Plays, playscripts, drama
Graphic Arts Books Caesar and Cleopatra
Book SynopsisWhen Julius Caesar arrives in Egypt and finds Cleopatra in hiding, he encourages her to return to the palace and embrace her role as queen. Shaw depicts an unlikely pair that bond over a common goal. As Roman forces invade Egypt, Julius Caesar stumbles across a young Cleopatra hiding amongst the statues. He initially conceals his identity, as the queen expresses concern over Caesar and his impending army. When he convinces her to return to the palace, she soon discovers his true name. Following a brief exchange, the young woman is relieved as Caesar has quelled her worst fears. Yet, in the midst of a Roman occupation, Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy engage in a bitter battle for the Egyptian throne. In Caesar and Cleopatra, George Bernard Shaw explores the unique dynamic between two of history’s most notable figures. It’s a cynical but entertaining view of the political warfare that ravaged Ancient Egypt. With his sharp prose, Shaw revitalizes the classic story and its infamous characters. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Caesar and Cleopatra is both modern and readable.
£999.99
Nick Hern Books ... ...cake
Book Synopsis'everything i do kills you. i don't know if i love you because i have to or because i can't help it… i don't know if both of those things are bad.' It's one of those hot April evenings that feel like summer, and the heat is stifling in Sissy's London flat as she dances, unrestrained, beautiful, alive… But when sixteen-year-old Eshe arrives, powerful emotions come to the surface – and the two women are locked in a dance where freedom clashes with duty. babriye bukilwa's play …cake is a psychological drama that asks if the cycle of generational trauma can ever be broken. Can queer, Black femmes find love and belonging when the soil beneath them – and the climate around them – is hostile? It was first performed at Theatre Peckham, London, in 2021, directed by the venue's Associate Director, malakaï sargeant.Trade Review'Claustrophobic and thrilling... babirye bukilwa's two-hander explores themes of race, class and sexuality with extraordinary subtlety' * Independent *'Stunning' * The Stage *'A devastating and necessary watch... Never before have I seen such a real portrayal of the trauma that is passed between generations' * A Younger Theatre *'Raw, uncompromising... A dark, twisted psychological drama' * London Theatre 1 *
£9.49
Nick Hern Books The Good Life
Book SynopsisWhen Tom and Barbara Good decide to exchange the pressures of the rat race for an alternative, more sustainable way of living, they set about turning their suburban home in Surbiton into a model of self-sufficiency. They grow their own fruit and veg, keep livestock in the garden, make their own clothes, and even generate their own electricity from manure. It's the good life for them – but not for Margo and Jerry Leadbetter, who live next door, and are desperately trying to maintain the Surbiton status quo. Jeremy Sams' stage play, based on the hugely popular sitcom by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, reunites the well-loved characters (not forgetting Geraldine the goat) as they get themselves into and out of scrapes – some old, some new, all hilarious. Tapping into issues that resonate now more than ever, The Good Life is a witty reimagining of a television classic, with a wellyful of laughs that's sure to delight audiences everywhere. It was first produced by Fiery Angel on an extensive tour of the UK in 2021, directed by Jeremy Sams and starring Rufus Hound, Preeya Kalidas, Dominic Rowan and Sally Tatum.Trade Review'Couldn't be more timely... cracking comedy... A feel-good psychedelic 70s trip' * Broadway World *'Fans will be pleased to hear that some of the funniest of the Goods' adventures are on offer, while new slants recognise the march of time on the ecology front' * The Stage *'Funny and warm and feel-good... a slice of pure nostalgia – whether you were a fan of the TV series of not' * The Reviews Hub *'A warm, generous, fun, piece of excellent theatrical comedy that will make you feel good... a happy piece of theatre gold' * Bristol 24/7 *
£10.44
Nick Hern Books When This Is Over: A Blueprint for Creating Your
Book SynopsisA group of teenagers, their lives shaped by billions of seemingly random events going back to before they were born, come together onstage to share stories about their past, their present, and what might lie ahead. When This Is Over is a uniquely personal, theatrical celebration of hope, possibility and imagination. It's about how we can work with chaos, and embrace our collective imagination as we prepare for a deeply uncertain future – together. Originally conceived by Company Three – and developed alongside more than fifty other youth theatres across the UK – When This Is Over is a play designed to be created and performed by teenage casts, drawing directly on their own life experiences and the stories they want to tell. As with Company Three's widely performed youth-theatre play Brainstorm, the script is a blueprint for an amazing theatrical adventure. This published edition contains a series of exercises and activities for schools, youth-theatre groups and community companies to create and perform their own unique productions, and also features the complete script of Company Three's version, which was performed at The Yard, London, in 2022. When This Is Over was named Community Project of the Year at The Stage Awards, and Outstanding Drama Initiative at the Music and Drama Education Awards.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Samuel Takes a Break
Book SynopsisIt is 2019, the Year of Return, marking four hundred years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in America. We are at a slave castle in Ghana. Samuel is our tour guide. It''s his job to give tourists a really, really authentic experience of the castle''s dark history, and to do it all with a smile. Thank you, Samuel!The tourists are Samuel''s guests, and they''re on a journey of self-discovery. But they''re here, standing on soil, blood and bones, asking for a selfie. They want to buy trinkets from the gift shop. Samuel would never want to hurt the tourists. And they would never want to hurt him.Rhianna Ilube''sSamuel Takes a Break? in Male Dungeon No. 5 After a Long but Generally Successful Day of Toursis a genre-blending play about colonialism, identity and the attempt to preserve the past. It was shortlisted for the Women''s Prize for Playwriting and the Verity Bargate Award, and was a finalist for the 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. It premiered at The Yard Theatre, London, in 2024, directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books ...blackbird hour
Book SynopsisA visceral and moving exploration of caring, belonging, and a queer Black woman's attempts to love herself. Premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2025.
