Plays, playscripts, drama
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Peggy For You
Book SynopsisA new comic drama, starring Maureen Lipman, about the life of the famous play agent, Peggy Ramsay, who helped transform post-war British drama
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Cooking with Elvis Modern Plays
Book SynopsisThis text offers the two comic plays previously staged in London in February 2000.Trade ReviewCooking With Elvis: 'That subjects of such sensitivity can be made even vaguely funny is a considerable achievement.' Mark Fisher, Guardian, 18.7.09 'Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall is one of Britain's most mercurial dramatists. He shifts between art forms...as quickly as he breaks from one genre...to another... Hall's ability to combine the sociopolitical with popular entertainment is well established.' Mark Brown, Sunday Herald, 19.7.09
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Spoonface Steinberg Methuen Drama Modern Plays
Book SynopsisThis play about faith, love and the meaning of life was first broadcast on Radio Four in 1997 and is now published in this stage version.Trade ReviewHall uses the oddball honesty and eccentric speech patterns of savant autism to explore immense philosophical and aesthetic themes, without losing the earthy practicality of a child going through medical and family troubles ... he links her small individual experience to all great tragedies in art and history, to the Holocaust and the indomitable universal spark of life. -- Libby Purves * The Times *
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Children Have I None AND Have I None Modern Plays
Book SynopsisTwo plays from one of Britain's most challenging dramatists. Both are set in a late-21st-century post-apocalyptic landscape where human behaviour is monitored, living spaces are designated and any emotional displays are eradicated.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Schmitt Plays 1 Don Juan on Trial The Visitor Enigma Variations Between Worlds Methuen Contemporary Dramatists v 1
Book SynopsisThe English translations of four of the plays of Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, France's most successful contemporary playwright. The work includes: "Don Juan on Trial"; "The Visitor"; "Enigma Variations" and "The Space Between Two Worlds", a metaphysical comedy set in the "Two Worlds Hotel".Table of ContentsDon Juan on Trial; The Visitor; Enigma Variations; Between Worlds
£26.48
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Feydeau Plays One Hearts Desire Hotel Sauce for the Goose The One That Got Away Now You See it Pig in a Poke 1 Hearts Desire Hotel Sauce That Got Away Now You See It Pig in a Poke
Book SynopsisGeorges Feydeau (1862-1921), now widely regarded as one of the greatest farce writers, had a succession of hits in turn-of-the-century Paris. This first volume of his collected works includes early successes such as "Pig in a Poke" (1888) and more mature pieces such as "Heart's Desire Hotel".Trade Review[A] blissfully funny revival ... nicely renamed in peter Meyer's canny translation to indicate how this is also a story of female revenge against the double standard ... hilarious ... a treat -- Paul Taylor * Independent *A puckish version by the late Peter Meyer ... this is a farce ... that squares the circle: the action moves like a well-oiled machine while the characters remain thoroughly and hearteningly human -- Ian Shuttleworth * Financial Times *Plenty of lubricious fun to be had ... the joy ... of Peter Meyer's translation ... lies in seeing recognisable human beings driven to a state of exhausted desperation. -- Michael Billington * Guardian *Gloriously funny -- Sam Marlowe * The Times *This gloriously giddy revival of the classic Feydeau farce has real heart ... a dazzlingly complicated plot, that fits together like a spinning Rubik's Cube ... wry asides in Peter Meyer's translation clarify characters' marriages and motivations ... a triumph. -- Laura Silverman * Arts Desk *Table of ContentsHeart's Desire Hotel; Sauce for the Goose; The One That Got Away; Now You See it; Pig in a Poke
£28.46
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Boston Marriage
Book SynopsisThe term "Boston Marriage" is 19th century slang for the implied relationship between women who lived together, independent of men. This play examines the shifting and ambiguous relationship between two such women, Claire and Anna.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Accused Modern Plays
Book SynopsisA courtroom drama using the audience as jury, as if they were in the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey. The audience must decide - did Dr Sherwood murder his wife? Was Jennifer Mitchell his mistress? Which of his alibis should they believe?
