Plays, playscripts, drama
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Nye
Book SynopsisTim price is a Welsh playwright and screenwriter. His plays include For Once, Salt, Root and Roe (winner of Best English Language playwright at the Theatre Critics of Wales Award), I'm With The Band, Candylion The Insatiable Inflatable, Praxis Makes Perfect, The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning (winner of the James Tait Black prize for drama), Protest Song, Teh Internet Is Serious Business, Isla, Nye, Force Majeure and Odyssey 84. He is co-founder of Welsh new writing company Dirty Protest and co-founder and Literary Manager for the Welsh National Theatre.
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Lost Lear
Book SynopsisDan Colley is a Creative Director and Producer specialising in ensemble-devised theatre, young audiences theatre, comedy, community participation, and outdoor spectacle. He is a former Artistic Director of Collapsing Horse (who presented four shows at Dublin Fringe Festival) and is former. Co-Artistic Director of the Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival. He was Producer/Facilitator of Dublin Fringe's birthday project TWENTY FIRST. and is a former Fringe LAB resident artist. Dan trained as a Youth Theatre Facilitator with Youth Theatre Ireland. He is a member of the Project Arts Centre, is Theatre Artist in Residence with Riverbank Arts Centre, and is on the Expert Advisory Group of Creative Ireland: Pillar One.
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Line of Beauty
Book SynopsisJack Holden is an actor and writer from London. His West End credits include the National Theatre's War Horse and the Almeida Theatre's Ink. He has also performed at the RSC, Bristol Old Vic and toured extensively around the UK. Cruise was his West End debut as a playwright.
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Cyrano de Bergerac
Book SynopsisEdmond Rostand (1868-1918) was a playwright born out of his time. In a period when naturalism was the order of the day Rostand's plays seemed to hark back to a more romantic, chivalric period. His plays proved popular with the French public bolstered by a number of roles specifically created for the great Parisian actress Sarah Bernhardt.Simon Evans is a British theatre and television director, writer, and actor.Debris Stephenson is an artist, poet, writer and activist. Her debut grime-musical, Poet in da Corner, premiered at The Royal Court in 2018. Poet in da Corner, which Debris' wrote with Grime MC, Jammz and stared in, received 4-5 stars across the board and saw Debris' nominated for an Emerging Talent of The Year Award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
£14.61
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Evening All Afternoon
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Last Picture
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£10.99
Edinburgh University Press Allegorising Thought on the Shakespearean Stage
Book SynopsisExplores Shakespeare's use of allegory as a privileged tool for making visible the inner workings of his characters' minds
£17.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Methuen Drama Book of Plays from the Sixties
Book SynopsisThis collection contains major works by some of the most important playwrights to emerge during the late fifties and early sixties, many of them collectively labelled Angry Young Men, most of them associated with the Royal Court Theatre.Trade ReviewRoots - 'it has an urgent topicality. Wesker is writing about the freedom of the mind: the lifetime challenge of thinking for yourself and shaking off the prejudices of your class' Sunday TimesTable of ContentsRoots; Serjeant Musgrave's Dance; Loot; Early Morning; The Ruling Class
£17.09
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Good Soul of Szechuan
Book SynopsisTranslated by David Harrower, this version of Brecht's parable play is based on a previously unpublished version of the play.
£13.93
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Book SynopsisA Student Edition of McDonagh's dramatic engagement with Republican paramilitaries, first produced by the RSC in 2000.
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Stephens Plays 2
Book SynopsisStephens Plays: 2 brings together four major plays by this award-winning playwright from the first decade of the twenty-first century and the short play Sea Wall, frist produced at the Bush Theatre in October 2008. The collection features an introduction by the author.Trade Review'It's only half-an-hour long, but Simon Stephens's one-man play Sea Wall packs an enormous emotional punch... The ever-exciting playwright Simon Stephens...has a pitch-perfect ear for narrative and holds back crucial plot details, while spinning off both into inconsequential and amusing anecdotes and existential angst... A spellbinding reminder of the power of story-telling in all its glorious simplicity.' ' Alice Jones, Independent, 13.8.09 Sea Wall lasts only half as long at 30 minutes but, paradoxically, contains more by leaving more out...Stephens's protagonist...circles round the issues of God and bereavement but never addresses either directly for more than a second or two.' Ian Shuttleworth, Financial Times, 9.8.09 'Sea Wall [is] one of the most devastating 30 minutes that you are ever likely to experience in the theatre. This monologue drenched in grief, told by a man who has lost everything, is not easy viewing: every word settles into your bones and grows cold there...The extraordinary power of Sea Wall is that it is concerned with both the domestic and the majestic. "Why" is the unspoken question that resonates around the theatre. Stephens offers no answer, but he realises that it is our need to know that makes us human.The extraordinary power of Sea Wall is that it is concerned with both the domestic and the majestic. "Why" is the unspoken question that resonates around the theatre. Stephens offers no answer, but he realises that it is our need to know that makes us human.' Lyn Gardner, Guardian, 12.8.09 'It's a delicate wisp of a thing, like a curl of cigarette-smoke exhaled in a moment of mournful reverie. After contact with it, sure enough, your eyes are welling up, and you're starting to choke... Stephens's writing...has a rich feel for the embarrassments, detours, short-cuts and comic self-deprecations of everyday speech.' Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph, 7.8.09 'He writes so passionately and soulfully for ordinary people who are in really difficult predicaments. People who are violent, or whatever, can have immense humanity in them as well - Simon writes about that very well.' Daniel Mays, actorTable of ContentsOne Minute; Country Music; Motortown; Pornography; Sea Wall