£11.39
Nick Hern Books The Years
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Into the Woods
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£11.69
Nick Hern Books It Walks Around The House At Night Jurassic
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£11.69
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC London Assurance
Book SynopsisDion Boucicault, the Irish genius of London theatre in the age of Dickens, wrote the brilliantly funny London Assurance in 1841 and thereby created, in Sir Harcourt and Lady Spanker, two of the great comic roles of the English stage, played at the National Theatre by Simon Russell Beale and Fiona Shaw.Trade Review"The dialogue is both funny and flavorsome, helped along here by a few excellent new jokes added by Richard Bean."—Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph "Tickled up with new jokes by farmer’s son and stand-up turned-playwright Richard Bean, both the countryside and play are even funnier than when this play was written in 1841."—Georgina Brown, Mail on Sunday"The dialogue is both funny and flavorsome, helped along here by a few excellent new jokes added by Richard Bean."Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph "Tickled up with new jokes by farmer’s son and stand-up turned-playwright Richard Bean, both the countryside and play are even funnier than when this play was written in 1841."Georgina Brown, Mail on Sunday
£14.61
Nick Hern Books Three Sisters
Book Synopsis‘Do you ever wonder what would happen if we could live our lives all over again but be fully conscious of it the second time? I bet we’d try to do everything differently, or at least would know to create a different world for ourselves.’ In a room in a house in a provincial town, three sisters wait for their lives to begin. Olga, the eldest. Masha, the middle child. Irina, the youngest. The clock strikes. A candle is lit. The clock stops. Something catches fire. The clock strikes. They wake up. Cordelia Lynn's version of Chekhov's Three Sisters, from a literal translation by Helen Rappaport, was first performed at the Almeida Theatre, London, in April 2019, in a production directed by Rebecca Frecknall.Trade Review'Deftly captures the sense of longing for a new life... brilliantly captures the sense of boredom and discontent felt by the three sisters and others who orbit their home' * Culture Whisper *'Cordelia Lynn's adaptation makes Chekhov's characters feel like contemporary young women, vibrating with frustration at being stuck in unsatisfying jobs and lumbered with unsatisfying men... her update also delivers moments of capsizing sadness... quietly devastating' * The Stage *
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Appropriate
Book Synopsis‘So I thought, since we can’t do Europe this summer, why don’t the kids and I just do a little Southern History road trip? We’re going to drive back home through Mississippi, Louisiana – all those places – experience some of Daddy’s heritage.’ The Lafayette family gather at their late father's home in Arkansas to bury the hatchet and prepare the former plantation for its Estate Sale. Until, that is, they make a discovery which changes everything. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Appropriate is a gripping play about ghosts and the legacies we are left with, and a wickedly subversive appropriation of the great American family drama. Appropriate premiered Off-Broadway in 2014, and won the Obie Award for Best New American Play. It had its UK premiere at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in August 2019, directed by Ola Ince and featuring Monica Dolan. This edition also features his short play I Promise Never Again to Write Plays About Asians...Trade Review'A bracingly clever play, as twisted and pointed as a corkscrew... viciously funny and profoundly unsettling... Jacobs-Jenkins springs many surprises as his drama runs its suspenseful and gripping course... a magnificent achievement' * WhatsOnStage *'A provocative family reunion drama from the sublime Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' * Time Out *'A stunning act of theatrical subversion... ingenious' * The Stage *'An audacious, vividly atmospheric tour de force' * Evening Standard *'Exhilarating... Jacob-Jenkins appropriates the classic American family drama with results that are both gravely serious and mordantly funny' * Guardian *'A bitterly funny family drama with ghostly overtones that raise genuine goosebumps... an audacious, vividly atmospheric tour de force' * Evening Standard *'The deftly crafted blend of shocking exaggeration and believability, politeness and fury… makes Appropriate land with the kind of thump you rarely encounter in the theatre' * Chicago Tribune *'A highly charged and ambitiously sprawling drama... There's no denying that Jacobs-Jenkins is one of the rising stars in the American theatre' * LA Times *'Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's very fine, subversively original new play... He enjoys his quarrelsome characters, and he has achieved the difficult feat of making them all both unlovable and impossible not to identify with... this remarkable and devious play allows us to draw our own parallels with the human sound and fury that fills most of the evening' -- Ben Brantley * New York Times *
£12.59
Nick Hern Books Caryl Churchill Plays: Three
