Plays, playscripts, drama
Oxford University Press The Township Plays NoGood Friday Nongogo The Coat
Book SynopsisThe five plays collected here offer a unique insight into the role of theatre in a situation of oppression. They were produced in close collaboration with their original black amateur casts, drawing on their lives and everyday experiences in the townships. They range from the early apprentice work of the brash but vital Sophiatown plays, No-Good Friday and Nongogo, to the freer, more urgent, and profound New Brighton plays, including the most famous Sizwe Bansi is Dead and The Island, and the previously unavailable The Coat.Trade Reviewelegant reissue * Plays International, Summer 2000 *'They are the wonderfully moving and amusing "Sizwe Bansi is Dead", ... "The Coat" (previously unavailable), the urgently profound "The Island" ... Anyone interested in freedom or drama should buy this book.' Day by DayTable of ContentsPREFACE; INTRODUCTION; NO-GOOD FRIDAY; NONGOGO; THE COAT; SIZWE BANSI IS DEAD; THE ISLAND; NOTES; GLOSSARY
£11.69
Oxford University Press The Alchemist and Other Plays
Book SynopsisThis edition brings together Jonson''s four great comedies in one volume. Volpone, which was first performed in 1606, dramatizes the corrupting nature of greed in an exuberant satire set in contemporary Venice. The first production of Epicene marked the end of a year long closure of the theatres because of an epidemic of the plague in 1609; its comedy affirms the consolatory power of laughter at such a time. The Alchemist (1610) deploys the metaphors of alchemical transformation to emphasize the mutability of the characters and their relationships. In Bartholomew Fair (1614) Jonson embroils the visitors to the fair in its myriad tempations, exposing the materialistic impulses beneath the apparent godliness of Jacobean Puritans. Under the General Editorship of Michael Cordner of the University of York the texts of the plays have been newly edited and are presented with modernized spelling and punctuation. Stage directions hvae been added to facilitate the reconstruction of the plays'' Table of ContentsVolpone, or The Fox ; Epicene, or The Silent Woman ; The Alchemist ; Bartholemew Fair
£9.49
Oxford University Press The Country Wife and Other Plays
Book SynopsisWycherley''s four comedies are admired for their satirical wit, farcical humour, vivid characterization, and social criticism.Love in a Wood, a lively comedy of intrigue, established him as a brilliant new dramatist.The Gentleman Dancing-Master, in contrast, disappointed contemporary audiences, but the central relationship between Hippolyta and Gerrard features an original and sympathetic study of a young woman''s attitudes and feelings. The Country Wife is a sharp but also highly amusing attack on social and sexual hypocrisy. The Plain Dealer, a powerful dramatic satire loosely based on Moliere''s Le Misanthrope, continues and enlarges Wycherley''s assault on greed and corruption.Under the General Editorship of Michael Cordner of the University of York, the texts of the plays have been newly edited and are presented with modernized spelling and punctuation. In addition, there is a scholarly introduction, a note on staging, and detailed annotation. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Table of ContentsLove in a Wood ; The Gentleman Dancing-Master ; The Country Wife ; The Plain Dealer
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Stephens Plays Bluebird Christmas Herons Port by
Book SynopsisSimon Stephens' play Bring Me Sunshine was staged at 1997 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, transferring to the Riverside Studios in London the same year (revived in 2000 at the Manchester Royal Exchange). B luebird was produced by the Royal Court in London in 1998. Simon Stephens was writer-in-residence at the Royal Exchange Theatre in 1999 and in 2000 he was the Arts Council Resident Dramatist at the Ro yal Court. His next play, Herons (Royal Court, 2001), was nominated for the Olivier Award for Most Promising Playwright. His radio play Five Letters to Elizabeth was broadcast on Radio 4 in 2001, and Digging on Radio 4 in 2003. His next stage play, Port (Royal Exchange, Manchester, 2002), was awarde d the Pearson Award for Best New Play in 2001/2. One Minute was produced by the Actor's Touring Company in June 2003. Christmas premiered at the Pavilion Theatre, Brighton, before transferring to the Bush Theatre, London, in January 2004. Country Music was produced by the Royal Court in 2004.Trade Review'Simon Stephens is wonderful, his plays have such a big heart.' Laura Wade, playwrightTable of ContentsBluebird; Christmas; Herons; Port
£20.89
Faber & Faber A Slight Ache
Book SynopsisThis volume contains a selection of early works by Harold Pinter. In the title play, everything in Flora''s garden is lovely, and would be for Edward too, if it were not for the slight ache in his eyes and the mysterious matchseller at the gate. This edition also includes A Night Out, The Dwarfs and several revue sketches.