£26.48
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC B for Baby
Book Synopsis''It was like we were two children - two innocent children just... playing'' Mrs C wants a baby not a Christmas tree. B wants a real hairdresser''s scissors and a wife. D wants a snow globe and ''a big head of dirty auld curls''. All of them want their own place in the world. And if they can''t find it, they''ll create one of their own. The play follows B and D in the care home where they are residents, and where Mrs C is a carer, on their special - ''very fecking special'' - journey towards happiness. B for Baby is a tender, sharp-witted new play set in a residential care home for people with severe learning disabilities. Treating this taboo subject with humanity and humour, the piece''s acuity and generously compassionate portraits result in a moving, if at times uncomfortable, drama. Poignantly exploring forbidden topics, B for Baby invites the reader or audience to rediscover the power and joy of make-believe. The play was
£10.79
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Belong
Book Synopsis''Supporters keh. Forget this country. How many year have you lived here...? Your English is better than the Queen''s and they still call you...''When Kayode''s election campaign for a seat in parliament fails, the Nigerian born MP falls into a pit of depression. Angry and confused, he blames his loss on his ethnicity, despite being beaten by another black candidate. His subsequent remarks to the press force him into hiding. Disgraced and, according to his friend, ''in need of a holiday'', he returns to his native Nigeria hoping to escape politics. But here he meets his adopted brother, who is deeply involved in the corrupt politics of his homeland. Kayode''s determination to change things emerges with fierce vehemence, as he becomes dangerously involved in a political power struggle. Bola Agbaje''s satirical new play questions our notion of home. It examines what it is to be both a British and African citizen, and what happens when corruption in the two nations seems impossi
£13.93
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Mudlarks
Book SynopsisMudlarks is a tragic, beautifully realised play about three young men trapped at the wrong end of the river. On the muddy banks of the Thames, downstream from the bright lights of London, three boys hide from the police after a night of recklessness. Over the course of the freezing night their fears, secrets and dreams emerge, collide and combust revealing the desperate frustration of lives barely led but already ravaged. As morning dawns, their options diminish and just two questions remain: do they have the power to determine their own fates, or are they destined to sink into the mud?Mudlarks heralds the arrival of an urgent new voice in British theatre. Essex-born Vickie Donoghue''spowerful debut exposes the culture she grew up with and sees on a daily basis. With brutal honesty she explores teenagers'' impulse to dream, and its futility in a reality that has no space for dreamers.Trade ReviewDonoghue’s remarkably accomplished play … her sharp ear for dialogue maintains a beautiful tension between comedy, tragedy and a desolate lyricism -- Jane Shilling * Telegraph *Donoghue’s small but distinctive debut play sings with promise -- Lyn Gardner * Guardian *This is a play that believes in the transporting, if not transforming power of words; its language is fluid – rough and broken then racing to an unexpected poetry. -- Griselda Murray Brown * Financial Times *
£14.21
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Mess and Youre Not Like The Other Girls Chrissy
Book SynopsisMess: Josephine is putting on a play - Boris and Sistahl help. It''s about anorexia; but don''t let that put you off - they are used to the big issues - and today they will tackle a particularly thin elephant in the room. Obsessed with obsession, addiction, and not wanting to get out of bed, Mess is a play with songs from The Stage''s 2010 Best Solo Performer Award winner Caroline Horton.You''re Not Like the Other Girls, Chrissy: January 1945. Paris has been liberated. Christiane, an eccentric and acutely myopic Parisian waits at Gare Du Nord for a ticket to England to be reunited with her fiancé. Whilst she waits, this gloriously irrepressible mademoiselle recounts the story of her love affair with Cyril, a tongue-tied English teacher from Staffordshire. You''re Not Like Other Girl''s Chrissy is a fond, comical and ultimately poignant portrait of one woman''s experience of love and war. This programme text coincides with China Plate Theatre''sTrade ReviewGathers in both charm and emotional engagement until even a hardened hack may be on the brink of tears. Winsome in all the best ways, this Horton may not be hearing a "Who?" for very long * Financial Times *A wryly self-deprecating piece -- Neil Cooper * Herald *Exquisite in its sensitivity * Scotsman *A touching insight into the cruel grip of an eating disorder and a sense of the near impossibility of curing it in anything but the most patient and painstaking way. -- Mark Fisher * Scotland on Sunday *[Mess] comes perilously close to genius and announces Horton as a major, major talent. * Time Out *Simple and heartfelt … feels like a real labour of love (on You're Not Like The Other Girls Chrissy) -- Lyn Gardner * Guardian *One of the oddest, funniest, saddest pieces of theatre I’ve seen in some time ... Mess could be worthy and unwatchable but it’s not. Rather it is informative and witty and constantly prods away at the strangeness of its subject matter ... packed with insights. -- Alice Jones * Telegraph *Table of ContentsMess You're Not Like Other Girls, Chrissy
£13.93
Digireads.com Henry VI Part 1
Book Synopsis
£9.36
Outskirts Press Lady Paradox
Book Synopsis
£17.05
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Alchemist