Book SynopsisSpanning almost ten years and embracing a remarkable range of style and subject matter, this third volume of Churchill's Collected Plays, introduced by the author, contains: Icecream - an unsettling look at British attitudes to America, and vice versa Mad Forest - Churchill's response to the Romanian Revolution The Skriker - a 'spellbinding' piece combining English folk tales with modern urban life Thyestes - a 'bleakly eloquent new translation of Seneca's Roman tragedy' (Sunday Times). Plus two collaborative pieces combining word and dance: Lives of the Great Poisoners - a libretto to music by Orlando Gough and choreography by Ian Spink A Mouthful of Birds - written with David Lan Caryl Churchill has been hailed as 'a dramatist who must surely be amongst the best half-dozen now writing' The Times
£16.14
Nick Hern Books Ladies Down Under
Book SynopsisThe funny, heart-warming sequel to the enormously successful Ladies' Day, following the lasses from Hull on their adventures down under. After hitting the jackpot at Ladies' Day in York, the fishfilleting foursome - Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda - are celebrating in style with the trip of a lifetime to the land of Oz. While Shelley dreams of luxury and glamour, the rest of the gang decide to go native and camp out under the stars at Uluru. But Shelley soon discovers there's more on offer than posh hotels, stunning beaches and sun-kissed surfers; and Pearl finds that she's got a mountain of her own to climb... Ladies Down Under is the second play in Amanda Whittington's Ladies Trilogy, alongside Ladies' Day (Hull Truck, 2005) and Ladies Unleashed (Hull Truck, 2022), all of them featuring the same four principal characters, Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda.Trade Review'Whittington's creations could run and run' * Guardian *
£10.44
Flipped Eye Publishing Limited Un Nuevo Sol: British LatinX Writers
Book SynopsisUn Nuevo Sol: British LatinX Writers is the first major anthology of UK-based writers of Latin American heritage, a vibrant, new vanguard in British literature. Representing a community that is the eighth biggest in London, one of the fastest growing and best educated, numbering over 200,000 nationally, the work featured here includes fiction, poetry and theatre that exhibits the stunning fluidity with which the writers inhabit their hybrid heritage. Of the ten writers assembled here, some were born in Latin America and came to the UK in their twenties, others are second generation and have a British parent, but their work shares a fierceness, a playfulness with language and a sly political edge. Playing with form, genre, silence and coding, the resulting work channels and celebrates the rich mythology and scope of Latin American literature, but carries a uniquely British gene - a bit of banter, a flash of restrained cheek. It is no accident that some of the contributors are published and have growing international reputations - for example, Brazilian-British novelist Luiza Sauma (Penguin/Viking) and prize-winning Argentinian-British poet Leo Boix (Chatto). The book also includes an interview with the writer-actress Gael Le Cornec, exploring issues of identity, multiple heritage and displacement.
£9.36
The Chinese University Press Of Mountains and Seas: A Tragicomedy of the Gods in Three Acts
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£999.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC I Shakespeare
Book SynopsisTwelfth Night, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night''s Dream, Macbeth, and The Tempest... in a way you've never seen them before.Away from the rest of their plays, Malvolio, Cinna, Peaseblossom, Banquo, and Caliban tell their tales, each in a solo-show written for younger audiences, by acclaimed playwright Tim Crouch. No longer burdened by iambic pentameter, these five can finally speak their truthFusing Shakespeare with meta-theatre, multimedia, creative tasks, and philosophical playfulness, Crouch reimagines these secondary Shakespearean characters in a way that is accessible and engaging to young audiences.Featuring an introduction from Crouch that explains the origin of the five plays and their performance processes, the I, Shakespeare collection provides a fresh perspective on some of theatre's most well-known stories, finding the parallels between the Bard's time and present day.Table of ContentsIntroduction I, Malvolio I, Cinna I, Peaseblossom I, Banquo I, Caliban
£16.99
University of Illinois Press Latin American Melodrama
Book SynopsisDarlene J. Sadlier is a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University and the author of Nelson Pereira dos Santos and, most recently, Brazil Imagined: 1500 to the Present.Trade Review"A welcome addition to the literature, particularly given melodrama's centrality in cinematic and televisual discourses in Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuala. A very important volume." Randal Johnson, author of Manoel de OliveiraTable of ContentsAcknowledgments; Introduction; Film Melodrama in Latin America: A Short History; Darlene J. Sadlier; 1. Gilberto Perez; Melodrama of the Spirited Woman: Aventurera; 2. Luisela Alvaray; Melodrama and the Emergence of Venezuelan Cinema; 3. Paula Felix-Didier and Andres Levinson; The Building of a Nation: La guerra gaucha as Historical Melodrama; 4. Cid Vasconcelos; Women as Civilizers in 1940s Brazilian Cinema: Between Passion and the Nation; 5. Ismail Xavier; The Humiliation of the Father: Melodrama and Cinema Novo's Critique of Conservative Modernization; 6. Darlene J. Sadlier; Nelson Pereira dos Santos'Cinema de lagrimas; 7. Marvin D'Lugo; Luis Alcoriza or a Certain Anti-Melodramatic Tendency in Mexican Cinema; 8. Mariana Baltar; Weeping Reality: Melodramatic Imagination in Contemporary Brazilian Documentaries; 9. Catherine L. Benamou; Televisual Melodrama in an Era of Transnational Migration: Exporting the Folkloric Nation, Harvesting the Melancholic-Sublime; Notes on Contributors
£63.75
