Plays, playscripts, drama

Book SynopsisA meditation on responsibility and parenthood that asks an audience not only to suffer the unthinkable loss of a child as the author's characters do, but also to laugh at the couple's flaws and at the hilarity of the suburban life they lead.Trade Review"Caridad Svich weaves an alchemical combination of intellect, heart, and sensuality powerful enough to crack open the suffocating shell that builds up from the daily repetitions of life." (Kevin Lawler, artistic director, PlayFest 2011)"

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Book SynopsisTheater in New Zealand began as a tool of the British Empire, imported along with Christianity, seeds, and other commodities as a way of acculturating the indigenous Maori population. In the decades since, it has been turned to different ends, and is now a crucial outlet for the voices of the ever more diverse population of New Zealanders. This collection gathers some of the most interesting recent plays that engage explicitly with social issues, which are organized so that, together, they present a vivid picture of what it means to be living in New Zealand in the first decades of the twenty-first century, as people grapple with lingering colonialism and the increasing globalization of everyday life.

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Book SynopsisSince premiering his pioneering linguistic experiment I Love XXX in Beijing nearly twenty-five years ago, Meng Jinghui has been credited with revitalizing Chinese theater by popularizing the avant-garde. Mixing high culture with mass culture, his plays address China's enduring revolutionary nostalgia and current social problems, challenging the artistic status quo from the mainstream rather than the margins. His creations range from new interpretations of canonical Western masters like Shakespeare and Genet to improvisational collaborations with actors on original works. This anthology from China's most influential playwright makes his plays available to an international readership in English for the first time. The collection, chosen by Meng and renowned Chinese theater scholar and translator Claire Conceison, represents the breadth of Meng's work illuminates late twentieth- and twenty-first-century creative practices that transcend the conventional category of playwright. I Love XXX includes the title piece, Longing for Worldly Pleasures, The Bedbug, Head Without Tail, and Two Dogs' Opinions on Life, as well as a DVD featuring selected scenes from each of the plays.

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Book SynopsisAt a time when Turkey is struggling for its secular identity, resisting the influence of ISIS, and finding itself at the heart of the European refugee crisis, accomplished Turkish playwright Ozen Yula offers a deep, artistic portrait of the country and its culture. Yula, whose work focuses on marginalized individuals within oppressive social systems, has a lot to say about the problems facing global democracies issues like failures in the social contract, human rights conflicts, territorial security, religious strife, and nationalism.Unofficial Roxelana is a collection of Yula's most significant work. It illustrates how problematic power structures emerge regardless of different governmental configurations, always resulting in the repression of marginalized members of society in this case, from renowned Turkish historical figures, like Roxelana and Rumi, to the pariahs of modern Turkey. With a contextualizing introduction by Marvin Carlson and a lengthy interview with Yula, this first-

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Book SynopsisCelebrated Indian playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar has experimented with many forms of dramatic expression in a career that now spans more than four decades, producing works that range from the realist to the symbolic, expressionist to the theater of the absurd. This volume brings together four of his most widely staged plays from the 1970s and '80s. In Party (1972), Elkunchwar offers a Chekhovian look at members of a set of metropolitan intellectuals, contrasting their pretensions, petty rivalries, aspirations, and frustrations with the struggle of a young man who abandons the group to fight for the marginalized. In Flowers of Blood (1971) and Reflection (1987), he presents two young menlovers from a small town lost in the big cityin whose struggle, which verges on the absurd, we see a searing portrait of contemporary Indian urban middle class. In Autobiography (1987), a successful septuagenarian writer sets out to dictate his memoirs to a quizzical young scholarbut it remains unwritten, as different versions of the truth clash, and the writer comes to confront an ego that he had never really known. Accompanied by an introduction setting the works in context and an interview with the author, this collection of plays will be a significant addition to the under-represented body of Indian plays available in English translation.

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Book SynopsisA monologue delivered by the female character in Samuel Beckett's play Krapp's Last Tape.

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Book SynopsisCornish gathers texts drawn from performances by five of the most renowned theater collectives working today: andcompany&Co., Gob Squad, Rimini Protokoll, She She Pop, and Showcase Beat Le Mot.

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Book SynopsisBaruch Spinoza (163277) is considered one of the great rationalist thinkers of the seventeenth century. His magnum opus, Ethics, in which he criticized the dualism of Descartes, solidified his reputation and greatly influenced the Enlightenment thinkerswho would build from his work. Born in Amsterdam into a family of Sephardic Jews who had to take refuge there after they were expelled from Portugal, the precocious young scholar imbibed skepticism at an early age. By the time he was twenty-four, he had challenged what he called the fairy tales of the Old Testament and was excommunicated by the Synagogue. In this biographical play, Tariq Ali contextualizes Spinoza's philosophy by linking it to the turbulent politics of the period, in which Spinoza was deeply involved.Ali originally wrote The Trials of Spinoza as part of a series on philosophy for British Channel Four television, and this publication also includes a DVD of that original television production. This work will be welcomed

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Book SynopsisThe BBC commissioned Tariq Ali to write a three-part TV series on the circumstances leading to the overthrow, trial and execution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first elected prime minister of Pakistan. As rehearsals were about to begin, the BBC hierarchyunder pressure from the Foreign Officedecided to cancel the project. Why? General Zia ul Haq, the dictator at the time, was leading the jihad against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. He was backed by the USA. According to expert legal opinion, there was a possibility of a whole range of defamation suits from the head of state to judges involved in the case. In consequence, it was decided not to broadcast this hard-hitting and provocative play. The Leopard and the Fox presents both the script and the story of censorship.