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Crazy Garys Mobile Disco Modern Plays
Book SynopsisSaturday night, small town Wales, one pub, one party and three lads stuck with their school reputations - the gimp, the geek and the bully. Their dream - to get the hell out. A Paines Plough production directed by Vicky Featherstone.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Feydeau Plays 2 2 The Girl From Maxims Shes All Yours Jailbird v 2 World Classics
Book SynopsisReaching the heights of farcical lunacy, Georges Feydeau's plays nevertheless contain touches of barbed social comment, and allowed him to mention subjects which would have provoked outrage in the hands of more serious dramatists. This volume contains four plays.Table of ContentsThe Girl from Maxim's; She's All Yours; A Flea in Her Ear; Jailbird
£28.46
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Gorky Plays 2 2 The Last Ones Vassa Zheleznova the Zykovs Egor Bulychev ZykovsEgor BulychovVassa Zheleznova the Mother The Last Ones v 2 World Classics
Book SynopsisThis collection of four plays, written at the turn of the 20th century, chart the descent of Russia into revolution.Table of ContentsThe Zykovs; Egor Bulychov; Vassa Zheleznova (The Mother); The Last Ones
£27.47
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Elektra
Book SynopsisEuripides takes the old myth of Orestes' and Elektra's revenge on their mother Klytemnestra for their father Agamemnon's murder and reinterprets it in realistic, human terms. This translation was first performed together with 'Orestes and Iphigeneia in Tauris' as 'Agamemnon's Children' at the Gate Theatre, London, in 1995.Trade Review"'Euripides, the Athenian playwright who dared to question the whims of wanton gods, has always been the most intriguing of the Greek tragedians. Now, with translations aimed at the stage rather than the page, his restless intellect strikes the chord it always should have... a remarkable achievement both in itself and in reclaiming Euripides as a playwright whose works are still gloriously alive' Evening Standard"
£15.60
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Phaedras Love Methuen Modern Drama Modern Plays
Book SynopsisHippolytus, the spoiled prince, is driven to preserve his self inviolate. Emotions, particularly love, and need of any type are an unbearable threat to the prince. Phaedra, his stepmother, is in love with him. The impossibility of the situation leads to their bloody destruction.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Fifth Elephant Stage Adaptation Methuen Drama Modern Plays
Book SynopsisCommander Vimes is sent to wild and wintry Uberwald to establish trade links with the King of Dwarfs but he ends up trying to stop an inter-species war. He may have arrived as Ankh-Morpork's ambassador but soon finds it's not all chocolate balls when he's being chased by fascist werewolves.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Gross Indecency Methuen drama The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde Modern Plays
Book Synopsis"Thrilling...unforgettable, maybe even life-changing...it has the inevitablity and much of the monumentality of a Greek tragedy" (USA today)
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Bond Plays 7 The Crime of the TwentyFirst Century Ollys Prison Coffee Contemporary Dramatists
Book SynopsisThree plays by one of Europe's most important playwrights, including "The Crime of the Twenty-first Century", "Olly's Prison" and "Coffee".Table of ContentsThe Crime of the Twenty-First Century; Olly's Prison; Coffee
£26.48
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) King Baabu Modern Plays
Book SynopsisA play written by the Nobel prize-winner Wole Soyinka. A naked satire on the rule of General Abacha in Nigeria, the play chronicles the debauched rule of General Basha Bash who takes power in a coup and exchanges his general's uniform for a robe and crown re-christening himself King Baabu. In the manner of Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi, Soyinka develops a special childish language for his cast of characters who have names like Potipoo and General Uzi. Weaving together burlesque comedy, theatrical excess and storytelling, King Baabu has already been coined as a pet name for the despot par excellence. 'We turn Guatu into kingdom, ruled by kings. Nobody complain any more. General Basha Bash is dead. Long Live King Baabu.'
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Brixton Stories and Happy Birthday Mister Deka D The Short and Happy Life of Ossic Jones Modern Plays
Book SynopsisTwo plays by one of Britain's most prolific young black authors
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) theageofconsent
Book SynopsisThe two monologues in this volume exolore the shattering of childhood innocence. The play opens up a moral minefield. Who can, or should, consent to what? Can anyone consent to something on the behalf of another? What power can anyone have over the mind and life of another?
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Jesus Hopped the A Train Programming Text Modern Plays
Book SynopsisAngel Cruz, a poor Puerto Rican, isn't sure why he's in jail after shooting Reverend Kim, the born-again Christian who brainwashed his best friend. But when the Reverend dies in hospital, Angel lands in solitary confinement next to Lucius, a card-carrying Christian serial-killer.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Interesting Times Adapted for the Stage by Stephen Briggs Modern Plays
Book SynopsisThe Discworld's most inept wizard has been sent to the oppressive Agatean Empire to help overthrow the Emperor. He's aided by toy-rabbit-wielding rebels, an army of terracotta warriors, a tax gatherer, seven very elderly barbarian heroes, and a subversive book entitled "What I Did On My Holidays".