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Fifteen OneAct Plays
Book SynopsisFilled with wry, dark humor, unparalleled imagination, unforgettable characters, and exquisitely crafted storytelling, Sam Shepard’s plays have earned him enormous acclaim over the past five decades. In these fifteen one-acts, we see him at his best, displaying his trademark ability to portray human relationships, love, and lust with rare authenticity. These fifteen furiously energetic plays confirm Shepard's status as our most audacious living playwright, unafraid to set genres and archetypes spinning with results that are utterly mesmerizing. Included in this volume: Ages of the MoonEvanescence; Shakespeare in the AlleyShort Life of TroubleThe Unseen HandThe Rock GardenChicagoIcarus’s Mother4H ClubFourteen Hundred ThousandRed CrossCowboys #2Forensic & The NavigatorsThe Holy GhostlyBack Bog Beast BaitKiller’s Head
£13.99
Cambridge University Press Romantic Tragedies The Dark Employments of Wordsworth Coleridge and Shelley 87 Cambridge Studies in Romanticism Series Number 87
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£79.80
Faber & Faber Habeas Corpus
Book SynopsisAfter two elegiac comedies about the decline of old England, Mr Bennett has now written a gorgeously vulgar but densely plotted farce that is a downright celebration of sex and the human body... a combination of hurtling action with verbal brilliance.Guardian
£9.49
Faber & Faber The Master Builder Faber Drama
Book SynopsisThe change will come. And it''s not far away, I promise you that. Some figure will emerge from the dark screaming ''Get out of the way''. And not far behind others will follow... The young are waiting. In all their power. Knocking on the door.The master builder Halvard Solness has a fear of falling. A self-made man, without professional qualifications, he has achieved domination in the town but he''s increasingly frightened of being displaced by the young. A woman, Hilde Wangel, appears from the mountains, claiming to have known Solness ten years previously, and telling him of a promise he made to her when she thirteen.David Hare has written a new adaptation of one of Henrik Ibsen''s most complex autobiographical masterpieces - a mesmeric exploration of control, power, lust and death, which builds to a vertiginous climax.The Master Builder premiered in this English version at The Old Vic, London, in January 2016.
£9.49
Samuel French Ltd Breath of Spring
Book SynopsisWhen Dame Beatrice is given a mink stole by her maid, she is reminded of the maid''s shady past and immediately suspects that it was stolen from the the next flat. A former army officer and other lodgers endeavour to return the stole. The plan is devised with care and all of them take such delight in the secretive scheme that they wonder why they don''t do this more often.-5 women, 3 men
£13.11
Samuel French Ltd Deadline Dawn
Book SynopsisThe Middle East. In an attic room a group of terrorists hold a young girl, Naomi, and wait while the Government decides whether or not to pay the ransom. The building is surrounded by troops and there can be no escape for the kidnappers - but still they hold their prisoner. The tension between the two terrorists heightens and Brother Luis tries to intervene: inevitably, tragedy overtakes them.2 women, 2 men
£12.30
Samuel French Ltd Breezeblock Park
Book SynopsisSuperior council house dwellers Betty, Reeny, Vera and their men regard themselves as a close knit family team despite their concealed jealousies and occasional recriminations. When Betty''s daughter Sandra announces she is pregnant and intends to live unmarried with her student lover, the news explodes like an atom bomb.4 women, 5 men
£13.12
Samuel French Ltd Miss Littlewood
Book SynopsisJoan Littlewood was the anarchic revolutionary of 20th century theatre. Her unique Theatre Workshop was responsible for a raft of successes including Oh, What A Lovely War!, and breathed new life into the Theatre Royal Stratford East.Anti-establishment, visionary, rude and glorious, Joan Littlewood red the imagination of a generation. Based on her life story, this musical charts the emotional highs and lows of Joan’s journey from the East End to the West End.Told with her own uncompromising honesty, this new musical reveals a mighty love story at its heart.
£11.39
Samuel French Ltd Holly Down in Heaven
Book SynopsisHolly collects dolls. Holly is a born-again Christian. Holly is a fifteen-year-old, brainy, outspoken, spoiled, tyrannical brat. She''s also pregnant. During her nine-month odyssey, she must find a way to move forward with the new life she''s landed in or remain forever hidden in her own special heaven...of talking dolls. A dark comedy about navigating the treacherous terrain from child to adult.
£15.29
Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press Orphans
£999.99
UWA Publishing Atext
Book Synopsis
£999.99
Currency Press Pty Ltd Looking for Alibrandi the screenplay
Book SynopsisLooking for Alibrandi chronicles a year in the life of Josie Alibrandi, a third-generation Italian-Australian on the brink of adulthood. In her last year of school, Josie grapples with the awkwardness of first love, the grief of unexpected death and the uncovered secrets of her family history. It's a turbulent year for Josie as she seeks to find her place in the world. Brimming with warmth, humour and vitality, Looking for Alibrandi pits the desire to be independent against the need to belong, in a story that will appeal to all ages. The full screenplay and stills from the film are published here with an introduction by Anna Maria Dell'oso and an essay by Marchetta about adapting her award-winning novel for the screen.