£8.54
Faber & Faber Leaves
Book SynopsisWe are where we come from?'' That''s not true. That''s not true because if that''s true there''s no hope for any of us.Lori is coming home from her first term at university. It''s only been a few weeks and already things have gone badly wrong. But none of the rest of the family knows, or understands, what really happened.In this fiercely observed family drama, three teenage girls struggle to define who they are, and why, and where they might be going.Leaves won the George Devine Award 2006, the premier award for new writing by an emerging playwright in the UK and Ireland. The play opened at the Druid Theatre, Galway in March 2007 before transferring to the Royal Court Theatre, London.
£10.44
Faber & Faber Black Watch
Book SynopsisViewed through the eyes of those on the ground, Black Watch reveals what it means to be part of the legendary Scottish regiment, what it means to be part of the war on terror, and what it means to make the journey home.This book contains Gregory Burke''s award-winning script, with production notes by the director John Tiffany.The National Theatre of Scotland''s production of Black Watch opened at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2006, where it won a Herald Angel, a Scotsman Fringe First, the Critics'' Circle Award and the South Bank Show Award for Theatre. During a world tour it won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and the New York Drama Critics'' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play.
£10.44
Faber & Faber The Truth Faber Drama
Book SynopsisTwo couples. Friendship, suspicion, deceit. And the truth. Florian Zeller''s The Truth, in the English translation by Christopher Hampton, premiered at The Chocolate Factory, London, in association with Theatre Royal Bath. It follows the phenomenal success of The Father (Theatre Royal Bath, Tricycle, London and West End) and The Mother (Theatre Royal Bath, Tricycle, London), both by Florian Zeller and translated by Christopher Hampton.
£999.99
Faber & Faber Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the
Book SynopsisSpeak. Speak loud and clear. Let them hear you in Belfast. Let the Fenians hear it everywhere. Let the Hun hear the sons of Ulster preaching war.On 1 July 1916, the 36th (Ulster) Division took part in one of the bloodiest battles in human history, the Battle of the Somme. In the extraordinary circumstances of World War I, eight ordinary men are changed, changed utterly.Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme premiered on the Peacock Stage at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 1985.
£10.44
Faber & Faber The Duchess of Malfi
Book SynopsisYou should know: I sing at parties, I wear colourful dresses, I am headstrong, I won't wear my hair up because you say I should, or do this because you prefer it, in fact I might do the other just to be contrary, but I am utterly and always myself.The Duchess is a young widow. And with money, sexual freedom and youth, she''s a threat to the status quo; she could get to determine her own life. Terrified by her sudden power and its implications, her brothers Ferdinand and The Cardinal seek to block The Duchess's desires and to dismantle her authority and spirit by any means at their disposal. The results are horrifying, with bloody vengeance from the most unexpected of sources.The Duchess (of Malfi), Zinnie Harris''s radical take on Webster''s great revenge tragedy, premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in May 2019.