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Book SynopsisDuring the late Seventies and Eighties a new logo began to jostle for space with the more traditional landmarks on high streets throughout Britain. It was the badge of a remarkable Third World Bank...the BCCI (Bank of Credit and Commerce International).BCCI soon become a global corporate empire with former US Presidents, ex-British Prime Ministers and a range of dictators on its payroll, all helping with promoting the company. Tariq Ali was the first public voice to warn that the Bank was not all it seemed to be. Indeed, many of its own employees called BCCI the Bank of Crooks and Cheats Incorporated. Some political analysts also predicted the companys collapse. The Bank finally imploded amidst a welter of scandal. This revealing screenplay presents an account of the rise and fall of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. Here, Ali reveals how BCCI lasted so long, how financial regulators failed to see what was going on and how BCCI pioneered a mode of operation that prepar

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Danish Sheikh’s work shows that it is possible to think law, literature, and love together -- and to do so with vulnerability, compassion, and intelligence. These plays bring together incredibly disparate philosophical questions, political movements, and popular culture, anchored by a commitment to justice. In the world of Love and Reparation, the courtroom becomes a place of more than confession and prosecution – it becomes a site of storytelling and the imagination of alternative possibilities for justice.” -- Daniel Elam, Assistant Professor, Comparative Literature, University of Hong Kong“Love and Reparation offers any law teacher a rare opportunity to discuss with students the elusive relations of law and life. Contempt, the first play in this volume, demonstrates the necessity of drawing methods of text and performance together to illuminate how a trial is both an event of law, and also a form of political story telling about how people’s lived experiences are exposed or transformed when they come to law. In my own experience, as an audience member, and as a teacher of the text, this is a work that stages informed, critical engagement with law, and important collective conversations about personal and public responsibility.” -- Ann Genovese, Associate Professor, Melbourne Law School“The text nurtures the reader’s meandering by creating large, subtly interconnected spaces, opening multiple pathways for us to travel. I loved the journey it took me on, loved the writing, loved how it connected the very intimate with the political and legal. As wonderful as it would be to watch this play staged, it fully stands as a piece of writing in and of itself.” -- Klaus Mueller, Founder and Chair, Salzburg Global LGBT Forum“How does law, whether it is the law contained within legal statutes, the law of love, friendship, communitas and strife, or the symbolic in psychology, insinuate itself into our queer lives, loves and longings? Using the conceit of the dialogue and the dialogic in 'The Symposium', Plato’s Greek play on love, Danish Sheikh dramatizes something beautiful, tender and extraordinary in these two plays. The Platonic dialogue on love frames and orchestrates both plays—and through them the playwright makes us witness, participate in and feel the myriad stories through which queer lives shape themselves before and after the sodomy statute was read down. The plays stage interwoven genres through which people find or lose their voices, giving us the fully banal horror of homophobia in the witness statements when 377 was reinstated interspersed with affidavits from queer chronicles, and post 377 being struck down, the jostling montage of different voices, whether that of lovers, organizers and lawyers, friends or therapist and patient, stumbling through courses to lives after.” -- Geeta Patel, Professor, University of Virginia“Because ‘reason will only take us so far’, in these sharp, witty and heart breaking plays, Danish Sheikh immerses us in the affective lives of law—in particular, the law that criminalised homosexuality in India until 2018. Through glimpses of the many queer lives that are shaped in ways both direct and subtle by the violence of the law, Sheikh forces the law to confront the complex realities of these lives. Lurking beneath the frequently self-deprecating humour of his characters is a profound meditation on the weighty afterlives of a law that ostensibly no longer exists (or does it remain forever enshrined in some deepest recess of the psyche?). Brace yourself for a ride through contempt, pride, shame, love, repair and a range of other emotional states for which we do not yet have names.” -- Rahul Rao, Reader in Political Theory, SOAS, University of LondonTable of ContentsIntroductionPart I. ContemptPart II. Pride

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface Zurich TransitAppendix 1: Original Dialogues in Italian/French Appendix 2: English Translations of French Song Lyrics

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsForewordAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Santiago Loza and the Argentine Theatre: Marginalization, Resilience and InnovationAn Interview with Santiago Loza1. Nothing to do with Love (Makes Me Envious)2. Winter Animals3. I Was Born to See You Smile4. Altitude Sickness5. The Saint

