoff preface to In the Penal Colony by Steven Berkoff In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka adapted for the stage by Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff Awards

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Book SynopsisAlice is becoming more and more forgetful. Her daughter Mandy is always on hand to help out, but is starting to feel the strain. One day a long-forgotten photograph stirs a memory and lures Alice back to the Crown Hotel in Blackpool, where she hopes for the chance to dance in the tower ballroom one last time. But when mother and daughter reach Blackpool, nothing is quite how Alice remembers, and she finds herself getting lost in the past. One Last Waltz is a beautifully written portrayal of a family coming to terms with complications caused by Alzheimer's disease. By turns sparkling with wit and heart-wrenching in its honesty, it's filled with vital and compassionate insight into the sufferings accompanying a disease that has blighted the landscape for so many.

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Book SynopsisWhen Maggie Byrne attends the retirement dinner of her old music teacher at the convent school she attended, she discovers she has more in common with the founding nun, Cornelia Connelly, than she previously realised. As events in Maggie’s world progress and relationships break down, Cornelia’s remarkable life waltzes and weaves through Maggie’s, bringing them together through their shared love for music. Inspired by true stories of the nineteenth-century educational pioneer and reverend mother Cornelia Connelly and an ex-student of one of the schools she founded, Waltz With Me paints a moving picture of the challenges of marriage and motherhood, the calling of vocation, the nature of personal sacrifice for a greater cause and the impact of faith, infusing live waltz, sacred and folk music through the unfolding drama.

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Book SynopsisHope’s leaving her home town up north for the bright lights of London. It’s going to be mind-blowing. Attractive Hinge dates, mature new friends… A job at a dinosaur-themed bar? Hell. Yes. Several months in things are looking slightly less rosy. Her housemate seems to hate her and her manager’s a creep… But we don’t need to talk about that. Do we? Almost Adult is a brilliantly funny play that lays bare the darker side of slick modern workplaces and the underhand employment practices that police them – or fail to – with stunning lightness of touch.Trade Review'Tilley’s energy while performing is so infectious and endearing… we honestly couldn’t fault this production.' (Theatre and Other Things); 'Delights and disturbs in equal measure' (Everything Theatre); 'Blisteringly funny and deeply emotional. (The Indiependent)

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Book Synopsis‘So let’s build the tension – everybody put your hands on your legs and give us a drum roll please! Stamp your feet! Here we go!’ It’s the final performance of a Cinderella panto in a moth-eaten, regional theatre, and backstage tensions between the ugly sisters are threatening to boil over on to the stage. Will the egotism, one-upmanship and sexual politics remain confined to the dressing room, or will the bitter rivalry and jealousy between the two actors steal the show? Oh No It Isn’t! is a brilliantly observed, raucous yet moving new play exploring the highs and lows of life in the theatre.Trade Review'Witty and heartfelt.' (Karen Bussell, British Theatre Guide) 'Entertaining and insightful… I haven’t laughed so much in a single show for quite some time.' (Chris Omaweng London Theatre 1)

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Book SynopsisAn adaptation of the beloved, award-winning children's novel. It's 1940, and Britain is at war. Young Chas McGill has the second-best collection of war souvenirs in town, but desparately wants it to be the best. Amidst the bombs and air raids, Chas and his friends plan their own war effort in their newly built bunker. Friendships are forged and loyalties tested, in the adventure of a lifetime... Robert Westall's The Machine Gunners has been read, studied - and loved - by successive generations of younger readers. It won the Carnegie Medal and was voted one of the most important children's novels of the past seventy years. This thrilling stage adaptation comes from the award-winning playwright Ali Taylor, and premiered at the Polka Theatre, London, in 2011. It provides rich opportunities for discussion in the classroom, and for staging by schools, youth theatres and amateur companies.Trade Review'An imaginative and realistic interpretation.' * The Stage *

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Book SynopsisThe extraordinary and mesmeric play by the Swedish author who was reputedly a model for Miss Julie and Hedda Gabler. One sunny day in Paris, Gustave Alland, famous artist and philanderer, visits Louise Strandberg - convalescing in her brother's studio - and casts her effortlessly under his spell. In a vain attempt to escape, she exiles herself to her provincial hometown in Sweden. But a letter propels her back to Paris and into his arms. And for a brief moment, ecstasy is hers. Victoria Benedictsson's play The Enchantment was written shortly before her suicide in 1888. This English version by Clare Bayley was first staged at the National Theatre, London, in July 2007.Trade Review'An extraordinary play... Clare Bayley's immaculate version is a major act of reclamation' * Guardian *'Many thanks to Clare Bayley, who has unearthed and translated this fascinating play... an astonishingly mature work... a cry for equality that still resonates today' * The Times *