£9.49
Faber & Faber Sap
Book SynopsisA contemporary thriller with ancient roots, by the winner of the Most Promising New Playwright 2024 award (OffWestEnd). The bark creeps up my body like a rising sea level. I wonder what will happen when it reaches my heart.When a woman tells a lie to her girlfriend, a seed is planted that grows in the darkness. Now roots are cracking through the pavement and branches are coming in at the windows. As she starts to see things that no one else can, she becomes the focus of some seriously unwanted attention.A queer urban fable about passion, power and photosynthesis, Rafaella Marcus''s Sap, her first full-length stage play, opened at Roundabout @ Summerhall, as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in August 2022.''A glorious tapesty of a play.'' GuardianWinner: Summerhall Lustrum Award Winner: SoHo Playhouse Medal of Excellence
£10.44
Faber & Faber The Return of Benjamin Lay
Book SynopsisIn your hearts you know the truth: I was here among you three hundred years ago . . . Had you chosen differently then before slavery and greed breathed their venom so deeply into our souls we would be living in another world now. It is not too late to purge these poisons.Benjamin Lay shepherd, sailor, prophet, and the British Empire's first revolutionary abolitionist returns from the grave almost three hundred years after his death, as feisty and unpredictable as ever.A four-feet-tall ''Little David'' confronts the ''Goliath'' of slavery once again as he pleads to be readmitted into the Quaker community that has disowned him and who still believe him to be dangerous.Now, ''trembling at the edge of playing God himself'', how far will Benjamin go as he stares down his accusers?The Return of Benjamin Lay sweeps across the centuries in a bold exploration of an utterly impossible man. The play opened at the Finborough
£10.44
Faber & Faber Barcelona
Book SynopsisI mean here I am in Spain with, like, a totally hot local Spanish guy from a tapas bar and we''re drinking Rioja and I mean, if this isn''t the ultimate romantic, like, you know, like Dos Equis guy fantasy? Do you guys have that commercial?Late one night in Barcelona, an American tourist goes home with a handsome Spaniard. What begins as a flirty one-night stand becomes an invitation to danger, as the personal and the political unsettlingly intertwine.By turns funny, sexy and surprising, Bess Wohl''s seductive thriller opened at the Duke of York''s Theatre, London, in October 2024.
£10.44
Faber & Faber Small Hotel
£10.44
Samuel French Ltd Teechers Leavers 22
Book SynopsisIt's the end of year 2022, and Salty, Gail and Hobby are about to present a play which they have been working on for their B.Tech performance exam. It's the first time they have performed live; their other exams were held on Zoom. What follows is a funny, fast-moving, caustic and hard-hitting account of how Miss Nixon, a newly qualified drama teacher changed their lives. As Salty, Gail and Hobby prepare to leave state education, it appears that Miss Nixon is moving on too, to the local private school. Joyously energetic and bitter about educational inequalities. - The Guardian
£13.49
Samuel French Ltd Murder is Announced A Play Acting Edition S
Book SynopsisMystery / Casting: 5m, 7f / Scenery: InteriorThe announcement in the local paper states time and place of a murder to occur in Miss Blacklock''s Victorian house. The victim is not one of several occupants, temporary and permanent, but an unexpected and unknown visitor. What follows is a classic Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities, a second death, a determined Inspector grimly following the twists and turns, and Miss Marple on hand to provide the final solution at some risk to herself in a dramatic confrontation scene just before the final curtain. Had the first night audience on the edge of their seats. Evening Post. Re enter Agatha with another whodunit hit, another of her fiendishly ingenious murder mysteries. London Evening News.
£13.49
Samuel French Inc Blue Yonder
Book SynopsisCharacters: 12 female (can be performed by 4f, or any number in between) Monologues & Scenes Dramatic Comedy A familiar adage states, Men may work from sun to sun, but women's work is never done. In BIue Yonder, the audience meets twelve mesmerizing and eccentric women including a flight instructor, a firefighter, a stuntwoman, a woman who donates body parts, an employment counselor, a professional softball player, a surgical nurse professional baseball player, and a daredevil who plays with dynamite among others. Through the monologues, each woman examines her life's work and explores the career that she has found. Or that has found her.
£13.49
Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd The Investigation
Book Synopsis The Investigation is a dramatic reconstruction of the Frankfurt War Crimes trials, based on the actual evidence given. This testimony, concerning Auschwitz and the atrocities which were enacted there, has been edited and extracted by Peter Weiss into a dramatic document that relies solely and completely on the facts for its effectiveness.There is no artistic license, no manipulation of facts and figures, no rearrangement of events for theatrical effect. Nameless witnesses stand and recall their appalling memories of Auschwitz, allowing us to bear witness to their painful and painstaking search for truth and, ultimately, justice. What emerges is a chastening and purging documentary of deeply moving power.Peter Weiss was born in 1916 and settled in Sweden before the outbreak of World War II. Apart from his writing, he was also well known as a painter, theatrical and operatic director, and a film maker. His magnificent play Marat/Sade, which is also available from Marion Boyars Publishers, established his reputation among English-speakling audiences as a revolutionary dramatist, and has continued to be a bestselling classic. He died in 1982.