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAcknowledgments xiIntroduction 1Françoise Pascal, EndymionIntroduction 21Text 37Marie-Catherine Desjardins (Mme de Villedieu), NitetisIntroduction 101Text 113Antoinette Deshoulières, GensericIntroduction 165Text 177Catherine Durand, Proverb ComediesIntroduction 237Text 246Bibliography 301Index 307

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Book SynopsisThis translation makes The Buffoons, the first female-authored comedy printed in Italy, available to Anglophone readers for the first time. Published in 1641, this burlesque play depicts the mismatched sexual desires of a prince and princess. Although set in northern Africa, the comedy satirizes the Florentine court of Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici, one of Costa's several elite patrons. By featuring the clownish antics of an unconventional cast of dwarfs, hunchbacks, and buffoons, it reflects the bizarre appetites and grotesque entertainments of the day. Ribald puns and commedia dell'arte-inspired slapstick abound, presenting the reader with a comic alternative to decorous women's writing in early modern Italy.Trade ReviewMargherita Costa’s Li Buffoni, depreciated, misattributed or just simply forgotten through the centuries, has finally found some love. In the sensitive hands of Sara Díaz and Jessica Goethals, who cheerfully whip the complicated language of this commedia ridicolosa into shape while remaining attentive to the irreverent, rambunctious vocabulary of the text, we find another valuable voice to add to the ever-growing roster of early modern women writers from Italy. A poet, dramatist, historian, singer, librettist, “widow and poor virtuosa with two daughters,” Costa produced fourteen works in which she managed to say something important through laughter about what court life was like for underlings of either sex,and what kind of Baroque poetics allow women to find their voice. --Valeria Finucci, Professor of Romance Studies, Duke University"Margherita Costa’s Li Buffoni, depreciated, misattributed or just simply forgotten through the centuries, has finally found some love. In the sensitive hands of Sara Díaz and Jessica Goethals, who cheerfully whip the complicated language of this commedia ridicolosa into shape while remaining attentive to the irreverent, rambunctious vocabulary of the text, we find another valuable voice to add to the ever-growing roster of early modern women writers from Italy. A poet, dramatist, historian, singer, librettist, 'widow and poor virtuosa with two daughters,' Costa produced fourteen works in which she managed to say something important through laughter about what court life was like for underlings of either sex, and what kind of Baroque poetics allow women to find their voice." -- Valeria Finucci, Duke UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments xiiiIllustrations xvIntroduction 1The Buffoons, A Ridiculous Comedy 73Dedication 75To the Readers 77Cast of Characters 79Argument 81Canzonetta 83Prologue 85Act One 97Act Two 201Act Three 273Canzonette 325Notes to the Italian Edition 330Notes to the English Translation 331Bibliography 347Index 363

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Book SynopsisScala's The Fake Husband offers readers and performers an accessible English script which captures the comic brilliance of the commedia dell'arte. Expanded from an earlier scenario, Il marito (The Husband), the play presents characters originally created by members of the Gelosi troupe, in particular the stars Isabella Andreini and Sylvia Roncagli. Scala's ability to capture the individual artistry of these women makes this script especially exciting and shows his appreciation of the towering contribution made by the female performers who joined the troupes in the 1560s. Also included is a comprehensive study of Scala's place in the theatrical world and beyond. The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe - The Toronto Series, volume 75Trade ReviewRosalind Kerr offers the first translation into English of Flaminio Scala’s Il finto marito (The Fake Husband), first produced in 1618/1619. She provides a tremendous service to scholars and students of the commedia dell’arte by adding this important attempt by Scala at a Baroque play that raises the topics of female-to-female love and cross-dressing. Valuing commedia dell’arte as a “living, breathing, imitation of life” capable of moving the audience emotionally, and understanding the importance of literary forms in creating a lasting legacy for the achievements of theatrical performance, Scala turned again and again to publication, so that the expressive power of commedia dell’arte might be conveyed to a widening audience. —Erith Jaffe-Berg Professor, Department of Theatre, Film and Digital Production, University of California Riverside"Rosalind Kerr offers the first translation into English of Flaminio Scala’s Il finto marito (The Fake Husband), first produced in 1618/1619. She provides a tremendous service to scholars and students of the commedia dell’arte by adding this important attempt by Scala at a Baroque play that raises the topics of female-to-female love and cross-dressing. Valuing commedia dell’arte as a 'living, breathing, imitation of life' capable of moving the audience emotionally, and understanding the importance of literary forms in creating a lasting legacy for the achievements of theatrical performance, Scala turned again and again to publication, so that the expressive power of commedia dell’arte might be conveyed to a widening audience." * Erith Jaffe-Berg, University of California Riverside *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments xviiIntroduction 1The Fake Husband, A Comedy 37Bibliography 163Index 169