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Book SynopsisJames Joyce's startlingly modern portrait of a marriage. Back in Dublin after nine years abroad, Richard and Bertha have to confront two other people who love them, and ask themselves questions about guilt and responsibility. Will infidelity hold them together? Exiles is based in part on Joyce's own relationship with Nora Barnacle. His only play, it was written in 1914 during his own self-imposed exile from Ireland, between A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses.Trade Review'A neglected landmark of modern theatre that explores the byzantine complexities of marriage with the honesty of genius' * Guardian *'Never for a second does it lose its grip' * Independent *'Astonishing... a play that asks sharp, searching questions about the difficulty of emotional honesty and, above all, the sheer complexity of our sexual feelings' * The Times *

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Book SynopsisThis publication compiles actor John Cairney's theatrical interpretations of the poet Robert Burns and his life. Since 1959, he has been involved with Burns as actor, director and writer. Over the years, Cairney has taken the opportunity to investigate different aspects of Burns as they relate to performance in the theatre. For the first time he has brought all these working playscripts, which have already been tested before a live audience, together in book form. Others interested in the prismatic attraction that is Scotland's Bard can now see how one Scottish actor-writer has dealt with a national icon theatrically. The scripts, written by Cairney, look at Burns' creative work, his everyday life, and his relationships, to build a full picture of the man so important to Scotland's cultural heritage. The plays are followed by an appendix which features a selection of plays written about Burns' life since his death at the age of 37.Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR JOHN CAIRNEY AS ROBERT BURNSCairney's performance is much more than a tour de force...a posture of virility under sentence of death. You can believe in such a man. THE TIMESWith no apparent effort and endless resource, a fine performance. THE GUARDIANJohn Cairney's performance of Robert Burns is a masterly rendering of marvellous material. NEW STATESMAN

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Book SynopsisWith a strong, vibrant use of Scots, McLellan intermingles comedy with serious moral and political content. McLellan's collected works brings together previously unpublished plays like Jeddart Justice with acknowledged classics such as Jamie the Saxt and a selection of his prize-winning poems. Also included are a Foreword by playwright and poet Donald Campbell and an Epilogue by drama producer Alastair Cording.

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Book SynopsisTrue to Goldoni's mixture of comic wit and farce, the plot is a breathtakingly fast succession of twists and turns which only unravel in the very final lines with a surprise ending. Two friends are in love with the same young woman. Neither wants to place their friendship in jeopardy. How can love triumph without breaking off their friendship? Goldoni explores the conflicts brought about when Florindo has to choose between Lelio, his best friend, and Rosaura, his best friend's fiancee. Added to this conundrum are the issues of whether Ottavio, the old miser, will provide a dowry and the mature Beatrice's unashamed incessant pursuit of Florindo. The play is set in Bologna in Lelio's house. Florindo is a guest along with his faithful manservant. From the opening of the play, Florindo seeks to return home to Venice in order not to damage his friend's relationship. However, his departure is obstructed time and again by his hosts, leading to one complication after another. From the beginning, the plot is intense and fast-moving with inversions fed into the action in quick succession. This creates suspense which continues throughout the play as potential marriage partners are switched back and forth until the very ending when the audience finally discovers what the main characters' destiny will be. Will love or friendship prevail? The Venetian element is brought into this play through Florindo and his manservant, both Venetians. Apart from these two characters, all the others are portrayed as self-seeking, selfish and sly - whether servants or masters. The tension is kept at a constantly high level by the struggles between the characters. These struggles are not just brought about through love and friendship but are also generational and social. Furthermore, there is the added complication in the contrast of the characters' ideas of reality as they deceive one another. This creates dramatic irony and humour as the audience know more than any of the characters on stage.Trade Review"a great gift for students of Italian/English, for students of Goldoni and Italian theatre, or for theatre-lovers. Or for a true friend." - Words to good effect