Book SynopsisA fast-paced whirlwind of fantasy and mockery confined to a single room, The Alchemist offers a witty culmination of Jonson''s experiments with city comedy. The play has been widely recognized as one of the most impressive achievements of the period''s theatre; Coleridge famously described it as one of the three most perfect plots in literature. Yet it is a notoriously difficult play: its alchemical language has aged into obscurity, and its insiderly humour can seem impenetrable to students approaching it for the first time. This comprehensively annotated edition translates and illuminates the play''s many pleasures and shows how Jonson''s cynical, street-wise wit resonates with our contemporary sensibilities. Pollard highlights the play''s witty ingenuity, while offering the information and guidance to enable students to understand and enjoy The Alchemist fully.Table of ContentsList of illustrations General editors’ preface Preface Introduction Jonson in 1610 London Alchemy Sex, Generation and Family Literary Alchemy: Collaborating with Authors Alchemy of Place: London, Blackfriars, Playhouse Staging Revivals: Collaborating Across Periods Staging the Page: Textual History Later Editions Folio Paratext THE ALCHEMIST Appendix: Casting The Alchemist Abbreviations and References Abbreviations used in notes Works by and partly by Shakespeare Works by and partly by Jonson Editions of The Alchemist collated Other works cited Index
£15.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Josephine and I
Book SynopsisJosephine Baker: captivating performer, political activist and international icon, who lived from 1906 to 1975.From the ragtime rhythms of St Louis and the intoxicating sounds of 1920s Paris, to present-day London, Josephine and I intertwines the story of a modern-day girl with that of one of the greatest, yet largely forgotten, stars of the twentieth century.Cush Jumbo stars in the premiere of her debut play, which centres on the legendary American entertainer and her impact on a contemporary young woman. Live music combines with dance to bring to life the contemporary legacy of a woman Ernest Hemingway described as the most sensational woman anyone ever saw, and ever will.Trade ReviewAn exhilarating whizz through the star's life . . . From the ingenious trickery of its opening scene . . . to its half-triumphant, half-elegiac ending, Cush Jumbo’s solo show, based on the life of Josephine Baker, effervesces with energy and charm . . . by turns funny, touching and thought-provoking. -- Jane Shilling * Telegraph *Ingenious ... this multi-layered structure of Jumbo playing a character who plays a character - becomes revealing ... a sparkling show with a light touch and a big reach. -- Sarah Hemming * Financial Times *Tour de force is a fancy phrase that shouldn’t be used lightly. Sometimes, though, you just have to go nuclear with your nouns — such as when describing this triumphant one-woman show, written and performed by Cush Jumbo. -- Dominic Maxwell * The Times *An exploration of the difference a black woman can make - now as well as then - and, incidentally, a celebration of the power of theatre to tell the human story ... sensational ... Shocks, surprises and political points are deftly popped in among the laughter and the glitz. -- Heather Neill * Stage *A dazzling tour de force by this truly brilliant performer ... Separately, the two strands reflect the lives of two particular individuals; intertwined, they achieve a universal resonance ... Entertaining, poetic, political, this is a tremendous production. -- Clare Brennan * Observer *A short show that, in the best possible sense, leaves you longing for more: more knowledge of its fascinating muse, Josephine Baker; more great parts for its jaw-droppingly talented author and star, Cush Jumbo. but also more time to discuss afterwards the serious points it raises about race and gender, today and in Baker's lifetime ... a brave, exhilarating 100 minutes that redefine Josephine as less flapper, more rights-fighter, and pose important questions about her legacy. -- Patricia Nichol * The Sunday Times *Sympathy, charm and panache ... Josephine and I grows increasingly engrossing and trenchant as Jumbo interweaves apparently autobiographical anecdotes about her own career in the entertainment industry. -- Kate Bassett * Independent on Sunday *
£14.64
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC New Monologues for Women
Book SynopsisNew Monologues for Women features forty monologues from plays published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama recently. The monologues are selected by the editor, Geoffrey Colman, on account of their relevance to drama school students and recent graduates entering the profession. Each monologue is preceded by an introductory paragraph, written by the editor, outlining the setting, character type, and point in the plot. Suggestions are offered for staging, character interpretation, points of significance in the text, and how to draw from decisions made in professional productions.This collection is the go-to resource for the auditioning actor with an insatiable appetite for new, original and excellent material.Trade ReviewThis is a strong proposal and I feel that there is a solid market for this collection. It is important that young actors are aware of new writing and that they use new monologue material for their audition pieces. This will prove that they are up-to-date with new plays, emerging writers and trends. The readership will be young actors auditioning for drama schools, professional work and even television or film work. It will be also of interest to playwrights, directors and producers looking for new plays. This collection might also increase the sales of the plays themselves. It has been known that a director may choose a play, simply because the trigger was the main monologue of that work. So, the readership is not limited or focused on the acting profession. * Dr George Rodosthenous, University of Leeds *
£16.14
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Oh What A Lovely War
Book SynopsisJoan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop company was set up at the end of the war and started by touring in Wales, the industrial north and Scotland. In 1953 they moved into the Theatre Royal, Stratford, London E15 and remained there for the next eleven years during which time they built up an international reputation. Their best work included classical revivals like Volpone and Edward II and new plays like The Quare Fellow and The Hostage by Brendan Behan, A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney and musical plays like Fings Ain't Wot They Used T' Be by Frank Norman and Lionel Bart.