£13.99
Currency Press Pty Ltd Poor Boy
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Aristophanes 1 Clouds Wasps Birds
Book SynopsisOriginally adapted for stage, Peter Meineck's revised translation features a general introduction and introductions to the plays. Detailed notes on staging, history, religious practice and myth combine to make a this a practical teaching text.Trade ReviewStorey's contributions are solid, and conduct the beginner clearly and logically through the various minefields of Aristophanic scholarship, without oversimplification. . . . The particular virtue of Meineck lies in the fact that he is a theatre director who has worked with these texts in an attempt to realize them for modern audiences. . . . His aim of producing translations ‘that are understandable, performable, accessible, and entertaining’ has clearly been fulfilled. --Keith Sidwell, Classical Review. . . lively and entertaining. It conveys the astonishing vigor of the original Greek, while keeping close to the text. The notes would be useful in the classroom. --Margaret E. Reesor, Queen's University
£16.14
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Aristophanes 1 Clouds Wasps Birds
Book SynopsisOriginally adapted for the stage, Peter Meineck''s revised translations achieve a level of fidelity appropriate for classroom use while managing to preserve the wit and energy that led The New Yorker to judge his CloudsThe best Greek drama we''ve ever seen anywhere, and The Times Literary Supplement to describe his Wasps as Hugely enjoyable and very, very funny. A general Introduction, introductions to the plays, and detailed notes on staging, history, religious practice and myth combine to make this a remarkably useful teaching text.Trade ReviewStorey's contributions are solid, and conduct the beginner clearly and logically through the various minefields of Aristophanic scholarship, without oversimplification. . . . The particular virtue of Meineck lies in the fact that he is a theatre director who has worked with these texts in an attempt to realize them for modern audiences. . . . His aim of producing translations ‘that are understandable, performable, accessible, and entertaining’ has clearly been fulfilled. --Keith Sidwell, Classical Review. . . lively and entertaining. It conveys the astonishing vigor of the original Greek, while keeping close to the text. The notes would be useful in the classroom. --Margaret E. Reesor, Queen's University
£35.99
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Plautus and Terence Five Comedies
Book SynopsisThis is a book worthy of high praise. . . . All versions are exceedingly witty and versatile, in verse that ripples from one's lips, pulling all the punches of Plautus, the knockabout king of farce, and proving that the more polished Terence can be just as funny. Accuracy to the original has been thoroughly respected, but look at the humour in rendering Diphilius' play called Synapothnescontes as Three's a Shroud. . . . Students in schools and colleges will benefit from short introductions to each play, to Roman stage conventions, to different types of Greek and Roman comedy, and there is a note on staging, with a diagram illustrating a typical Roman stage and further diagrams of the basic set for each play. The translators have paid more attention to stage directions than is usually given in translations, because they aim to show how these plays worked. This is a book to be used and enjoyed. --Raymond J. Clark, The Classical OutlookTrade ReviewThese five new translations . . . take to its logical, lively conclusion the long-held but oft-ignored reality that Plautus and Terence were writers for the stage. These versions have verve: playability, liveliness, accessibility, unlike anything on library shelves today. Of modern-day attempts at Plautus-inspired music, for example, only Stephen Sondheim has excelled the inspired zaniness of Douglass Parker’s lyrics. There is much virtue to be measured here. . . . After reading these plays we might spend considerable thought on the possibility that conservative translations in the style of Barsby are less authentic--if such a thing can be measured--than those of Berg and Parker. . . . This is a deceptively important book, meriting a wide, attentive readership. . . . [Berg and Parker's] theater-friendly versions offer a vision of the future of Roman comedy, both scholarly and popular. The profession will be well repaid to take an appreciative look. --David Frauenfelder, North Carolina State UniversityDeena Berg and Douglass Parker’s Plautus & Terence: Five Comedies is a fascinating postmodernist rendition of some of the most postmodernist--metatheatrical, self-referential, sophisticated, stylized--literature classical antiquity has to offer. The sparkling and eminently performable translations are a hard act to precede, but the translator’s delightful introductions are a worthy match for their subjects. . . . Highly recommended. --John Wright, Northwestern UniversityThis splendid sampling of Roman comedy is particularly welcome because Parker and Berg have combined the best known (and perhaps finest) comedies of Plautus and Terence (The Brothers Menaechmus, here 'Double Bind,' and Miles Gloriosus, here 'Major Blowhard,' and Adelphoe, 'The Brothers') with two rarer and rather special comedies: 'The Wild Wild Women,' Plautus' exuberant Bacchides, and 'The Mother-in-Law' (Hecyra), perhaps Terence's most modern comedy, important as evidence from ancient comedy for the evolution of the sentimental or psychological drama of everyday life. The translators are to be congratulated on their choices and their truly up-to-date versions; Parker is a veteran whose punning wit and swashbuckling idiom in his very actable Plautus scripts contrast nicely with the simple elegance of Berg's Terence." —Elaine Fantham, Princeton UniversityTable of ContentsPart I: The Late Classics / Post-classic in Oaxaca - An Introduction; Part II: Chronology, Continuity and Disjunction - Etic and Emic Perspectives; Part III: Continuity and Abandonment of Houses in the Valley of Oaxaca - Lambityeco and Macuilxochitl; Part IV: Changing Power Relations and Interaction in the Lower Rio Verde Valley; Part V: Sacred History and Legitimisation in the Mixteca Alta; Part VI: New Research Frontiers in Oaxaca and Eastern Guerreo; Index.