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Book SynopsisOn 25 May 1967 Celtic beat Inter Milan 2–1 to become the first British team to win the European Cup. Fifty years on, The Lions of Lisbon relives the jubilation from the fans’ point of view.Trade ReviewNot so much a show as a phenomenon [...] a joyful, well-crafted piece of work, weaving together at least five storylines about fans making their way to Portugal, and culminating in an epic encounter in a Lisbon boozer. - JOYCE MCMILLAN, THE GUARDIANTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Production History Introduction Scene 1 Danny’s Boy Scene 2 Hector’s House Scene 3 Confessions of a Justified SinnerScene 4 A Blue Do Scene 5 El Posso Scene 6 The Women and the Bhoys Scene 7 Hail! Hail! Scene 8 The Road to LisbonScene 9 Lost in Lisbon Scene 10 The Tally and the Toaly Scene 11 Going to the Chapel Scene 12 The Law of the Jungle Scene 13 A Couple of Chancers Scene 14 Picking Sides Scene 15 Demand a Milanda Scene 16 A Wing and a Prayer Scene 17 The Best Team in the Land 67 on ‘67 Contributors

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Book Synopsis• Follow up collection of plays from award-winning South African playwright • Ideal for schools, colleges and theatre companies unafraid of gritty drama • In advance of a talk at Nehru Centre, London on 18 May 2018Trade Review“Ashwin Singh’s plays, working in a contemporary idiom and style and context, become a place for us to set up house, to inhabit, a place filled with humour, compassion and insight. They categorically signal a disposition not to remain silent, not to remain indifferent, prompting us and nudging us to make choices about how we live in our world.” Dr Betty Govinden, KZN Literary Tourism “The ability to capture the lives and communities of Durban with both pathos and humour resonates in all Singh’s works. The plays pay tribute to the city’s cultural and aesthetic beauty but they also expose its underbelly of crime, corruption and racial tension.” Estelle Sinkins, Weekend Witness “As with his To House and Spice ‘n Stuff, Shooting author Ashwin Singh tackles his subjects head-on, using his considerable writing skills to blend important historical and contemporary issues with entertainment.” Caroline Smart, The MercuryTable of ContentsForeword by Ralph Lawson Preface by Pranav Joshipura Summary and Analysis by Shantal Singh - Into the Grey (2017) - Shooting (2009) - Swing (2015)

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Book SynopsisPublished to coincide with a national tour by LAID BARE TC • Can be performed by schools, colleges, youth theatres etc. • Topical subject matter which challenges the notion of Big Society Welcome to the Press Conference from hell! Join ex-community artist and self-proclaimed people’s champion Vince Fine as he launches his ArtWorks project nationally. Vowing to end poverty, benefits, worklessness and even mental health issues, Vince and his loyal sidekick Michelle take on all-comers to persuade them that ArtWorks Works! A satire about the nature of well-funded community projects which misuse the arts to get people off the dole.Trade ReviewPraise for other works “Comedy values aside, this is a fresh and timely piece of exploratory theatre. Project XXX maintains that it did not intend to provide any answers but simply to ask the questions.” Sarah Bloomer, What’s On Stage “...This, of course, is all in keeping with the theme, and breathes life into the Lantern theatre space like no production I’ve seen there before. The multimedia element gave a dimension to the drama that really gave Project XXX a boost.” Vicky Andersen, Made Up in LiverpoolTable of ContentsAuthor bio Company info Playtext

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Book Synopsis• To coincide with a national tour by Black Theatre Live productions • Rarely heard story of a South London Black teen carer With grime music and Guyanese folk stories, Joseph Barnes-Phillip's semi-autobiographical story is a comic, tragic and honest portrayal of becoming a man. The story follows Rayleigh as he negotiates the tensions of growing up and taking responsibility − to his pregnant girlfriend, to his sick mother, to his church, to the multi-cultural community he grew up in and somewhere in the mix to himself. When the euphoric highs of teenage life in south London collide with his mum's terminal illness, all Rayleigh wants to do it watch anime in his pants and eat indomie. Love, life and masculinity meet head-on as Rayleigh tries to find his feet, torn between the new girl in his life and being there for his mum, while trying not to make the same mistakes as his dad. The show has been created by HighRise Theatre to be the sixth touring production for consortium Black Theatre Live. Performed by the author Joseph Barnes-Phillips. • Can be performed as a monologue in schools, colleges, etc.Trade ReviewWe all contain multitudes, but Raleigh is many people in one. Joseph Barnes-Phillips' semi-autobiographical solo show conveys the multiplicity contained within black masculinity. It's not just that his protagonist's Guyanan heritage criss-crosses with his British identity – a mix that manifests itself in tastes stretching from pigs' tails to black pudding. It's that he's a different man in very different circumstances. He tends to boss it "on the block" with his best mates, giving it all this macho chatter and laying down grime rhymes, but the moment he's back with the dying mother he affectionately nicknames Moon Gazer, he's all ps and qs and sweetness and light. Butter wouldn't melt in this boy's mouth. It's all change again with his girlfriend, Spice Girl, as the lover in him lets loose with a mix of playful patter and flirtatious gentlemanliness. A lot of Big Foot's comedy is wrapped up in the pretence, as Raleigh gets his roles mixed up and indulges in puff-chested posturing. He swings, rather sweetly, from laying down grime beats to bouncing along to bubblegum pop. WHAT'S ON STAGETable of ContentsBiography company and cast details Playtext