£9.45
Manchester University Press The Revengers Tragedy Revels Student Editions
Book SynopsisDepicts a morally corrupt world where the desire for justice is contaminated by the obsession for revenge. The characters take pleasure in watching adultery, incest and murder. The play's chief moral spokesman, Vindice, is at the same time enamoured of and disgusted by, the luxury of the court.
£13.93
Josef Weinberger Plays TheHerbal Bed by Whelan Peter Author ON
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Blasted
Book SynopsisSarah Kane was born in 1971. Her work includes the plays Blasted, Phaedra's Love, Cleansed, 4.48 Psychosis and the short film Skin. Sarah Kane died in 1999, aged 28, and is now recognised as one of the most influential voices in modern European theatre.Trade ReviewKane's play is wild, but artful too. * The Observer *This is a play of exceptional power and prescience. * Daily Telegraph *Blasted emerges yet again as a devastating achievement, a play of furious passion and thrilling theatrical audacity . . . a landmark play of undiminished power. * The Times *Twenty years after it opened to critical incomprehension and outrage, there's no way that Sarah Kane's Blasted can be dismissed as a naive shocker. It's far too smartly crafted for that. The play wears its magpie borrowings on its sleeve - from Brecht to Beckett to Pinter - and still rings loudly with the clarity of Kane's own bell-like Cassandra voice. * Guardian, 2015 *Table of ContentsForeword by Mel Kenyon The Play
£18.06
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Di and Viv and Rose
Book SynopsisIt connects emotionally with the audience, and is wittily written Bullmore makes you like, and believe in, her three characters The play also has a careering energy impossible not to like. The GuardianAged 18, three women join forces. Life is fun. Living is intense. Together they feel unassailable. Di and Viv and Rose charts the steady but sometimes chaotic progression of these three women''s lives, from the highs to the lows, the problems that force them apart and their ultimately enduring bonds.A humorous and thoughtful exploration of friendship''s impact on life and life''s impact on friendship, this bittersweet comedy premiered at the Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2013. This new Modern Classics edition features an introduction by Professor Elizabeth Kuti.Trade ReviewIt achieves what it sets out to do – show how the lives of a trio of women are shaped by their friendship over some twenty-seven years – in a manner that brims over with warm, effervescent humour and sharp, unsentimental perceptiveness . . . The long vista of the years helps Bullmore to show with moving clarity the intricate way that life and friendship inform each other and how the stock of mutual memories can contain both smarting, buried grievances and the means to dissolve them eventually in shared, helpless laughter. * Independent *It connects emotionally with the audience, and is wittily written … Bullmore makes you like, and believe in, her three characters … The play also has a careering energy … impossible not to like. * Guardian *The pulling power is in the snap of individual lines, in the register of daily life, the gradual piling up of memories that eventually accumulate to make a shared history. * Observer *
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Ink
Book SynopsisI want to tell you a story. And it''s true. That''s what makes it a good fucking story, right, ''cause all the best stories are true.Fleet Street. 1969. The Sun rises.James Graham''s ruthless, red-topped play leads with the birth of this country''s most influential newspaper when a young and rebellious Rupert Murdoch asked the impossible and launched its first editor''s quest, against all odds, to give the people what they want.Ink premiered at the Almeida Theatre in London before transferring to the West End and later Broadway. It was nominated for both the Olivier and Tony Award for Best New Play. This new edition features an introduction by Harry Derbyshire.Trade ReviewHold the front page: a huge hit * Evening Standard *Thrillingly dynamic and rambunctiously entertaining...a hell of a story * Times *It is truly thought-provoking...an unmissable evening... * Independent *
£13.10
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Play Mas