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Book SynopsisActor and directorDavidIverspresentsAs You Like It, as you'd like to hear it today.Presentinganew translationof Shakespeare into contemporary English,Iversreimagines Shakespeare's comedy from an actor's point of view.Analyzingthe play line by linetouncover the meaning of every joke, pun,and witty aside,IversrepurposesShakespeare'slanguagewhile maintaining an homagetothe originalrhythm, cadence,and structure.An accomplished actoranddirector, anda lifelonglover of the Bard,Iversis the perfect writer to bringAs You Like Itinto the present moment.This translation ofAs You Like Itwas writtenas part of the Play On! Shakespeare project, an ambitious undertaking from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival that commissioned new translations of 39 Shakespeare plays. These translations present the Bard's work in language accessible to modern audiences while never losing the beauty of Shakespeare's verse.Enlisting the talents of a diverse group of contemporary playwrights, screenwriters, and dramaturges

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Book SynopsisShakespeare's history play reimagined by Naomi Iizuka. Following the events of the final two years of his life, Richard II interrogates royal power and the forces that threaten it. After banishing his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Richard begins to lose grip of his throne and strives to find meaning in the churn and chaos of the events unfolding around him. In her new translation, Naomi Iizuka ventures into the mystery of the work, scraping away the layers of received wisdom and cracking the play open for contemporary audiences. This translation of Richard II was written as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Play On! project, which commissioned new translations of thirty-nine Shakespeare plays. These translations present work from The Bard in language accessible to modern audiences while never losing the beauty of Shakespeare's verse.Enlisting the talents of a diverse group of contemporary playwrights, screenwriters, and dramaturges from diverse backgrounds, this projectreenviTable of ContentsAct 1Act 2Act 3Act 4Act 5

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Book SynopsisShakespeare's archetypal slapstick comedy, now with updated jokes and wordplay. One of Shakespeare's earliest plays, The Comedy of Errors is a farcical tale of separated twins and mistaken identities. This slapstick play is a staple of the genre, including madcap bawdiness, love at first sight, reunions, and happily-ever-afters. Christina Anderson's translation dives deep into the joy of the original text, reinterpreting the metaphor, antiquated slang, and double and triple entendre for a contemporary audience. This translation of The Comedy of Errors was written as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Play On! project, which commissioned new translations of thirty-nine Shakespeare plays. These translations present work from The Bard in language accessible to modern audiences while never losing the beauty of Shakespeare's verse.Enlisting the talents of a diverse group of contemporary playwrights, screenwriters, and dramaturges from diverse backgrounds, this projectreenvisionTable of ContentsAct 1Act 2Act 3Act 4Act 5

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Book SynopsisA fresh, contemporary translation of one of Shakespeare's most dramatic and popular plays. Julius Caesar, Shakespeare's famous Roman tragedy, chronicles the chaos leading up to the fateful murder of Caesar and the ensuing political fallout upon his death. Shishir Kurup's translation updates Shakespeare's language to allow more of the playwright's ideas to come through; it opens the wonders and blazing relevance of the play's rhetorical brilliance to the twenty-first century. This translation of Julius Caesar was written as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Play On! project, which commissioned new translations of thirty-nine Shakespeare plays. These translations present the work of The Bard in language accessible to modern audiences while never losing the beauty of Shakespeare's verse. Enlisting the talents of a diverse group of contemporary playwrights, screenwriters, and dramaturges from diverse backgrounds, this project reenvisions Shakespeare for the twenty-first centuTable of ContentsAct 1Act 2Act 3Act 4Act 5

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Book SynopsisA lively contemporary translation of Shakespeare's sexiest play. In Antony and Cleopatra, Christopher Chen tackles the sweeping epic of love and betrayal at the center of the story of the rulers Antony of Rome and Cleopatra of Egypt. In this contemporary translation of the play, Chen brings the political intrigue and historical storytelling of Shakespeare to modern audiences while preserving the poetic foundation of the play's language. This translation of Antony and Cleopatra was written as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Play On! project, which commissioned new translations of thirty-nine Shakespeare plays. These translations present the work of The Bard in language accessible to modern audiences while never losing the beauty of Shakespeare's verse. Enlisting the talents of a diverse group of contemporary playwrights, screenwriters, and dramaturges from diverse backgrounds, this project reenvisions Shakespeare for the twenty-first century. These volumes make these wTable of ContentsAct 1Act 2Act 3Act 4Act 5

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Book SynopsisAmy Freed rewrites The Taming of the Shrew, one of the more problematic plays in the Shakespeare canon. While beloved for its sharp dialogue and witty banter, The Taming of the Shrew offers a problematic storyline that many have deemed misogynistic. The play contains insensitive gags and uneasy politics, making it difficult for modern audiences to connect with the text. Amy Freed's new translation reactivates the original story, blowing away the dust and cobwebs. As Freed's text reminds us, at its heart The Taming of the Shrew is a story about courage and authenticity. This translation of The Taming of the Shrew was written as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Play On! project, which commissioned new translations of thirty-nine Shakespeare plays. These translations present work from The Bard in language accessible to modern audiences while never losing the beauty of Shakespeare's verse.Enlisting the talents of a diverse group of contemporary playwrights, screenwriters, anTable of ContentsInductionAct 1Act 2Act 3Act 4Act 5Appendix