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Book Synopsis• Can be performed by schools, colleges, youth theatres etc. • Challenges gender stereotypes, with role reversal. The world spins and the cycle of seasons turns as the Guardians of the Year gather to tell each other stories. As a new Winter begins it is time to tell another tale… A kingdom is in peril, its people driven to flee their homes as a dark forest covers the land. The King and Queen are missing and Prince Roland, only heir to the kingdom, lies sleeping, cursed never to awaken… All seems lost, and it falls to one young woman with a strong heart, aided by strange companions, to find her way to the castle at the heart of the enchanted forest. Once there, it will take a genuine act of love to break the curse and free the kingdom. A story about friendship, drawing on myth and folklore, Sleeping Beauty is an exciting and enchanting new adaptation of the well-loved story. • Large cast playTrade Review“A HEARTWARMING tale of friendship and the power of storytelling... Matt Beames has taken the traditional story of Sleeping Beauty and adapted it for a modern audience.” Southern Daily Echo

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Book SynopsisTo coincide with a performance at Tara Theatre in March 2018 • Asian play set in post-war Korea • Deals with child sexual abuse • WINNER of the ‘City of Melbourne Award for Original Play’ Production History The Prodigal Daughter of Korea was the recipient of the City of Melbourne Writer’s Grant for best original play, the original production at Trades Hall theatres in Melbourne received strong reviews. Due to public demand, it transferred to Chapel off Chapel for a further run. The play then travelled to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the full thirty days, gaining further praise and broad attendance. The text was then fully revised and is published here for the first time.Trade Review...a mesmerising tale of long-harboured secrets... THREE WEEKS, EDINBURGH Praise for other works “A powerhouse on Melbourne’s independent theatre scene.” The Age “Brilliant scripting, powerful stories, beautiful costumes and some unforgettable performances.” VibeWire “…Palomera proves to be a master of powerful and intricate storytelling.” Popspoken “...a mesmerising tale of long-harboured secrets...” **** Three Weeks, EdinburghTable of ContentsBiography Company and cast details Playtext

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Book SynopsisA landmark collection of Indonesian plays in English. Seven contemporary plays by established playwrights in Indonesia exploring topics such as the aftermath of political clampdown, gay lives, sex trafficking and the effects of urban redevelopment. Provides insight into a nation and its people at the centre of ASEAN growth.Table of ContentsForeword Introduction Plays by six leading playwrights

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Book SynopsisThis book combines Kaethe Fine's play "Wollstonecraft Live!" and the story of the 10-year campaign to raise funds and erect a statue on Newington Green in London, in honour of Mary Wollstonecraft, the "Mother" of Feminism. The unveiling of the sculpture by Maggi Hambling caused controversy with some viewers attempting to cover it up and others praising the originality of the artwork. Fine's play was performed to celebrate the regeneration project and to raise awareness of the campaign for a statue honouring the 18th century radical. The play depicts the shooting of a film about the relationship between Mary Wollstonecraft and the writer William Godwin. Their daughter, Mary, would become the author of a classic: Frankenstein.Trade Review'Mother of feminism reborn in triplicate. Wollstonecraft makes for a great multimedia heroine. Long may she live!' -The Independent; 'The dialogue provides a satirical commentary on the preoccupations of the film industry. More importantly, however, it invites reflection on the way commercial interests and gendered assumptions can shape Hollywood biopics of women, flattening complex personhood into cliched narratives of frustration and victimhood or - patronising in their own way - one-dimensional portraits of feisty, go-getting feminists... If Wollstonecraft Live! is postmodern in its self-consciousness, it also has the emotional intensity and spontaneity of abstract expressionism - disorientating but powerful. ' - Laura Kirkley, Newcastle University https://www.bsecs.org.uk/criticks-reviews/wollstonecraft-live-search-mary/; 'Past and present are superimposed onto each other, an editing technique which maps the present moment onto the history of the site, subjectivity onto context : the canvas of the site is used to dive into issues of contemporary culture.' - Live Art Magazine issue 36;