£14.24
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Oresteia
Book SynopsisThe author of more than 70 plays, Aeschylus is the earliest of the great Attic tragedians. Of these plays, only seven remain. The "Oresteia" is his only complete surviving trilogy. Peter Meineck has aimed to translate this version of the "Oresteia" for the modern stage.Trade ReviewPeter Meineck's new rendition of the Oresteia is that rare and wonderful thing: a text accessible to the Greekless audience while still preserving the vocabulary of Aeschylus. Those of us who have seen Peter Meineck's performances have long marveled at his ability to turn Greek into clear English, how he does not do 'versions' of the plays, how he does not rewrite the ancients into modern jargon (even his comedies maintain more Aristophanic text than is usual). Here lines that students have always needed explicated stand clear. . . . Helene Foley has provided a fine introduction for this translation. Introduction and translation together provide an exciting text, one that should be widely read, widely used. --Karelisa Hartigan, University of Florida, in The Classical Outlook. . . a translation for the stage by an experienced man of the theater. Its virtues are very real, and, though Meineck makes them seem easy, very hard to achieve. The idiom is contemporary without yielding to the siren song of gimmicky updating; it manages to be clear without betraying Aeschylus’ complexity or sacrificing his intricate imagery. What makes it effective on stage makes it work on the page, too. With the added guidance of Helene Foley's characteristically intelligent Introduction and Meineck's own crisp annotation and full stage directions, this translation offers the most approachable and in many ways most communicative Oresteia now available. It will be the Oresteia of choice for many teachers and their students, as well as for readers interested in what makes Greek tragedy great theater. --Peter Burian, Duke University
£13.29
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Oedipus Tyrannus
Book SynopsisPeter Meineck and Paul Woodruff's collaboration on this new translation combines the strengths that have recently distinguished both as translators of Greek tragedy: expert knowledge of the Greek and of the needs of the teaching classicist, intimate knowledge of theatre, and an excellent ear for the spoken word. Their Oedipus Tyrannus features foot-of-the-page notes, an Introduction, stage directions and a translation characterized by its clarity, accuracy, and power.Trade ReviewA clear, vigorous, spare, actable translation, and with it, excellent apparatus (Intro., notes, bibliography); all in a slim and affordable volume. I will use when I next teach Oedipus. Hackett is an invaluable resource!--Rachel Hadas, Rutgers UniversityI have enjoyed all of the recent Hackett editions of translations of Greek literature and "Oedipus Tyrannus” is certainly no exception. Meineck and Woodruff got things just right, from employing "Tyrannus” instead of "Rex” in the title (as has become traditional, though it lends an erroneous sense to the play from the outset) to Woodruff’s very fine and accessible Introduction to the suspenseful, poetic and powerful rendering of the play itself. Meineck’s theatrical sensibility and knowledge are evident, yet the text never becomes too "stagey” nor wanders far from the Greek. I will definitely use this text along with other terrific Hackett editions in my courses.--Lisa Rengs George, Arizona State UniversityAn excellent translation. . . . Paul Woodruff’s Introduction, written for a general audience, is clear and well-informed.--Herman Van Looy, L'Antiquité Classique
£23.39
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Clouds
Book SynopsisThis line-for-line translation of Aritophanes' famous comedy features an introduction that explores Old Comedy and the place of "Clouds" and Aristophanic comedy within it. The text is accompanied by extensive footnotes.Trade ReviewSince the appearance of Sommerstein's very successful literal translation less than twenty years ago, there have been at least five further new published attempts at rendering the play into English. It is certainly a bold enterprise to introduce yet one more translation onto the scene, but Peter Meineck has risen well to the challenge. The translation is straightforward and idiomatic, as well as well-paced and funny. . . Ian Storey’s Introduction is perfect for undergraduates. --Max Nelson, Bryn Mawr Classical ReviewAn excellent translation, ideal for undergraduates. Readable and entertaining to a modern audience, Meineck doesn't make the fatal mistake of translating the humor with modern cultural equivalents--a mistake that has dated within years other translations of Aristophanes. Excellent notes and an outstanding introduction to Greek Comedy, Aristophanes, and Clouds by Ian Storey coupled with the superb translation will make this the edition to use in teaching for many years to come. --James A. Francis, University of KentuckyIan Storey's helpful 41-page introduction clearly introduces Greekless students to Old Comedy, to Aristophanes, to what is known of how it was produced, to the literary structure of Old Comedy, to problems of interpreting Aristophanes, and to the Clouds itself. The translation aims to serve 'both as a tool for the effective execution of onstage comedy and as an accurate reflection of the Greek.' With its excellent, well-chosen notes, helpful bibliography, and its affordable paperback format, the Meineck translation is clear, readable, appropriately accurate. It earns high marks also for cost-effectiveness. --E. M. Macierowski, Benedictine College
£11.39
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Alcestis Medea Hippolytus
Book SynopsisThis new volume of three of Euripides'' most celebrated plays offers graceful, economical, metrical translations that convey the wide range of effects of the playwright''s verse, from the idiomatic speech of its dialogue to the high formality of its choral odes.Trade ReviewDiane Arnson Svarlien's body of work means a quantum leap forward in the vibrancy and immediacy of classical verse drama. I first learned of her work when I was searching, madly, for a translation of Medea for a production I had been hired to direct. I sought out every published version. I tried to track down any unpublished ones rumored to exist. All the others were wanting; her translation was revelatory. Merely read her translation of the play, then read another. You will sense the difference. This is particularly true if you are a practitioner of theatre. --Patrick Wang, Director of Diane Arnson Svarlien's Medea in its world premiere at the Stella Adler Studio, and of the feature film In the Family, nominated for a Best First Feature Independent Spirit Award.The excellent Introduction by Robin Mitchell-Boyask displays an admirable command of up-to-date scholarship and judiciously leaves controversial matters open to one's own interpretation. Arnson Svarlien's verse translation has both elegance and power--it reads well, not just to the eye, but (happily for the director and actors) also to the ear. --Ian Storey, Department of Classics, Trent UniversityMitchell-Boyask's Introduction gives the reader a lively and accessible overview of Euripides' life, the circumstances of the original performances, and critical debate on the three plays. Footnotes to the translations provide students with useful background without over-burdening the text. The translations themselves are lively, vigorous, colorful, and direct, while remaining very close to the Greek; I laughed out loud more than once when I realized that, yes, this was exactly what Euripides had said. Arnson Svarlien has also taken care with the meter. Iambic trimeter, the 'spoken' meter of Greek, has been represented with iambic pentameter in English; but even in the lyric passages, whose meters do not translate into English, responsion within odes has been preserved. Yet all of this attention to such details of meter and accuracy sacrifices nothing in clarity or pace. Arnson Svarlien's translations are an ideal introduction to Euripides for students with no Greek and little knowledge of the ancient world. They remind me of why I love Euripides. --Laurel Bowman, Department of Classics, University of VictoriaTable of ContentsIntroduction; Translator's Preface; Maps; Alcestis; Medea; Hippolytus.