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Book SynopsisThis volume features a wide range of plays that reimagine Shakespeare works from Borderlands perspectives. For several decades, Chicanx and Indigenous theatermakers have been repurposing Shakespeare's plays to reflect the histories and lived realities of the USMexico Borderlands and to create space to tell stories of and for La Frontera. Celebrating this rich tradition, The Bard in the Borderlands: An Anthology of Shakespeare Appropriations en La Frontera brings a wide range of Borderlands Shakespeare plays together for the first time in a multi-volume open-access scholarly edition. This anthology celebrates the dynamic, multilingual reworking of canon and place that defines Borderlands Shakespeare, and it situates these geographically and temporally diverse plays within the robust study of Shakespeare's global afterlives. The editors offer a critical framework for understanding the artistic and political traditions that shape these plays and the place of Shakespeare within the mulTrade Review"The Bard in the Borderlands: An Anthology of Shakespeare Appropriations en La Frontera, Volume 1 features a wide range of plays that deftly re-imagine Shakespeare works from Borderlands perspectives. Unique, ground-breaking, exceptional, thought-provoking, and inherently fascinating, The Bard in the Borderlands is a distinctive, ground-breaking, and unreservedly recommended as an addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Shakespeare studies collections. Of special appeal and value for readers with an interest in Hispanic American Dramas & Plays." * Midwest Book Review *Table of ContentsGeneral Introduction: Tracing the Traditions of Borderlands Shakespeare, by Katherine Gillen, Adrianna M. Santos, and Kathryn Vomero SantosIntroduction to Volume I, by Katherine Gillen, Adrianna M. Santos, and Kathryn Vomero SantosPlaytexts and Introductions1. The Language of Flowers by Edit Villarreal2. Kino and Teresa by James Lujan3. The Tragic Corrido of Romeo and Lupe by Seres Jaime Magaña4. Hamlet, El Príncipe de Denmark by Tara Moses5. Ofélio by Joshua Inocéncio6. ¡O Romeo! by Olga Sanchez SaltveitGlossaryBibliography

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Book SynopsisEdited by Elizabeth T. Forter, this edition of Major Barbara for performance and study includes Shaw's complete Preface. The text follows Shaw's spelling and punctuation. It also includes a highly regarded twenty-four page introduction, a list of the principal dates in the life of Bernard Shaw, and a selected bibliography.Table of ContentsIntroduction vii Principal dates in the life of Bernard Shaw xxxi Preface to Major Barbara 1 Act I 42 Act II 68 Act III 109 Bibliography 151

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Book SynopsisTogether in this volume are two plays by the Scandinavian geniuses of modern drama, which focus on a single themethe reality of death. Translated and edited by Thaddeus L. Torp, this edition contains both August Strindberg''s Ghost Sonata and Henrik Ibsen''s When We Dead Awaken for performance and study and includes an introduction, a chronology of principal works and important events in the authors'' lives, and a bibliography.Table of ContentsIntroduction vii Chronology of Important Events and Principal Works xii Ghost Sonata 1 When We Dead Awaken 37 Bibliography 91

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Book SynopsisSara, Minna von Barnhelm Two contrasting plays by the influential German playwright and critic, Gotthold Lessing. Sara is a compelling domestic tragedy that is as popular now as when it was first performed in 1755. Minna von Barnhelm is a delightful romantic comedy.

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Book SynopsisEmma Dante's passionate and brutal plays stem from a need to confront important familial and societal realities in contemporary southern Italy. Her twenty-first century tales challenge stereotypes of the country and stage acts of resistance against the social, political, and economic conditions of Sicily. The seven works in this anthology paint a complex image of the peninsula through stories of disenfranchisement, misogyny, deep-set bigotry, and religious hypocrisy that reveal economic disparities between the north and south of the country, oppressive gender relations, and deep rooted mafioso-like attitudes. Dante's lyrical and visceral storytelling oscillates between the humorous and the tragic aspects of everyday life, undertaking an irreverent subversion of the status quo with its extreme physicality and unsettling imagery. This exquisite first English translation of Emma Dante's work enables English-speaking readers, theatre scholars, and directors alike to encounter character-