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Scaramouche Jones Modern Plays
Book SynopsisIt's 11pm on Millennium Eve. The ancient clown, Scaramouche Jones, has given his last performance and waits in his dressing room for the stroke of midnight - and his own centenary. Reflecting on the fortunes of his life, his journey spans the 20th century in his quest for a father and a homeland.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Academic Stephenson Plays 1 1 A Memory of Water Five Kinds
Book SynopsisThis collection of Shelagh Stephenson plays offers her Olivier award-winning work - "A Memory of Water", "Five Kinds of Silence", "Experiment with an Air Pump", and "Ancient Lights".Table of ContentsA Memory of Water; Five Kinds of Silence; An Experiment with an Air Pump; Ancient Lights
£26.48
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Six Characters in Search of an Author Student Editions
Book SynopsisSix people arrive in a theatre during rehearsals for a play. But they are not ordinary people, they are characters from an unwritten play. Trapped inside a traumatic event from which they long to escape, the director invites them to act out the key events of their lives.
£15.60
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Drowned World Modern Plays
Book SynopsisIn a drowned world - how far will you go to save your own skin? In this vicious tale of love, revolt and beauty, Gary Owen presents a vision of a world divided between citizens and non-citizens, where friends betray one another and where surfaces matter more than love or kinship.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Port Modern Plays
Book SynopsisRachel Keats is growing up in a town she doesn't like. Abandoned by her mother, she is left to bring up her younger brother. When her new partner starts to abuse her, and those she loves leave her behind, will she stay or will she find the strength to make her own way in the world?Trade Review'I directed his play Port at the Exchange, and I think it's one of the best things I've ever done. His writing is so detailed, so psychologically rich, so daring in terms of his emotion. He's not very English in that way.' Marianne Elliot, director
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Lying Kind Modern Plays
Book SynopsisConstables Blunt and Gobbel have one last duty to fulfil before they can finish their Christmas Eve shift: to tell the old couple at number 58 some terrible news. But what if the shock is too much for them? Maybe they'd be happier not knowing. And maybe they shouldn't be involved in a lynching.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) In Arabia Wed All Be Kings Modern Plays
Book SynopsisDaisy abandons recently released ex-convict Lenny at their local. At the bar is Skank, a failed actor-turned-junkie. De Maris, a 17-year-old gun-brandishing single mother wants to learn to turn tricks. Guirgis presents a grim and sad portrait of life on the streets of New York.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Accidental Death of an Anarchist Modern Plays
Book SynopsisBased on a true-life story, this play throws into relief the judicial and police corruption of 1970s Italy. Simon Nye's translation brings out the parallels with our situation in the 21st century.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Brecht Plays Antigone of Sophocles The Days of the Commune Turandot or the Whitewashers Congress by Brecht Bertolt Author ON Aug262004 Paperback
Book SynopsisThis volume contains a selection of Brecht's last completed plays, from the eight years between his return from America to Europe after the war and his death in 1956. It contains 'The Antigone of Sophocles', 'The Days of the Commune', 'Turandot or The Whitewashers' Congress'.Table of ContentsThe Antigone of Sophocles; The Days of the Commune; Turandot or the Whitewasher's Congress
£28.46
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) One Minute Modern Plays
Book SynopsisA child goes missing, vanishes into thin air. The witnesses' statements are inconclusive and the police struggle without a clear case or criminal motive. Two men and three women are drawn together by this tragic event and attempt to make sense of the unfathomable.Trade ReviewStephens has gone on to write such major pieces as 'Harper Regan' and 'Pornography' ... 'One Minute' shares something with the latter in that once again we get a sense of London's vast size and of lonely people briefly brushing against each other as they try to find themselves. Time Out London 11/09/08
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Sherman Plays 1 Cracks Bent Messiah Rose v 1 Contemporary Dramatists
Book SynopsisThe first collection by a seminal contemporary gay playwrightTable of ContentsCracks; Bent; Messiah; Rose
£26.48
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Complicite Plays Street of Crocodiles Mnemonic The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol by Theatre de Complicite Author ON Oct092003 Paperback
Book SynopsisThe "Street of Crocodiles" creates a vision of provincial Poland in the early part of the century as a restless ocean of unending flux. "Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol" offers an unsentimental evocation of peasant life, while an ice-preserved body forms the central image of "Mnemonic".Table of ContentsStreet of Crocodiles; Mnemonic; The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol
£26.48
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Sugar Syndrome Modern Plays
Book SynopsisA play about dating through the internet. Dani's on a mission. She's just 17, hates her parents, skives college and prefers life in the chatrooms. What she's looking for is someone honest and direct. Instead she finds a man twice her age, who thinks she is 11 and a boy.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Marber Plays 1 After Miss Julie Closer Dealers Choice v 1 Contemporary Dramatists
Book SynopsisPatrick Marber was born in London. His first play, Dealer's Choice, (1995) won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy and the Writer's Guild Award for Best West End Play. Closer premiered at the Royal National Theatre in May 1997 and went on to receive many awards. Patrick Marber has also written extensively for television and radio including After Miss Julie (BBC, 1995).Table of ContentsAfter Miss Julie; Closer; Dealer's Choice
£26.48
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Night Watch
Book SynopsisSet in Ankh-Morpork one of the most thoroughly imagined cities in fantasy, Night Watch is the story of Sam Vimes, running hero of the Guards sequence, who finds himself cast back in time to the Ankh-Morpork of his youth.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Jingo
Book SynopsisTerry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors writing today. He lives behind a keyboard in Wilt shire and says he 'doesn't want to get a life, because it feels as though he's trying to lead three already'. He was appointed OBE in 1998. He is the author of the phenomenally successful Discworld se ries and his trilogy for young readers, The Bromeliad, is scheduled to be adapted into a spectacular animated movie.Trade Review" 'Both his inventiveness and his moral shrewdness seem inexhaustible' A. S. Byatt Daily Mail"
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Iphigenia at Aulis Classical Dramatists
Book SynopsisThe Greek fleet assembles at the bay of Aulis in readiness to launch an attack on Troy, but the wind suddenly drops and the ships stand idle. Don Taylor's translation is faithful to Euripides' original, and the play confronts us with themes of war and humanity, as valid today as when written over two thousand years ago.