£13.93
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Troilus and Cressida
Book SynopsisA revised edition of this intriguing and complex play, updated to cover recent critical thinking and stage history. Troilus and Cressida is a tragedy often labelled a problem play because of its apparent blend of genres and its difficult themes. Set in the Trojan Wars it tells a story of doomed love and honour, offering a debased view of human nature in war-time and a stage peopled by generally unsympathetic characters. The revised edition makes an ideal text for study at undergraduate level and above.Table of ContentsGeneral Editors' Preface Preface Introduction Introduction to the Revised Edition Troilus and Cressida Appendices Bibliography and References Index
£12.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Ghost From A Perfect Place
Book SynopsisIf you think I''m threatened by you, you''re wrong. I''m Travis Flood. I was threatening people before you were born.Back in the sixties, Travis Flood and his gang terrorised Bethnal Green. Now, after an absence of 25 years, Travis returns and meets Rio, whose haunting beauty leads him to confront a story that bears no relation to his own distorted memory. And then there''s the Cheerleaders . . . a present-day gang, more vicious and terrifying that anything Travis led in the past.This edition of Ghost from a Perfect Place was published to coincide with the first major revival of the play at the Arcola Theatre, London, in September 2014.Trade ReviewPhilip Ridley's third stage play is like a lethal cocktail complete with its own antidote. It is nostalgic, sardonic and savage. Its poetry is like a knuckle-duster in words. -- John Peter * Sunday Times *Astonishingly affecting . . . startling * Evening Standard *Lit up by sharp humour . . . the author's quirky imagination at its best * Daily Telegraph *Philip Ridley has the gift of prescience. * Time Out London *
£10.79
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Audition Speeches for Black South Asian and
Book SynopsisAudition Speeches for Black, South Asian and Middle Eastern Actors: Monologues for Women aims to provide new and exciting audition and showcase material for actresses of black, African American, South Asian and Middle Eastern heritage. Featuring the work of international contemporary playwrights who have written powerful and diverse roles for a range of actors, the collection is edited by Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway. Categorized by age-range, the monologues are collected in groups of characters playable by actresses in their teens, twenties, thirties and forties+, and include work from over 25 top-class dramatists including Sudha Bhuchar, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Marcus Gardley, Mona Mansour and Naomi Wallace. Audition Speeches for Black, South Asian and Middle Eastern Actors: Monologues for Women is the go-to resource for contemporary monologues and speeches for auditions. Ideal for aspiring and professional actresses, it allows performers to enhance their particular strengthsTrade ReviewTakes the stress out of trying to find suitable material for auditions as the anthologies are well researched, written and edited … A wonderful resource and tool for teachers. * Word Matters (STSD) *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Foreword Editor’s Introduction Audition speeches for women: Comedy; Love; Tragedy etc. Bibliography of featured plays
£999.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Directing with the Michael Chekhov Technique
Book SynopsisDirecting with the Michael Chekhov Technique explores the collaborative process between a play's director and the entire production team, making the journey of a production process cohesive using the Michael Chekhov Technique. No other technique provides the tools for both actor and director to communicate as clearly as does Michael Chekhov. Directing with the Michael Chekhov Technique is the first book to apply the insights of this celebrated technique to the realities of directing a theatrical production. The book chronicles the journey of a play, from conception through production, through the eyes of the director. Drawn from the author's rehearsal journals, logs and notes from each performance, the reader is shown how to arrive at a concept, create a concept statement and manage the realization of the play, utilizing specific techniques from Michael Chekhov to solve problems of acting and design. As with all books in the Theatre Arts Workbook series, Directing witTrade ReviewProvides performers and directors with a practical set of exercises and also with a lexicon with which they can articulate their practice. This, in turn, supports a focused, structured and navigable pathway through a potentially difficult and precarious career ... if the Chekhov Technique appeals to you, [this] will quickly become dog-eared and tatty. * Youth Theatre Ireland *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter One-Analysis and Composition of the Play Chapter Two-Archetypes and Casting Chapter Three-Creating the Ensemble-Establishing Atmosphere Chapter Four-Revealing the Language of the Rehearsal Process Chapter Five-Beginning Work on Scenes-Composition Chapter Six-Work on Individual Speeches-Composition Chapter Seven-Psychological Gesture as Action Chapter Eight-Character Relationships Chapter Nine-Chekhov and Musical Theatre/Opera Chapter Ten-Tempo Chapter Eleven-Characterization Chapter Twelve-Middle to Final Rehearsals Chapter Thirteen-Further Exercises for Teachers and Directors Conclusion
£29.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Torn
Book SynopsisWhere you standing? I say where you standing on this? You think it happened or you don't think it happened?Generations of secrets have broken the Brook family.Siblings split-up, traded-off, treated differently.Angel, the youngest, has called a family meeting to sift through the wreckage. And she's not leaving until they've confronted the truth about how and why her family failed her.Torn by British playwright and actor Nathaniel Martello-White was published to coincide with its world premiere at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs on 7 September 2016.Trade ReviewThe play has many glories, not least its searing rhetoric, its unflinching honesty and its moments of sublime physical comedy ... This is not a parable of the acting profession or of some crushed racial minority. It's a story of everyday ambition, of life in the urban rat race, of perseverance triumphing over adversity. And it contains perhaps the finest, and funniest, speech about slavery I've heard. * Spectator on 'Blackta' *Nathaniel Martello-White’s debut play is concerned with more than just the various hurdles faced by black actors; it also encompasses broader themes of race, identity and masculinity. The play rattles along, a little bit like Beckett on amphetamines, presenting a frantic hamster wheel world in which its characters - named for their skin tone: black, brown, yellow - are forever being tested...The play has a lot to say and for much of the time it does so with humour and verve * The Stage on 'Blackta' *
£13.93
Edinburgh University Press On the Threshold
Book SynopsisThe first book-length study of hospitality in Shakespeare.