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Book SynopsisBuilding on the strength of Keith Walker s acclaimed The Poems of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1984), leading scholar Nicholas Fisher presents a thoroughly revised and updated edition of the work of one the greatest Restoration wits.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations viii Note on This Edition ix Acknowledgments x Chronology xii Introduction xvii Further Reading xxviii Abbreviations xxxii Poems Juvenilia 1 Love Poems 5 Translations 56 Prologues and Epilogues 61 Satires and Lampoons 68 Poems to Mulgrave and Scroope 111 Epigrams, Impromptus, Jeux d’esprit, etc. 131 Poems Less Securely Attributed to Rochester 138 Lucina’s Rape or the Tragedy of Vallentinian 161 Index of Proper Names 253 Index of Titles and First Lines 257

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Book SynopsisMark Ravenhill is one of the most distinctive contemporary UK playwrights. He burst on to the theatre scene in 1996 with the huge hit Shopping and Fucking. He has continued to garner critical acclaim for plays that include Some Explicit Polaroids, Mother Clap's Molly House, Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat, The Cut, Product, pool (no water), Citizenship, Ten Plagues, The Coronation of Poppea, Candide, Faust is Dead, Handbag, A Life in Three Acts, A Life of Galileo and Over There.Trade ReviewAn omen of the new century * Evening Standard *Harshly, wittily, Shopping and Fucking connects commerce and pleasure in graphic modern terms ... Ravenhill is one of the most arresting talents to have arrived in the British theatre during the 1990s * Financial Times *Plunges you into a world of disposability, disconnection and dysfunction, where relationships to be trusted have to be reduced to transactions ... Strong stuff * Independent *A contemporary classic * Sunday Telegraph *A theatrical phenomenon * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThis powerful anthology brings together reflective and raw plays by American playwrights surrounding the psychic and political boundaries of the many faces and shadows of terrorism. Allan Havis's introduction addresses a variety of terrorism cases from the last 25 years, examines several theories of the root causes of modern terrors, and underscores how theatre forms a unique contour to social and philosophical thought on terrorism. With a foreword from Robert Brustein, the anthology features: Break of Noon by Neil LaBute7/11 by Kia CorthronOmnium Gatherum by Theresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gersten-VassilarosColumbinus by PJ Paparelli and Stephen KaramWhy Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them by Christopher DurangTable of ContentsForeword by Robert Brustein Introduction by Allan Havis Break of Noon by Neil LaBute 7/11 by Kia Corthron Omnium Gatherum by Theresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gestern-Vassilaros Columbinus by PJ Paparelli and Stephen Karam Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them by Christopher Durang

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Book SynopsisAimée K. Michel is Associate Professor of Theater at Bard College at Simon's Rock, USA. She was the Artistic Director of the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival for over 10 years where she produced new American plays. Before this, she was Artistic Director of the Drama League's Directors Project in New York City where she created the New Directors/New Works program. As a freelance director, she has directed in theaters all over the country. She was a recipient of both the Drama League's Directors Project Fellowship and the Boris Segal Directing Fellowship at Williamstown Theater Festival.Wesley Brown is Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University and teaches literature and creative writing at Bard College at Simon's Rock, USA. He co-edited the multicultural anthologies, Imagining America' (fiction), Visions of America' (non-fiction), edited the Teachers & Writers Guide to Frederick Douglass and wrote the narration for a segment of the PBS Trade ReviewThis important collection from unjustifiably less well-known American theatre giants confirms their place in the Western theatrical and literary canon, and crucially champions women's voices and vision on stage over a fifty year period. * Drama Magazine *This much-needed collection fills a major gap in our sense of the writers for the American theatre. Here assembled are not just the “greatest hits” among the plays written by women, but a coherent and thorough examination of the many careers and voices that have shaped the stage for the last century. * Melia Bensussen, Artistic Director at Hartford Stage, USA *In this exciting new anthology, Wesley Brown and Aimée K. Michel bring together six wonderfully teachable plays by some of the greatest American women dramatists of the past fifty years-- Ntozake Shange, Suzan-Lori Parks, Paula Vogel, Lynn Nottage, Beth Henley, and Susan Yankowitz. The editors provide a helpful Introduction to the last 100 years of theatrical activity, from suffrage and anti-lynching plays, through the explosive 1960s, to recent Broadway triumphs, highlighting women’s struggle—a struggle that continues--to put their vision and voices on the American stage. * Elin Diamond, Rutgers University, USA *Table of ContentsForeword Introduction Introduction to Susan Yankowitz by Wesley Brown Gun by Susan Yankowitz Introduction to Ntozake Shange by Wesley Brown Spell #7 : geechee jibara quik magic trance manual for technologically stressed third world people by Ntozake Shange Introduction to Beth Henley by Aimée K. Michel The Jacksonian by Beth Henley Introduction to Paula Vogel by Aimée K. Michel The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel Introduction to Suzan-Lori Parks by Wesley Brown In the Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks Introduction to Lynn Nottage by Aimée K. Michel Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage