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Book SynopsisIn this acclaimed one-woman play, the true story of Mary Seacole is brought vibrantly to life, revealing how this fearless medical practitioner used traditional remedies to treat the sick and wounded, challenged racism in high places and won the hearts and minds of those she helped across the globe. Considered the greatest of all Black Britons, discover why and how she came to be so highly regarded, although she was an immigrant and a woman of colour in Victorian England.Trade Review"Thank you for such an excellent rendition of Mary. It was truly brilliant." - Lord Soley "... equally at home in a school as on a West End stage." - Nick Awde, The Stage "I could happily have spent much longer with this Mary Seacole than the hour the performance lasts." -Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide

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Book SynopsisAbove a pub in North London, Phil is drinking and fighting off mild panic about his comeback gig. His manager's already dumped him and he's worried about finding a place to stay for the night too. As he laments his dwindling career, his supporters gather to wish him well. Craving success and celebrity too, Josh suspects his father of behaving very badly. With the time of the performance fast approaching, guilty secrets emerge that split the family wide apart. Tonight, Phil's career might not be the only thing in tatters. Comic and moving, Broken Lad is a subtle examination of masculinity in distress.Trade Review"The most powerful element of Hooper's script is looking at how a life of disappointment is compounded by one's peers doing well. A lot of Phil's bitterness comes because his contemporaries broke into television and earned enough to have comfortable lives." - Reviews Hub; "It is important to show a huge demographic of the British public (fifty-something white men, but not those running things) on the stage and we get a glimpse of their ugly self-pity and the loneliness that provokes it..." - Broadway World; 'Set in the upstairs of a traditional English pub, the play is an analytical living room drama: different friends and family members of Phil dip in and out of dialogue with him and each other. It all begins playfully with an affable and cultivated relationship between a comedian and his gay friend, only to demonstrate as the drama continues how very un-jovial this is in actuality. As the play develops, we see the consequences of a man slowly unravelling, and the cracks of a dysfunctional family starting to show.' - Everything Theatre; 'Comic and moving, Broken Lad is a subtle examination of masculinity and virility in distress.' - London Theatre;

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Book SynopsisA Dirty Broth Early Twentieth-Century Welsh Plays in English Edited by David Cottis With an introduction by David Cottis and Alyce von Rothkirch When Caradoc Evans’ play Taffy was first performed in London, the Western Mail reviewer described it as ‘like a dirty broth which, dished out to the English people, is swallowed with avidity.’ In so doing, it summed up the treatment often given to the tradition of English-language playwriting in Wales – sometimes ignored, sometimes disapproved of, rarely celebrated. This Anthology, the first in a series of three, brings together three plays from the beginnings of Welsh playwriting in English; Change by J. O. Francis (1913), a family drama of the upheavals at the start of the twentieth century, Taffy (1923), a fierce satire on the Welsh social and religious establishment, and A Comedy of Good and Evil (1924) by Richard Hughes, a magical realist fantasy of the dilemmas faced by a country cleric and his wife when they are faced with a literal demon-child. Edited by David Cottis, who also co-wrote the Introduction with Alyce von Rothkirch, this volume shows the earliest stirrings of the English-language theatre in Wales, and the first of many attempts to set up a Welsh National Theatre. It sees the beginnings of the preoccupations and subject matter that were to characterise Welsh playwriting throughout the twentieth century, and to influence later writers such as Emlyn Williams, Dylan Thomas, Diana Morgan, and Jack Jones.

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Book SynopsisAlice hasn’t been home for a while – for seven years, in fact. But when her little sister Lo tries to take her own life, she has to return to the life she left behind. The change of scenery from London to Norfolk proves quite the culture shock, however, and Alice has to confront what she left behind all those years ago. The sisters’ relationship hasn’t evolved in Alice’s absence, and when she steps through the door she’s plunged back into the same world she escaped from. Set against Norfolk’s bleak landscapes, but masquerading as childhood nostalgia, Fridge is an all-too-familiar exploration of the broken promises of youth, and a bitter exposition of a generation left behind.Trade Review'Every word of this script, from stage directions to dialogue, does so much heavy lifting, so that, for a slim volume, the emotional resonance is huge. I am very grateful to have had the chance to discover this talented playwright.' (Ellie Hawkes) 'I would highly recommend you pick up this delightful jewel of a play… an intricate, highly plotted story that twists and turns, leaving you feeling unsettled and yet strangely calm.' (Zoe Radley) 'This play is proof that you don’t need much to make a great story: 3 characters and 1 fridge.' (Anne Galmiche-Johnson) 'Zadow offers a powerful and thought-provoking look at the intricacies of memory, nostalgia and the tribulations of early adulthood.' (James Bell, A Younger Theatre)