£23.74
Edinburgh University Press ShakespeareS Virtuous Theatre
Book SynopsisPresents Shakespeare's theatre as a powerful forum for shaping our capacity for virtue
£85.50
Duke University Press ......And the Dogs Were Silent......Et les chiens
Book SynopsisAvailable to readers for the first time, Aimé Césaire’s three-act drama . . . . . . And the Dogs Were Silent—written during the Vichy regime in Martinique in 1943 and lost until 2008—dramatizes the Haitian Revolution and the rise and fall of Toussaint Louverture as its heroic leader. This bilingual English and French edition stands apart from Césaire’s more widely known 1946 closet drama. Following the slave revolts that sparked the revolution, Louverture arrives as both prophet and poet, general and visionary. With striking dramatic technique, Césaire retells the revolution in poignant encounters between rebels and colonial forces, guided by a prophetic chorus and Louverture’s steady ethical and political vision. In the last act, we reach the hero’s betrayal, his imprisonment, and his last stand against the lures of compromise. Césaire’s masterwork is a strikingly beautiful and brutal indictment of col
£20.69
Manchester University Press The Massacre at Paris
Book SynopsisThis Revels Plays edition of Christopher Marlowe's The Massacre at Paris opens up this powerful dramatisation of the French Wars of Religion to student and scholar through its comprehensive introduction, full collation and commentary notes, and an appendix containing a fragment from a lost, fuller version of the play. -- .
£23.75
Manchester University Press Thierry and Theodoret
Book SynopsisThis is the first fully annotated, single-volume critical edition of Fletcher, Massinger, and Field's Thierry and Theodoret, with an introduction that reassesses sources (including Shakespeare) and discusses the authorship and reception of this captivating play, pointing the way for future study, especially of a historical or gender-based nature. -- .
£999.99
Walker Books Ltd National Theatre Lola Saves the Show
Book SynopsisJoin Lola on her backstage adventure in the first picture book created with the National Theatre.It''s showtime! Lola is a little actor with big dreams. But when disaster strikes on opening night and an important prop goes missing backstage, can Lola save the show in time? A fun and engaging picture book for both daytime and bedtime, packed with backstage drama and laugh-out-loud moments, with references to theatre roles and departments. The perfect gift for any little one that loves the theatre. This book is ideal for fans of Chris Haughton and Michelle Robinson.
£7.59
Coach House Books dyslexicon
Book SynopsisA double-lunged bong hit of mid-Eighties post-punk college rock, Gertrude Stein, art films, and the comedic legacy of Laurel and Hardy (including such great standup teams as HD and Ezra Pound, Jesus and Judas, and Steve McCaffery and bpNichol). Jeff Derksen says: 'If reading is sixty-nining, then dyslexicon satisfies at both ends. Stephen Cain disentangles everyday life into its constituent emotional, intellectual, sexual and cultural parts -- people, the city, books, music - only to recombine them into a new set of relations ...It's a sexy m-f of a book. Put it on your turntables.'