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Book SynopsisWritten (and occasionally performed) by Rob Drummond in collaboration with director David Overend, these scripts are a record of a long-term artistic partnership. From the award-winning magic of Bullet Catch (the Arches, 2012), to the audience votes of The Majority (National Theatre of Great Britain, 2017), these six plays open up a space for improvisation and participation, and a range of responses and reactions from the audience. The collection includes four previously unpublished scripts along with up-to-date versions of their most successful productions. With introductory essays and in-text commentary by both the writer and director, this is a valuable resource for practitioners, students, and scholars of contemporary British theatre.Trade ReviewRemarkable, multilayered and utterly gripping. * The Guardian (on Bullet Catch) *A startlingly deep reflection on the mysterious relationship between performance and despair. * The Scotsman (on Bullet Catch) *Table of Contents1. Foreword by Jackie Wylie 2. Introduction by David Overend 3. Rob Drummond and David Overend in conversation 4. Bullet Catch 5. Wallace 6. The Majority 7. Top Table 8. Eulogy 9. Rolls in Their Pockets

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Book SynopsisAnthony Neilson (b. 1967, Edinburgh) is a Scottish playwright and director. His breakthrough show Normal: The Dusseldorf Ripper was produced at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in 1991. Other shows include The Wonderful World of Dissocia (2004), Realism (2006), Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness (2009) and Orson Welles in the Land of the Peas (2010). He also took part in the Bush Theatre's Sixty Six in 2011.Trade ReviewTerrific...has a sense of foreboding unlike anything I've experienced, and induces a quality of silence from its audience that is something truly special * Evening Standard on Relocated *Chilling, vivid and unnvervingly topical. Deeply disconcerting...dark and dream-like. X-certificate theatre that depicts all too recognizable human atrocities. * Telegraph on Relocated *This beautifully unlikely play has heart to match its humour * The Times on Get Santa! *A hilariously inventive and unconventional extravaganza. A hoot...vivid, stylish...witty. Warmly recommended. * Independent on Get Santa! *Intelligent and witty about art and ego, beauty and elusiveness * The Stage on Unreachable *Intoxicatingly chaotic comedy * Time Out on Unreachable *Table of ContentsRelocated Get Santa! Narrative Unreachable The Prudes

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Book SynopsisJames Graham is a multi award-winning playwright and screenwriter. His play This House gained critical acclaim, enjoyed a sell-out run at the National Theatre's Olivier in 2013 and its 2017 West End revival was Olivier-nominated. It was chosen by popular vote as the best play of the 2010's by Methuen Drama. James created theatre history when his two plays Ink, about the early days of Rupert Murdoch, and Labour of Love, a romantic political comedy, played in theatres next to each other in the West End in 2017. James won an Olivier award in 2018 for Labour of Love and Ink transferred to Broadway in 2019, receiving six Tony award nominations. James' play The Vote (Donmar Warehouse) aired in real time on TV in the final 90 minutes of the 2015 polling day and was BAFTA-nominated. His most recent television film, Brexit: An Uncivil War (Channel 4/HBO) is nominated for a 2019 Emmy Award.Trade ReviewIt recreates, with startling vividness, the madness of life in the Westminster village during five action-filled years . . . Above all, the play unlocks a whole era. * Michael Billington, The Guardian *Graham's superb new drama ... it is by turns funny, touching and cliff-hangingly suspenseful ... Graham has researched his play with exemplary thoroughness and there is a thrilling tang of authenticity about the piece. * Charles Spencer, The Telegraph *From facts and memoirs Graham shapes a brilliantly exhausting, funny and moving political epic ... another hit is born ... it will last longer than the years it depicts. * The Times *Table of ContentsForeword by Baroness Ann Taylor The play

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Book SynopsisIn their exposé of Gen Z, The New York Times qualified its members as the most diverse generation in American history. Recent Broadway hits have found a successful formula in productions showcasing the emotional turmoil of contemporary young people, yet the majority of these works represent predominantly white voices, both in terms of authorship and representation. Non-white characters tend to exist only in a world of colorblind casting rather than speaking to their distinct racial and cultural heritage.This anthology helps correct that balance and presents a unique offering of plays written for multicultural teenagers by diverse authors who have spent a significant part of their careers working closely with young people in urban settings. The playwrights - among them award winners such as Chisa Hutchinson and Nilaja Sun - have created texts that are dramatic and comic, satirical and earnest, touchingly real, and amusingly surreal. Varying in length and format, suitable fTable of ContentsForeword No Child… by Nilaja Sun Ghosts of Skunk Hollow by Keith Josef Adkins Gunshots at 2 P.M. by Keith Josef Adkins This Time with Feeling by Chisa Hutchinson 777 by Chisa Hutchinson Marathon and Mucilage, a Contemplation on an Appellation by Chris Ceraso Homecoming Dance by Evelyn Diaz Cruz Snap the Sun by Pia Wilson The Bottom Line by David Lee White The Aftermath by Paris Crayton III Charisma at the Crossroads by Nina Angela Mercer Southwestern High by Cassandra Medley Stare and Compare by Evelyn Diaz Cruz