£32.39
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Medea
Book SynopsisIncludes introduction and notes by Robin Mitchell-Boyask.Trade ReviewDiane Arnson Svarlien's body of work means a quantum leap forward in the vibrancy and immediacy of classical verse drama. I first learned of her work when I was searching, madly, for a translation of Medea for a production I had been hired to direct. I sought out every published version. I tried to track down any unpublished ones rumored to exist. All the others were wanting; her translation was revelatory. Merely read her translation of the play, then read another. You will sense the difference. This is particularly true if you are a practitioner of theatre.--Patrick Wang, Director of Diane Arnson Svarlien's Medea in its world premiere at the Stella Adler Studio, and of the feature film In the Family,nominated for a "Best First Feature" Independent Spirit Award. Retrieved from monkeyatatypewriter.com.Fluid, lively, and accurate! --Amy Vail, Department of Classics, Baylor UniversityTable of ContentsIntroducton; Translator's Preface; Maps; Medea; Endnotes & Comments on the Text; Select Bibliography.
£26.09
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Tartuffe
Book SynopsisPrudence Steiner''s lively prose translation of Moliere''s great comedy remains close to the original French, while casting the speech of characters in a slightly compressed and formalized way that comes very close to the original effect created by Molière''s verse. This edition includes translations of Moliere''s three appeals to the king, as well as an introductory essay by Roger Herzel, which discusses Moliere''s life, Tartuffe and the comic tradition, and the setting, language and style of the play.Trade ReviewThe new Steiner Tartuffe offers welcome relief from all the rhymed translations that make Moliere sound like a third-rate Restoration poet while creating the (false) impression that verbal dexterity and wit trump all other values in the great comic playwright's dramaturgy. Steiner's crisp, lucid prose—her adroitly balanced sentences are especially effective at conveying the slippery rhetoric of Tartuffe's seductions—unfolds the plot and characters of Moliere's play with an unaccustomed clarity, presenting the ideological clashes of the play with a bluntness many other translations attenuate. Roger Herzel's Introduction is well-focused for those encountering Molière for the first time and informed throughout by his own excellent scholarship. --Jim Carmody, University of California, San DiegoThis dynamic new translation of Tartuffe conveys the subject matter of Moliere's perennial masterpiece in a way that resonates for contemporary audiences. Prudence Steiner has modernized and revitalized the text, making its burning and scandalous tone stand out, as it does in the original French. The thorough introduction to the play skillfully invites the reader into the dark and controversial world of Tartuffe. --Florent Masse, Princeton UniversityThis translation is a welcome relief from the ungainly verse translations of Tartuffe that dominate the field. The introduction by Prof. Herzel is detailed, scholarly, and readable, and the translation of the play is stageable, therefore a good one to teach theatre students. --Dr. Rosemarie Bank, Kent State University
£12.34
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Tartuffe
Book SynopsisPrudence Steiner''s lively prose translation of Moliere''s great comedy remains close to the original French, while casting the speech of characters in a slightly compressed and formalized way that comes very close to the original effect created by Molière''s verse. This edition includes translations of Moliere''s three appeals to the king, as well as an introductory essay by Roger Herzel, which discusses Moliere''s life, Tartuffe and the comic tradition, and the setting, language and style of the play.Trade ReviewThe new Steiner Tartuffe offers welcome relief from all the rhymed translations that make Moliere sound like a third-rate Restoration poet while creating the (false) impression that verbal dexterity and wit trump all other values in the great comic playwright's dramaturgy. Steiner's crisp, lucid prose—her adroitly balanced sentences are especially effective at conveying the slippery rhetoric of Tartuffe's seductions—unfolds the plot and characters of Moliere's play with an unaccustomed clarity, presenting the ideological clashes of the play with a bluntness many other translations attenuate. Roger Herzel's Introduction is well-focused for those encountering Molière for the first time and informed throughout by his own excellent scholarship. --Jim Carmody, University of California, San DiegoThis dynamic new translation of Tartuffe conveys the subject matter of Moliere's perennial masterpiece in a way that resonates for contemporary audiences. Prudence Steiner has modernized and revitalized the text, making its burning and scandalous tone stand out, as it does in the original French. The thorough introduction to the play skillfully invites the reader into the dark and controversial world of Tartuffe. --Florent Masse, Princeton UniversityThis translation is a welcome relief from the ungainly verse translations of Tartuffe that dominate the field. The introduction by Prof. Herzel is detailed, scholarly, and readable, and the translation of the play is stageable, therefore a good one to teach theatre students. --Dr. Rosemarie Bank, Kent State University
£32.39
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc The Jew of Malta with Related Texts
Book SynopsisFeatures a modernised text of Marlowe's play with annotation on the page, a comprehensive introduction, and related texts, including selections from Machiavelli's "Prince", Gentillet's "Anti-Machiavel", and Bacon's "The Advancement of Learning".Trade ReviewA provocative edition, one which belongs on the shelves of student and scholar alike. --Martha Oberle, Frederick Community College, Maryland, in The Sixteenth Century Journal