£21.53
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Three Spanish Golden Age Plays The Duchess of Amalfis Steward The Capulets and Montagues Cleopatra Duchess of Amalfis Steward The Capulets by Rojas Zorrilla Play Anthologies
Book SynopsisThree classic Spanish plays, made famous by Shakespeare and WebsterTable of ContentsThe Duchess of Amalfi's Steward; The Capulets and Montagues; Cleopatra
£28.46
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Becket
Book SynopsisWhen the Archbishop of Canterbury died, Henry II forced his companion and political lieutenant, Thomas Becket, to take his place. Becket told his king: 'If I become archbishop I shall cease to be your friend.' Becket, who with Henry had fought the Church for the good of the State, now felt responsible for the honour of God.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Eldridge Plays 1 v 1 Contemporary Dramatists
Book SynopsisFirst collection by a young dramatist with few peers. This volume showcases the best four early plays by the writer behind the smash hit stage adaptation of Festen Serving It Up - a 'precociously deceptive' debut play about East End loutishness.Table of ContentsServing it Up; Summer Begins; Under the Blue Sky; M.A.D.
£26.48
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Mercury Fur Modern Plays
Book SynopsisA play. The party that he and his brother Darren have been planning has been brought forward - to tonight.Trade Review'Philip Ridley is a singular writer, a prolific polymath, probably a genius, and the creator of some of the most peculiar, grotesque and compelling British plays (and films) of the last several years' Time Out
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Mammals Modern Plays
Book SynopsisA darkly humorous look at the flip side of home-sweet-home
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Classical Monologues For Women Audition Speeches
Book SynopsisChrys Salt began her career as a performer in Rep, touring theatre, West End, TV and radio dramas wi th regular stints in various soap and series. She now directs extensively in theatre and sound, and has written a number of books, including Making Acting Work, as well as theatre and radio plays. She is the editor of the five other books in the same series: The Methuen Book of Modern Monologues for Men and Women, Contemporary Monologues for Men and Women, and Classical Monologues for Men. She run s her own theatre company and teaches regularly at the London Actors Centre.
£22.52
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Wild Duck A Version by David Eldridge from a Literal Translation by Charlotte Barslund Methuen Drama
Book SynopsisShould the truth be pursued whatever the cost? The idealistic son of a wealthy businessman seeks to expose his father's duplicity and to free his childhood friend from the lies on which his happy home life is based.
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Radioactive Monologues for Women For Radio Stage and Screen Audition Speeches
Book SynopsisMarilyn Le Conte is lecturer in radio acting at the Royal WelshCollege of Music and Drama, and teaches radio modules at LiverpoolInstitute for Performing Arts. Marina Caldarone is radio tutor at Rose Bruford College andEast 15 and has been actively involved in actor training, working inmost of Britain's leading drama schools.
£22.52
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Monsieur Ibrahim And The Flowers of the Quran
Book SynopsisInternationally acclaimed play of cross-cultural friendship
£16.59
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Pete and Dud Come Again Modern Plays
Book SynopsisPresents the tale of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, one of Britain's finest comedy double-acts. This is a comedy bringing to life the comic genius and flawed relationship of Moore and Cook.Trade Review"'[An] absorbing stage portrayal of the relationship... [a] touching, disturbing and often very funny play' Daily Mail"
£16.59