£13.59
Broadview Press Ltd The Witch of Edmonton
Book SynopsisAt the center of this remarkable 1621 play is the story of Elizabeth Sawyer, the titular "Witch of Edmonton," a woman who had in fact been executed for the crime of witchcraft mere months before the play's first performance. Yet hers is only one of several plots that animate The Witch of Edmonton. Blending sensational drama with domestic tragedy and comic farce, this complex and multi-layered play by Dekker, Ford, and Rowley emphasizes the mundane realities and interpersonal conflicts that are so often at the heart of sensational occurrences. This edition of their work offers a compelling and informative introduction, thorough annotation, and a selection of contextual materials that helps set the play in the context of the "witch-craze" of Jacobean England.Table of Contents Introduction William Rowley, John Ford, and Thomas Dekker The Witch of Edmonton The Witch of Edmonton In Context from James I (James VI of Scotland), Demonology, In Form of a Dialogue, Divided into Three Books (1597) from William Perkins, A Discourse of the Damned Art of Witchcraft; so far forth as it is revealed in the Scriptures, and manifest by true experience (1608) from John Cotta, The Trial of Witchcraft, Showing the True and Right Method of the Discovery: With a Confutation of Erroneous Ways (1616) Henry Goodcole, The Wonderful Discovery of Elizabeth Sawyer, a Witch, late of Edmonton, her conviction and condemnation and death. Together with the relation of the Devil's access to her, and their conference together (1621)
£17.05
Broadview Press Ltd Slaves in Algiers; or, A Struggle for Freedom
Book SynopsisAs Americans began defining who was to be counted a citizen in their newly-established republic, Susanna Rowson’s comic opera Slaves in Algiers (1794) makes an earnest case that women be accorded the rights guaranteed to men, playfully turning sexual hierarchies on their head: “Women were born for universal sway; / Men to adore, be silent, and obey.” A fast-paced plot, engaging characterization, and rollicking songs ensured that Slaves in Algiers garnered success when it was first performed at the New Theater in Philadelphia. But Rowson’s play also engages in perpetuating racial stereotypes: set in Algiers at a time when Barbary pirates were seizing more and more U.S. ships in the Mediterranean Sea, Slaves in Algiers is written for a largely white audience driven by outrage at the enslavement of white people in the Barbary states. The play is critical of many aspects of North African cultures, particularly the practices of piracy and enslavement, while not acknowledging the moral and ethical taint of America’s own enslavement of African Americans. In recent years, critics have given increased attention to Slaves in Algiers, particularly to its interwoven feminist, nationalist, and imperialist themes, as well as to its treatment of Muslim and Jewish characters.This volume is one of a number of editions that have been drawn from the pages of the acclaimed Broadview Anthology of American Literature; like the others, it is designed to make a range of material from the anthology available in a format convenient for use in a wide variety of contexts.Trade ReviewCOMMENTS ON The Broadview Anthology of American Literature“The expansion, diversification, and revitalization of the texts and terms of American literary history in recent years is made marvelously accessible in the … new Broadview Anthology of American Literature.” — Hester Blum, Penn State University“The Broadview Anthology of American Literature is, quite simply, a breakthrough. … Meticulously researched and expertly assembled, this anthology should be the new gold standard for scholars and teachers alike.” — Michael D’Alessandro, Duke University“So much thought has been put into every aspect of the Broadview Anthology of American Literature, from the selection of texts to their organization to their presentation on the page; it will be a gift to classrooms for years to come.” — Lara Langer Cohen, Swarthmore College “The multiplicity of early American locations, languages, and genres is here on wondrous display.” — Jordan Alexander Stein, Fordham University “Above all, this is a volume for the 21st century. … Its capaciousness and ample resource materials make for a text that is always evolving and meeting its readers in new ways.” — Russ Castronovo, University of Wisconsin-Madison“a rich collection that reflects the diversity of American literatures…. [and] that never forgets its most important audience: students. There is a wealth of material here that will help them imagine and reimagine what American literature could be.” — Michael C. Cohen, UCLA Table of ContentsIntroduction Susanna Haswell Rowson Slaves in Algiers; or, A Struggle for Freedom: A Play, Interspersed with Songs, in Three Acts Slaves in Algiers; or, A Struggle for Freedom: A Play, Interspersed with Songs, in Three Acts
£16.10
Theatre Communications Group Inc.,U.S. The Secret Garden
Book Synopsis
£16.19
Theatre Communications Group Inc.,U.S. Culture Clash in Americca
£999.99
Theatre Communications Group Inc.,U.S. The Detroit Project
Book Synopsis
£18.69
Theatre Communications Group Inc.,U.S. Ivanov
Book Synopsis
£18.69
Christian Publishers LLC Two Voices: 54 Duet Scenes for Teens
Book SynopsisFinally -- a collection of duologues from the best-selling author of Winning Monologs for Young Actors and her granddaughter. These humorous and thoughtful scenes present distinctive viewpoints on issues meant to provoke and inspire discussion as well as to entertain. Most roles can be played by either gender. The short length of each duologue makes it easy for students to memorize their lines. Sample titles include How Not to Get a Job, Cutesy-Wutesy Doggie-Woggie, The Alibi, My Rotten Roommate, Prince Not-So-Charming, The Tooth Fairy Conspiracy, Mall Survey, Hair Salon Gossip, That''s How Rumors Start, Backstage Pass, and Goody, Two Shoes. Fifty-four scenes in all. For use in a wide variety of settings, from speech contests and auditions to acting practice or comedy revue shows. A valuable resource for teachers and theatre libraries.