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Book SynopsisEngaged, W.S. Gilbert’s most popular stage work after the comic operas he produced in collaboration with Arthur Sullivan, is a farcical comedy that has long lived in the literary shadows – although wildly neglected today, the play influenced literary names as great as George Bernard Shaw, and directly inspired Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Centring on a rich young man’s search for a wife and his uncle and best friend’s attempts to hinder him, the play toys with conventional notions of love and sincerity. In this edition, which also contains notes and an essay by the undisputed authority on W.S. Gilbert, Andrew Crowther, Engaged deserves to step out into the spotlight once more.Trade Review'The laughter was almost incessant.' (The New York Times) 'The satirical comedy of Mr Gilbert has all the sting, smack and strength of neat brandy… a sudden gulp of it is apt to take one’s breath away.' (The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News)Table of ContentsW.S. Gilbert: A Brief Introduction, Introduction: W.S. Gilbert and Engaged, Act I, Act II, Act III, Note on the Text, Notes, A Glossary of Stage Scots, ‘The Two Obadiahs’

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Book SynopsisExponentially increasing levels of unemployment and simmering racial tension in Moss Side, inner Manchester, exploded into mass riots on the 8th of July 1981, following the siege of a police station. In the Moss frames the events from the perspectives of Janet, a student nurse working in A&E, and Nav, a Sikh police officer on the streets. Both crave a return to normality and just want to fit in, but when violence breaks out and a teenage boy is stabbed, they are thrust together and forced to confront questions that arise about what really happened in the Moss.Trade ReviewIn praise of Fridge, Zadow's first play: 'Every word of this script, from stage directions to dialogue, does so much heavy lifting, so that, for a slim volume, the emotional resonance is huge. I am very grateful to have had the chance to discover this talented playwright.' (Ellie Hawkes) 'I would highly recommend you pick up this delightful jewel of a play… an intricate, highly plotted story that twists and turns, leaving you feeling unsettled and yet strangely calm.' (Zoe Radley) 'This play is proof that you don’t need much to make a great story: 3 characters and 1 fridge.' (Anne Galmiche-Johnson) 'Zadow offers a powerful and thought-provoking look at the intricacies of memory, nostalgia and the tribulations of early adulthood.' (James Bell, A Younger Theatre)

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Book SynopsisThe undisputed master of the short story, Saki's name is synonymous with brilliant writing that satirises Edwardian Society, and his plays were no exception. In his only full-length play, 'The Watched Pot', Trevor Bavvel, sole heir to a country estate, is in want of a wife, but must operate under the strict attention of his miserly mother Hortensia. Although wildly neglected today, Saki's plays met with widespread acclaim in his day, and he was even compared favourably with the great Oscar Wilde. This complete edition of Saki's plays - the first complete edition ever published - demonstrates the great writer's prowess as a playwright, and sparkles with the same wit as the short stories that have enchanted generations of readers.Trade Review'His stories and novels appear as delightful and [...] sophisticated as they did when he first published them.' (Noel Coward)Table of Contents'The Death Trap', 'The Watched Pot', 'The Miracle Merchant', 'Karl-Ludwig's Window', Note on the Text, Notes, Brief Biographical Note on Saki

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Book SynopsisSet between the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1973 and East Coast suburbia in 1968, Black Hills picks out a stark portrait of intricate familial relationships, and how dark events in the past must be addressed before they take root. Toying with heavy themes, and engaging with the notions of American identity and domestic violence, Black Hills is a thought-provoking tour of one family's past that leaves a lasting impression.Trade ReviewIn praise of Fridge: 'Every word of this script, from stage directions to dialogue, does so much heavy lifting, so that, for a slim volume, the emotional resonance is huge. I am very grateful to have had the chance to discover this talented playwright.' (Ellie Hawkes) 'Zadow offers a powerful and thought-provoking look at the intricacies of memory, nostalgia and the tribulations of early adulthood.' (James Bell, A Younger Theatre)

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