£27.89
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Four Plays and Three Jokes
Book SynopsisThis volume offers lively and accurate translations of Chekhov''s major plays and one-acts (complete contents listed below) along with a superb Introduction focused on the plays'' remarkably enduring power to elicit the most widely divergent of responses, the life of the playwright in its historical and aesthetic contexts, suggestions for reading the plays under a microscope, and notes designed to bring Chekhov''s world into immediate focus--everything needed to examine his drama with fresh eyes and on its own artistic terms.Trade ReviewCarnicke treats Chekhov as a riddle that is solvable only if we understand his career as a humorist. Her decision to juxtapose Chekhov's great dramas with his earlier light farces is purposeful, as the thrust behind her translations and excellent introduction is not only to introduce the reader to Chekhov's early humorous works, but to bring out crucial comic elements in his later ones. Her introduction functions as an essential primer for any student on the works of Chekhov. Its thorough exploration of Chekhov's idiosyncratic use of language is a godsend for directors and performers of English-language productions of these plays. A theatre director and performer herself, Carnicke pays close attention to the details of Chekhov's language, and her translations are geared toward live performance with speech ready-made for the stage. She retains the sense of the originals but adapts them in a colloquial English that is utterly performable. Carnicke's collection is the quintessential starting point for any serious performer of Chekhov, not only because of the playable translations, most of which have already been tested on stage, but for its engaging and enlightening introduction. The volume represents a momentous step toward ridding the American stage of stodgy and dour productions of Chekhov's masterpieces. --Brian Johnson, Swarthmore College, condensed from Translation Review 82These new translations read smoothly and display ?delity to the original. Carnicke has aimed to ?nd a middle path between versions that are too colloquial and versions that sound stilted or too formal to the American ear and has succeeded. --Julian W. Connolly, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of VirginiaCarnicke's translation of Three Sisters shows her background in the Slavic ?eld to good advantage. Chekhov doesn't emerge as 'the voice of Twilight Russia,' or anything mawkish at all, as he sometimes does, but as a sharp-eyed watcher of some very silly people. Carnicke understands Chekhov and understands Russia. --Robert L. Belknap, Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages, Columbia University
£13.29
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc Four Plays and Three Jokes
Book SynopsisThis volume offers lively and accurate translations of Chekhov''s major plays and one-acts (complete contents listed below) along with a superb Introduction focused on the plays'' remarkably enduring power to elicit the most widely divergent of responses, the life of the playwright in its historical and aesthetic contexts, suggestions for reading the plays under a microscope, and notes designed to bring Chekhov''s world into immediate focus--everything needed to examine his drama with fresh eyes and on its own artistic terms.Trade ReviewCarnicke treats Chekhov as a riddle that is solvable only if we understand his career as a humorist. Her decision to juxtapose Chekhov's great dramas with his earlier light farces is purposeful, as the thrust behind her translations and excellent introduction is not only to introduce the reader to Chekhov's early humorous works, but to bring out crucial comic elements in his later ones. Her introduction functions as an essential primer for any student on the works of Chekhov. Its thorough exploration of Chekhov's idiosyncratic use of language is a godsend for directors and performers of English-language productions of these plays. A theatre director and performer herself, Carnicke pays close attention to the details of Chekhov's language, and her translations are geared toward live performance with speech ready-made for the stage. She retains the sense of the originals but adapts them in a colloquial English that is utterly performable. Carnicke's collection is the quintessential starting point for any serious performer of Chekhov, not only because of the playable translations, most of which have already been tested on stage, but for its engaging and enlightening introduction. The volume represents a momentous step toward ridding the American stage of stodgy and dour productions of Chekhov's masterpieces. --Brian Johnson, Swarthmore College, condensed from Translation Review 82These new translations read smoothly and display ?delity to the original. Carnicke has aimed to ?nd a middle path between versions that are too colloquial and versions that sound stilted or too formal to the American ear and has succeeded. --Julian W. Connolly, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of VirginiaCarnicke's translation of Three Sisters shows her background in the Slavic ?eld to good advantage. Chekhov doesn't emerge as 'the voice of Twilight Russia,' or anything mawkish at all, as he sometimes does, but as a sharp-eyed watcher of some very silly people. Carnicke understands Chekhov and understands Russia. --Robert L. Belknap, Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages, Columbia University
£32.39
Christian Publishers LLC 57 Original Auditions for Actors
Book SynopsisA library of characters for study and practice. Each audition about 2 minutes long.
£13.99
Christian Publishers LLC 50 Great Monologs for Student Actors
Book Synopsis
£15.19
Christian Publishers LLC Scenes That Happen
Book Synopsis
£16.14
Christian Publishers LLC Acting Natural
Book Synopsis
£16.14