£17.09
Ivan R Dee, Inc The Marriage of Figaro
Book SynopsisSensual gaiety is at the heart of this comic masterpiece which continues the merry tale of the little barber of Seville, a clever common man whose wits overcome his superiors who would suppress him. In paring down the number of players, presenting the scenes more economically, and offering a translation that removes archaic phrasing, Mr. Sahlins delivers a script that can be comfortably staged by present-day theatres.Trade ReviewSahlins' 'speakable' version of the play sacrifices little of its spirit or of the pointed class distinctions of the French court of its time. * Booklist *
£10.63
Ivan R Dee, Inc The Trojan Women
Book SynopsisAs bleak and agonizing a portrait of war as ever to appear on stage, The Trojan Women is a masterpiece of pathos as well as a timeless and chilling indictment of war’s brutality. The only justice in war, Euripides seems to say, is punitive and nihilistic. Nicholas Rudall’s compelling new translation continues his acclaimed work in interpreting classical drama for today’s audiences.Trade ReviewA new translation of a literary classic of pathos and war, capturing the classical drama in a new form designed as a play for performing to modern audiences. * Bookwatch *
£999.99
Surrey Books,U.S. Six Plays
Book SynopsisThis anthology features six plays by celebrated Chicago playwright Mickle Maher, who has been described by the Houston Chronicle as “one of the most original voices in American theater today,” and by the Chicago Reader as “a master at creating complex, paradoxical works that encompass their own contradictions.” Maher’s plays engage classic literature as a jumping off point for seriously unusual comedic dramas, often dealing with the absurdity, difficulties, and rewards of artistic endeavor. His work has been influenced by or compared to Eugène Ionesco, Maria Irene Fornes, Kenneth Koch, and Edward Albee, among others. This edition is designed to be useful for schools and other organizations that wish to mount productions of Maher’s plays, which generally feature small casts and simple scenery and stagings, and thus can be easy to produce. Production rights for any of these six plays can be requested from the publisher. The anthology includes: An Apology for the Course and Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening On the night Faustus concludes his bargain with Mephistopheles, he apologizes to a group of random people for his failure to keep a diary of his fabulous life. The Hunchback Variations Ludwig von Beethoven and Quasimodo present a panel discussion on their failure to create an impossible sound called for in a stage direction in Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Spirits to Enforce Twelve telefundraisers with secret identities work to raise money for a superheroic production of The Tempest in a bid to save Fathomtown from Professor Cannibal and his band of evil doers. There Is a Happiness That Morning Is Having engaged the evening before in a highly inappropriate display of public affection on the main lawn of their rural New England campus, two lecturers on the poems of William Blake must now, in class, either apologize for their behavior or effectively justify it to keep their jobs. Song About Himself In a dystopian future, a woman made extraordinary by her ability to speak relatively clearly tries to connect with others on a mysterious social media site created by a rogue artificial intelligence. It Is Magic Deb and Sandy are auditioning Tim for the role of the Wolf in a production of The Three Little Pigs, but there’s a mysterious haze in the basement of the Mortier Civic Playhouse and that, in addition to interruptions from the director of the Scottish play that’s going on upstairs, is making things difficult. Then, Liz shows up and throws the whole room into (further) chaos. It Is Magic reveals the deep, ancient evil at the heart of the community theater audition process.Trade ReviewPraise for Mickle Maher’s There Is a Happiness That Morning Is: “Masterful. .. this is what theater is supposed to be.” —Houston Press “Savagely funny… Maher’s ‘There Is a Happiness That Morning Is’ is a joy, an unexpectedly raucous celebration of art and ardor—and public sex.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer “Delightfully original… If you prize imagination, intelligence and genuine passion, you’ll be on cloud nine through all 90 minutes of this utterly unpredictable experience… With its grace, wit and profusion of clever rhymes, the language alone is reason enough to attend… There is an exhilaration that true inspiration brings—and that’s exactly the high delivered by There Is a Happiness That Morning Is.” —Houston Chronicle “Maher’s most powerful play to date…soul shaking.” —Chicago Reader “An enjoyably lunatic endeavor.” —Chicago Tribune “A bizarre, brilliant play that is capable of reordering your brain a bit.” —Austin Chronicle “Consistently and thrillingly entertaining.” —Cleveland Scene “90 witty and entertaining minutes of poetic and comic bliss.” —Cleveland Jewish News “Almost endlessly engaging and frequently hilarious.” —Time Out Chicago “Riveting and wonderfully ridiculous.” —News-Herald “Funny, witty, literate, and profound.” —Windy City Times “Fun, stark, strange, and ridiculous.” —Broadway World Praise for Mickle Maher’s Spirits to Enforce: “Mesmerizing… the stuff that great theater is made of.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Entrancing…beguiling…the play is like a dance, a 90-minute linguistic ballet… a rollicking, cerebral delight.