Book SynopsisMatura''s play not only offers a potted guide to Trinidadian ethnicity, economics and politics, but also a potent metaphor for the post-colonial process. It is also very funny ... the real power of Matura''s play lies in its reminder, under all that surface exuberance, that the movement towards independence carried its own element of fancy-dress masquerade. The Guardian1950s Port of Spain. Samuel, a young tailor's assistant, dreams of Trinidad's independence.On the eve of carnival everyone fills the streets, dressed up to play mas. This annual celebration turns to tragedy and spurs Samuel on to make a decision that will change the political landscape of the future of this vibrant, volatile island.Play Mas premiered at the Royal Court in 1974, winning the Evening Standard Award for Best Play, and transferred to the West End. Described as a wickedly funny, exuberant and poignant play, it is published in Methuen Drama''s Modern Classics series for the fiTrade ReviewA blackly comical play . . . a story of deceptive appearances . . . Play Mas misdirects us nicely: we've seen a thousand tales of the oppressed becoming the oppressor, yet this one still surprises. * The Times *A deeply and darkly funny exploration of Trinidad before and after the Caribbean island's independence from Britain in 1962. It sweeps you up and leaves you breathless * Time Out London *
£13.10
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Love and Money
Book SynopsisDavid conducts an office romance by e-mail. He has love at his fingertips. But a shocking admission unravels his relationship piece by chilling piece. Jess loves David. She believes happiness can be bought but it doesn't come cheap in a world of easy credit. Jess and David's ideal blend of love and money is killing them. Funny but heart wrenching, this ingenious drama dares us to enter a dislocated world of bad debts and even worse desires.Love and Money opened at the Manchester Royal Exchange in October 2006 with a transfer to the Young Vic, London.Trade ReviewWe have a pool of amazingly talented playwrights in Britain, and we also have a quite separate talent pool producing comedy. There is very little dialogue between these two worlds, but Dennis is able to move very easily between them, and that is quite unique. -- Mark Ravenhill
£11.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC My White Best Friend
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£15.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Great Wave
Book SynopsisThis Student Edition is ideal for any teacher coming to Francis Turnly''s 2018 play for the first time or those who already have some familiarity with it.Spanning 1979 to 2003, The Great Wave looks at the mysterious disappearance of a Japanese schoolgirl and her mother and sister's tireless search to find her again. The girl Hanako is discovered living in captivity in a compound in North Korea, employed to teach a young woman Japanese language and culture. Francis Turnly's gripping play is based on a a true story and it conveys, not only the magnitude of these events globally, but also the beating human heart at the centre of this story. The commentary in the edition unpacks: > the author''s identity as a Japanese Ulsterman, owing to his Northern Irish-Japanese heritage> the play''s place within a trilogy > the significance of Japanese history and culture > themes of occupation, colonization, grief, loss and hope > the use of
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Sound of the Underground
Book SynopsisLadies, Gentlemen, and then all the legends that have realised gender is a trap introducing the Sound of the Underground.Out to the electric night, where the base line jumps in the backstreet light and the beat goes round and round. The sound of the underground is the sound of duct tape, lighting cigarettes, jangling tips and a whole lot of chaos. This is not your average night at the theatre. Legends of the London Queer club scene come out from under the gutter to take over the Royal Court Theatre. Expect punk, profanity and a fierce fight about workers' rights written by Travis Alabanza and co-created and directed by Debbie Hannan. Hold for applause. Bring some change. Tip generously. Travis Alabanza's first play for the Royal Court spotlights London's iconic underground club culture and questions what it means to get your money's worth when it comes to art.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at London''s Royal Court Theatre in January 2023.
£13.10
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Love It If We Beat Them
Book SynopsisWhat is power without principle?What are principles without power?It''s Spring 1996: Kevin Keegan''s Newcastle United are riding high in the Premier League and Tony Blair''s New Labour are gathering pace. Hope is in the air and victory seems within reach. Len, a long term traditional Labour left activist, has decided to run as a candidate for local Labour MP, but the arrival of Victoria as front runner throws a spanner in the works. With loyalties tested and tensions reaching fever pitch, the winning team will be decided in an explosive head-to-head challenge.Love It If We Beat Them is a new political drama from writer Rob Ward that explores a time of significant change in the identity of North East communities and perfectly captures a moment in recent history that defines who we are today. A knockout play about Labour, love, and the beautiful game.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at Newcastle''s Live Theatre, in March 2023.