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Book SynopsisThe sixth collection of plays from award-winning playwright Richard Bean, including the world-conquering hit One Man, Two Guvnors, as well as Young Marx, his riotous take on Karl Marx''s life in London, which launched London''s new Bridge Theatre and The Hypocrite, a historical-farcical romp that lit up Hull''s year as City of Culture.One Man, Two GuvnorsBased on Carlo Goldoni's classic Italian comedy The Servant of Two Masters, sex, food and money are high on the agenda.Winner of the both 2011 Evening Standard Theatre Best New Play & Critic''s Circle Best New Play awards.Young MarxCreditors, spies, rival revolutionary factions and prospective seducers of his beautiful wife all circle like vultures. His writing blocked, his marriage dying, his friend Engels in despair at his wasted genius, his only hope is a job on the railway. But there's still no one in the capital who can show you a better night on the piss than Karl Heinrich MTrade ReviewThe Hypocrite serves as a scabrous, bawdy, witty, often flagrantly silly love-letter to Hull and its purported place in a crucial moment of national history... it hits the bull’s-eye...Richard Bean returns to One Man, Two Guvnors form with a brilliantly entertaining new farce. * Telegraph *Young Marx, a wily, fast-paced comedy * Independent *One Man, Two Guvnors - You would had to have had a humour by-pass not to enjoy it. * Guardian *Table of ContentsIntroduction One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean Young Marx by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman The Hypocrite by Richard Bean

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Book SynopsisSarah Daniels's plays include Ripen Our Darkness (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, 1981); Ma's Flesh is Grass (Crucible Studio Theatre, Sheffield, 1981); The Devil's Gateway (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, 1983); Masterpieces (Manchester Royal Exchange, 1983; Royal Court Theatre, London, 1983/4); Neaptide, winner of the 1982 George Devine Award (Cottesloe, National Theatre, London, 1986); Byrthrite (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, 1986); The Gut Girls (Albany Empire, Deptford, 1988); Beside Herself (Royal Court, London, 1990); Head-Rot Holiday (Clean Break Theatre Company, 1992); The Madness of Esme and Shaz (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, 1994); Blow Your House Down, based on the novel by Pat Barker (Live Theatre, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1995); Dust (Cottesloe, National Theatre, London, 2003); and Flying Under Bridges (Watford Palace Theatre, 2005).Trade ReviewPolemical without being preachy, it’s angry yet also hopeful. * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisIt is Mr. Miller''s notion, potentially a great one, that the Baums'' story can help tell the story of America itself during that traumatic era.'NEW YORK TIMESWhen the stock market crashes, the once-financially comfortable Baum family lose everything and are forced to leave their lofty home in Manhattan to live with relatives in Brooklyn: how can their pride, purpose and artistic endeavours survive such a sudden and shocking reversal of fortune?A sweeping, hard-hitting look at the Great Depression of the 1930s, The American Clock is a vaudevillian celebration of American resilience and optimism in the face of national crisis, and was performed on Broadway in 1980.This Methuen Drama Student Edition is edited by Jane K. Dominik, with commentary and notes that explore the play''s production history (including excerpts from interviews with designers of the 1980 Broadway production) as well as the dramatic, thematic and academic debates that surround it.Trade ReviewThis panoramic 1980 play about America during the Great Depression [is] described as “a vaudeville” [and] it shows how the nation’s built-in optimism came up against economic reality ... The play, which combines the texture of despair with a residual hope epitomised in the line “a country can’t just die”, shows just how much the 30s shaped Miller’s artistic imagination. ... It shows [Miller's] enduring capacity to capture the state of a troubled nation. -- Michael Billington * Guardian *The piece serves as a warning from history ... but there’s nothing dusty or dutifully clock-watching about it ... [Miller] billed the show as a “vaudeville”, likened it to a mural – and that gives him a means of pushing out across the nation, giving voice to a chorus of bewilderment, as the banks fail, the bailiffs call, the crops rot, and the air hangs heavy with resentment and revolutionary fervour. Yet swimming amid the tide of acrimony, there’s stoical humour, resilient American optimism and even young romantic love ... [The play feels] eerily up to-the-moment and [serves] as an invaluable reminder of how an economic shock can change a country forever. -- Dominic Cavendish * Daily Telegraph *No 20th-century playwright was more gifted at depicting the downsides of the American dream than Arthur Miller -- Dominic Maxwell * The Times *Frequently magnificent and ... also ... nauseatingly prescient. [The play's] kaleidoscopic vision of an advanced society sleepwalking into an essentially self-inflicted disaster is certainly painfully relevant to Britain’s current interests. ...It’s a powerful, poignant and frequently enlightening journey ... This strange, flawed forgotten play is the most relevant piece of political theatre in town. -- Andrzej Lukowski * Time Out *Table of ContentsCHRONOLOGY COMMENTARY Historical, social and cultural contexts Genre and themes Play as performance Production history Academic debate Behind the scenes Further study PLAY TEXT NOTES

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