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer “Hilarious, layered, well-executed—the show leaves you feeling fuller than when you walked in.” —Austin Chronicle “A dazzling algebra of memory, identity, and the fluid but fixing cruelty of time.” “Highly Recommended/Critic’s Choice” —Chicago Reader “Highly entertaining and thoroughly imaginative.” —The Shakespeare Review “Enters a language-rich dream world that draws inspiration from comic-book morality tales, Shakespeare, and from the great globe itself…once the revels are ended, you feel like something earth-shattering has taken place.” —Milwaukee Magazine “Delightfully unconventional… With Spirits to Enforce (Maher) mixes the most unlikely elements into an enthralling show that’s absurd, funny, and touching.” —Chicago Free Press “This show is amazing! It’s like ‘The Tempest’ fell into a vat of toxic waste and now has the power to make us laugh…really hard.” —Chicago Theater Beat Praise for Mickle Maher’s The Hunchback Variations: “Theater Oobleck playwright Mickle Maher is a master at creating complex, paradoxical works that encompass their own contradictions. While his comedies leave a somber aftertaste, his forays into satire with a serious edge are gut-bustingly funny…In The Hunchback Variations Maher mocks academic examinations of the creative process even as he engages in a complicated deconstruction of creativity.” —Chicago Reader “Tantalizes with swirling bits about the nature of creativity, grief, the endless universe, the physical world, the theater…a thinking man’s vaudeville. You won’t soon forget it.” —Houston Press “Terrifically funny for even non-geniuses… I haven’t laughed this much at a show in an awfully long time.” —Applause Meter “Seriously crazed…acquires rueful resonance, even amid the resolute absurdity of it all.” —Houston Chronicle Named “One of the top five productions of the year” by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Praise for Mickle Maher’s An Apology for the Course and Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening: “A decade ago, the initial run of this diabolically clever monologue established the singular genius of playwright Mickle Maher, insouciantly infecting the Western canon with his dark brand of whimsy…(and) did we mention the play’s hilarious?” —Time Out Chicago “Intellectually spry and surprisingly funny…a fascinating piece of avant-garde Chicago brain candy.” Highly Recommended —Chicago Tribune “An Apology…quite simply put, is one of the most incomparable undertakings that has graced the stage… (a) complete masterpiece.” —Chicago Stage Review “It’s hard to miss Mickle Maher’s brilliance in this ingenious retooling of the Faust legend.” —Chicago Reader “One can see… not only Maher’s passionate engagements with language at diverse levels—from the rhetorical mastery of syntax and cadence to the semantic wizardry of words, their ability to conjure habitable worlds out of bare ice and air—but also two of the issues that drive Maher throughout his various theatrical follies. There is the idea of the impossible or meaningless project as not just an intellectual limit or an aesthetic curiosity, but an ethical necessity: a ‘life-duty.’ And there is the sense of inescapable loneliness heightened by the attempt to communicate, as though the fundamental ethical task is to make one’s own singularity intelligible and thereby transcend it—a task which in Maher’s universe seems inevitably doomed to failure.” —John Beer, The Point “Superb…miss (this play) at your peril.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Praise for Mickle Maher’s Song About Himself: “Nearly perfect… a world of ridiculous, ominous inadequacy.” —Chicago Reader “Wonderfully, exceedingly weird.” —Chicago Tribune “Subtle, elegiac.” —Houston Chronicle “A rich psychological and metaphysical landscape.” —Newcity “An engaging, resonant ode.” —Time Out Chicago Praise for Mickle Maher’s It Is Magic: “Hilarious tragedy.” —Chicago Reader “A harrowing, hilarious journey into the eldritch heart of the theatrical experience.” —Austin Arts WatchTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION/PREFACE 1. AN APOLOGY FOR THE COURSE AND OUTCOME OF CERTAIN EVENTS 2. DELIVERED BY DOCTOR JOHN FAUSTUS ON THIS HIS FINAL EVENING 3. THE HUNCHBACK VARIATIONS 4. SPIRITS TO ENFORCE 5. THERE IS A HAPPINESS THAT MORNING IS 6. SONG ABOUT HIMSELF 7. IT IS MAGIC ABOUT THE AUTHOR
£999.99
Medieval Institute Publications Everyman and Its Dutch Original, Elckerlijc
Book SynopsisFaced with death's certainty-and the uncertainty of the time of its coming, particularly in a historical period of widespread plague and other afflictions-as well as the inevitability of the hereafter, what is one to do? Everyman speaks to this dilemma. . . . The protagonist is one who, because he has laid up treasures on earth, has been in a position to do good deeds, but he has been very lax about it and instead has pursued enjoyment and wealth, the latter hoarded instead of being shared with the poor and needy. . . . Now he must, as the medieval mystics knew, endure the solitariness of leaving behind all that has given him comfort in this world. . . . This facing page translation of this Continental play will be useful to all students of theater.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Everyman, and Its Dutch Original, Elckerlijc Explanatory Notes to Everyman Textual Notes to Everyman Appendix: The Golden Legend Bibliography
£999.99
The Library of America Moliere: The Complete Richard Wilbur
Book Synopsis
£27.19
Akasha Classics Sophist
Book Synopsis
£999.99
Booklocker Inc.,US The Last Hours of Their Lives
Book SynopsisNo airline has ever lost both of its pilots while in flight. It finally happened on Marist Airlines Flight 212 when both officers became medically incapacitated. The only person on board with any flying experience was a 53-year-old woman with just 40 hours of flying. The question passengers, air traffic control, and Marist Airlines kept asking as she took control of the flight was...would she be able to safely land the plane?
£16.04
Bearmanor Adult Around the World in 80 Days - The 1874 Play
Book Synopsis
£26.60