£13.10
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Abhishek Majumdar Collected Plays
Book SynopsisIn his first play collection published in English, international audiences can finally discover the acclaimed work of Abhishek Majumdar. Internationally celebrated author and theatre maker Abhishek Majumdar has worked across the world as a playwright, theatre director and scenographer. Performed at the Royal Court Theatre, Deutsch Schauspielhaus. Edinburgh Festival and at worldwide venues in cities such as Bangalore, New York, Hamburg, London, Yokohama, Cairo and Buenos Aries, his plays speak to all audiences through their emotional truth and shocking relatability. Infusing retellings of contemporary events with timeless themes, this collection threads together explorations of authoritarianism, radicalization and the sense of belonging: both intimate and far-reaching in scope, Majumdar marries the personal with the universal. With an introduction by renowned Indian Philosopher Sundar Sarukkai, the anthology cements Majumdar's place as an important an
£23.74
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Dear England
Book SynopsisWinner of Best New Play at the Olivier Awards 2024 It's time to change the game.The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. Why can't England's men win at their own game?The team has the worst track record for penalties in the world and manager Gareth Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt to take team and country back to the promised land.James Graham's rousing new play' (Tatler) is a fast-moving portrayal of Gareth Southgate's reign as England football manager that presents a gripping examination of both nation and game. Uplifting, funny and more entertaining than a World Cup final.This edition was published to coincide with the West End transfer of Dear England in October 2023, following its world premiere at the National Theatre in June 2023.
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Lloyd Suh Collected Plays
Book SynopsisLloyd Suh is the author of plays including The Heart Sellers, The Chinese Lady, The Far Country (Pulitzer Prize finalist), Bina's Six Apples, Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, Franklinland, American Hwangap, and others, which have been produced at the Atlantic Theater Company, Public Theater, Alliance Theatre, Huntington Theater, Milwaukee Rep, Denver Center, Magic Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Children's Theatre Company, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, and the National Asian American Theatre Company among others, including internationally at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and with PCPA at the Guerilla Theatre in Seoul, Korea. Awards include the Steinberg Playwright Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Herb Alpert Award, Horton Foote Prize, and Helen Merrill Award. He served as Director of Artistic Programs at The Lark from 2011-20. A resident playwright at New Dramatists and a Lifetime Member of the Actors Studio and Ensemble Studio Theatre, he was elected in 2016 to the Dramatists Guild Council and serves as a Professor of the Practice at Princeton University. Christine Mok is Associate Professor of English at the University of Rhode Island, USA. Her work has been published in the Journal of Asian American Studies, Theatre Survey, Theatre Journal, Modern Drama, and PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art. She is co-editor with Joshua Chambers-Letson of Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's China Trilogy: Three Parables of Global Capital (Methuen Drama, 2022).
£20.89
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Krishna Kumari The Tragedy of India
Book SynopsisKrishna Kumari: The Tragedy of India introduces readers to the first English language play in modern India.Written in 1826 by English Subba Rao, one of the first Indians to be schooled in English, Krishna Kumari depicts the true story of a princess of Udaipur who is forced to commit suicide in order to end a war started by her suitors, the rulers of the neighboring kingdoms of Jaipur and Jodhpur. Tragically, her death proves to be in vain because the mercenaries recruited by the contending rulers nevertheless proceed to plunder the region. All three kingdoms are then compelled to seek the protection of the East India Company, bringing their independence to an end.Sharp and witty, Krishna Kumari was intended to warn Indian principalities against the follies that led to the downfall of the Rajputs. Unfortunately, the play scarcely saw the light of day. Angered by Subba Rao's opposition to their power, the British
£20.89
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) National Theatre Connections 2025
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£21.84
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Soon Life
Book SynopsisPhoebe McIntosh is an actress and playwright from London. She wrote and performed in a sell-out run of her first play, The Tea Diaries, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, followed by her solo show, Dominoes, which toured the South East and London. She completed the Soho Theatre Writers' Lab programme, and her most recent full-length play, The Soon Life, was shortlisted and highly commended for the Tony Craze Award as well as being longlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award. Phoebe won a place on the inaugural Tamasha x Hachette creative writing programme and was selected for Penguin Random House's WriteNow programme.
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England
Book SynopsisAlex Hill is a writer and actor. His play Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England debuted at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023 to critical acclaim, including four-star reviews in The Scotsman and Broadway World UK. The show transferred to London's Southwark Playhouse in spring 2024 before transferring again to Adelaide Fringe Festival in Australia, in spring 2025.
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Dear Annie I Hate You
Book SynopsisSamantha Ipema is a classically trained writer/actor/director based in London and New York. After training at Royal Central's MA Classical and Stella Adler Studios, she started Wild Geese Productions in 2023 to begin creating and producing her own and other's work.As an actress, Sam has been nominated for 'Upcoming Performers to Watch For' (New York Shakespeare), 'Best Supporting Actor' (MWFF), and won 'Best Actress in a Short' (TSFF). Her pilot Dear Annie, I Hate You is named in Stage 32's Best of 2023 and Coverfly's RED List. Her first two shorts Conversations In A Waiting Room won at Independent Shorts and were nominated at NYSFF, LAFA, New Creators, and more
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) Common Tongue
Book SynopsisFraser Scott is a director from Paisley, Scotland, interested in work that speaks to audiences, that responds to the space that it's in, and tells a clear story. Fraser is a recipient of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Scholarship & a Cross Trust Award and holds an MFA in Theatre Directing (Birkbeck, University of London) 2023-25 and a BA Filmmaking (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) 2017-20.
£10.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Earthquakes in London
Book SynopsisAn all-pervasive fear of the future and a guilty pleasure in the excesses of the present drive Mike Bartlett's epic rollercoaster of a play from 1968 to 2525 and back again.Trade Review'Mike Bartlett has created something completely different: a three hour play of startling ambition.' Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard, 05.08.10 'This demented carnival confirms Bartlett, 29, as one of our most exciting young playwrights.' Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard, 05.08.10 'The play does its job of reminding us just how precarious our exhistance is.' Dominic Maxwell, The Times, 05.08.10 'Bartlett beautifully combines domestic and cosmic issues.' Michael Billington, The Guardian, 05.08.10 'Mike Bartlett's Earthquakes in London is the theatrical equivalent of a thrilling roller coaster ride.' Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 06.08.10
£11.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Pitchfork Disney
Book SynopsisThe Pitchfork Disney heralded the arrival of a unique and disturbing voice in the world of contemporary drama. Manifesting Ridley''s vivid and visionary imagination and the dark beauty of his outlook, the play resonates with his trademark themes: East London, storytelling, moments of shocking violence, memories of the past, fantastical monologues, and that strange mix of the barbaric and the beautiful he has made all his own.The Pitchfork Disney was Ridley''s first play and is now seen as launching a new generation of playwrights who were unafraid to shock and court controversy. This unsettling, dreamlike piece has surreal undertones and thematically explores fear, dreams and story-telling. First produced in 1991, it has gone on to be recognised as the annunciation of Ridley''s dark and seductive world.Trade ReviewIt's one hell of a play, Philip Ridley's The Pitchfork Disney . . . There's a deep artistry here and a searing vividness of imagination that leaves audiences shocked and subtly changed. * Scotsman *A drama that defined the era of "in-yer-face" theatre. * Evening Standard *Ridley's play, with its surreal fantasies, has an edgy, alarming potency of its own, the writing unfettered by any expectations of how a play should be. * Guardian *Flamboyantly grisly first play . . . it blazed a trail for the edgy style that the critic Aleks Sierz dubbed "in-yer-face theatre" . . . in its provocative poeticism, in its mixture of the dreamlike and the dangerous . . . it fed into later works by Jez Butterworth, Mark Ravenhill, Sarah Kane and Anthony Neilson . . . a show that both depicts and deconstructs danger * The Times *A cornerstone of the 'in yer face' theatre movement . . . Trauma-riven denial glints darkly in the dank, soiled poetry of Ridley's prose. * Stage *Unsettling and gripping * Sunday Times *A portal through which we access long-suppressed childhood fears from which we emerge with a ghost-train passenger's sense of survival. * Jewish Chronicle *
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Play That Goes Wrong
Book SynopsisGood evening. I'm Inspector Carter. Take my case. This must be Charles Haversham! I'm sorry, this must've given you all a damn shock. After benefitting from a large and sudden inheritance, the inept and accident-prone Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society embark on producing an ambitious 1920s murder mystery. They are delighted that neither casting issues nor technical hitches currently stand in their way. However, hilarious disaster ensues and the cast start to crack under the pressure, but can they get the production back on track before the final curtain falls? The Play That Goes Wrong is a farcical murder mystery, a play within a play, conceived and performed by award-winning company Mischief. It was first published as a one-act play and is published in this new edition as a two-act play.Trade ReviewImmaculately staged . . . reduced even a staid matinee audience to hysterics * The Times *Effortless slapstick that Keaton and Chaplin would be hard pushed to trump * Whatsonstage *For a side-splitting, jolly good laugh, The Play That Goes Wrong is exactly what the doctor ordered * British Theatre Guide *A highly developed sense of mischief and cheeky aplomb ... it's all very silly ... but it's done with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek. * Guardian *Boy does it hit the funny bone ... a rising tide of hysteria ... an enduring cult hit in the making * Daily Telegraph *This new comedy has, of course, actually done everything right . . . there are laughs to be had here . . . * Time Out London *Farce is rarely funnier; the theatre of the absurd, rarely more surreal. * Independent *often very funny . . . slapstick, done well, can reduce even the gravest souls into tears and there are some perfectly timed pratfalls here * Financial Times *these improv stand-up Lamda graduates are definitely on to something. * Daily Express *
£11.99
Theatre Communications Group The Struggle Continues Robbie McCauley
£20.14
Seven Stories Press Hotel Room Trilogy
Book Synopsis
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Restoration of Nell Gwyn
Book SynopsisFull of humour and bawdy wit, this new comedy transports us into the wanton world of the English Restoration. A new comedy by Steve Trafford with songs by Henry Purcell. King Charles 2nd lies ill, Nell Gwyn, his royal whore, once the brightest star of the Restoration theatre, rages against her fate. What will become of her if Charles is summoned to his Maker? What perils will befall the English nation? Mistress Gwyn and Margery, her maid, lead us a merry dance, filled with their laughter, their tears, and Nell’s enchanting songs of the Baroque: A rollicking romp which ends with a sting in its tail. Eleanor ‘Nell’ Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687) was a long-time mistress of King Charles II of England and Scotland. Called ‘pretty, witty Nell’ by Samuel Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England and has come to be considered a folk heroine, with a story echoing the rags-to-royalty tale of Cinderella. She was the most famous Restoration actress and possessed a prodigious comic talent. Gwyn had two sons by King Charles: Charles Beauclerk (1670–1726); and James Beauclerk (1671–1680). The surname of her sons is pronounced 'Bo-Clare'. Charles was created Earl of Burford and later Duke of St. Albans.Trade ReviewA sensitive reconsideration of a misconstrued figure * Guardian *
£14.21
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Tipping the Velvet
Book SynopsisIt’s 1887 and Nancy Astley sits in the audience at her local music hall: she doesn’t know it yet, but the next act on the bill will change her life. Tonight is the night she’ll fall in love… with the thrill of the stage and with Kitty Butler, a girl who wears trousers. Giddy with desire and hungry for experience, Nancy follows Kitty to London where unimaginable adventures await. Sarah Waters' debut novel, Tipping the Velvet was highly acclaimed and was chosen by The New York Times and The Library Journal as one of the best books of 1998. Reviewers have offered the most praise for Tipping the Velvet's use of humour, adventure, and sexual explicitness. The novel was adapted into a somewhat controversial three-part series of the same name produced and broadcast by the BBC in 2002.
£11.99
Renard Press Ltd Under Milk Wood
Book SynopsisTo begin at the beginning: It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black, the cobblestreets silent' Commissioned for the BBC for radio, Dylan Thomas's masterpiece, Under Milk Wood, is set in the fictional Welsh seaside village of Llareggub one spring day. An extraordinary cast of beautifully penned portraits come together, mingling dreams with reality, to give a now immortal depiction of the intertwined lives of a small Welsh community. The work of Dylan Thomas is widely regarded as being amongst the greatest of the Modern period, and his play for voices', Under Milk Wood, is one of the best-loved works in the literary canon.
£7.99
Nick Hern Books Cyrano
Book SynopsisA joyous, gender-flipped retelling of Edmond Rostand's classic play. A big-hearted, irreverent queer-as-hell rom-com first performed by Melbourne Theatre Company, and a hit at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe before transferring to Park Theatre, London.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Steel
Book SynopsisA hilarious and heartfelt play set in West Cumbria, about first loves, forging identities and the wild, wild hearts of teenage boys. First performed at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, in 2024.
£10.44
