Search results for ""Nick Hern Books""

'I'm not broken. I'm a unique spark of life. We all are.' Jess has a great life: a job she loves, a sharp sense of humour and a close group of friends. When austerity threatens the world she has worked hard to build, Jess makes a stand to protect those she holds most dear. Capturing the humour, sadness and joy of everyday life, Francesca Martinez's play All of Us is a passionate and timely look at the human cost of abandoning those who struggle to fit in. It premiered at the National Theatre, London, in August 2022, in a production directed by Ian Rickson, with an ensemble cast featuring Francesca Martinez in the role of Jess. It was shortlisted for the 2022 George Devine Award.

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‘He’ll look different. My little boy. When I get out. Like… to the picture I’ve got in my head. Be like meeting him all over again. A whole new start.’ Instead of GCSEs, Cain, Riyad and Jonjo got sentences. Locked up in a young offender institution, they trade sweets, chat shit, kill time – and await fatherhood. Grace's job is to turn these teenagers into parents, ready to take charge of their futures. But can they grow up quickly enough to escape the system? Winner of the 2019 Papatango New Writing Prize, Samuel Bailey's Shook is a tender and honest play examining the young men society shuts away. It was premiered by Papatango at Southwark Playhouse, London, in October 2019, followed by a UK tour. Samuel Bailey was the winner of the Times Breakthrough Award at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2021.

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A passionate, illuminating exploration of Shakespeare's greatest plays and characters, by the director of acclaimed theatre company Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory. Combining close textual analysis with practical insights based on his extensive experience of directing Shakespeare's plays, Andrew Hilton delves into a fascinating range of topics such as emotional truth in the comedies, the importance of the plays' social dynamics, the choice of settings and periods, making and withholding moral judgements, working with different versions of the texts, and even adapting them. Throughout, Hilton urges us as audiences and theatre-makers to set aside our preconceived notions, and instead to approach Shakespeare's plays with an open mind, moment by moment, so that we can connect with them in fresh and vital ways. 'The clear-sightedness, wit and depth of knowledge and insight into the plays and their worlds is unparalleled... should be required reading for everyone approaching these plays... A fabulous book, brimful of wisdom and revelations and a gift to anyone interested in Shakespeare or, quite frankly, in people' John Heffernan, actor 'Andrew Hilton's Tobacco Factory Shakespeares were an inspiration... What audiences saw and heard was not a display but an uncovering. His productions did not add to the drama: they revealed it... In Shakespeare on the Factory Floor, Hilton has once again lit up Shakespeare: lucid and penetrating on the page and on the stage' Susannah Clapp, theatre critic of the Observer 'The detail and simplicity of Andrew Hilton's directing is as potent in his writing as it is in the rehearsal room... A wonderful book' Dorothea Myer-Bennett, actor 'Andrew Hilton has used his rich experience of many years to create a penetrating, timely and distinctive study of the plays… I only wish this book had been around when first I read Shakespeare. It would have opened my eyes and my mind much earlier' Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, Former Rector of the Royal College of Art and Chair of Arts Council England 'Andrew Hilton's fascinating book reveals how theatrical performance offers insights into longstanding questions of literary interpretation… Written in an engaging and readable style, it will be of interest to actors, directors, scholars and anyone who enjoys reading Shakespeare's plays or seeing them performed' Lesel Dawson, Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Bristol

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'Your hobbies are limited to Arab Idol and cooking lentils and having sex in fields late at night.' The year is 2043, and Reem and her husband Sayeed are going to share a 'Serious Play about Palestine'. Things are tense. People are on the edge. The Fifth Intifada is right around the corner. But on a contested piece of land near their village of Beit al-Qadir, Reem and Sayeed are about to go dogging. Don't worry, you're allowed to laugh. Sami Ibrahim's play two Palestinians go dogging uses the lens of humour to explore how the everyday becomes political and the political becomes everyday in a conflict zone. The play won the Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award in 2019 and was premiered in May 2022 at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, London, directed by Omar Elerian.

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William Thornhill arrives in New South Wales a convict from the slums of London. Upon earning his pardon he discovers that this new world offers something he didn't dare dream of: a place to call his own. But as he plants a crop and lays claim to the soil on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, he finds that this land is not his to take. Its ancient custodians are the Dharug people. A deeply moving and unflinching journey into Australia's dark history, Andrew Bovell's adaptation of Kate Grenville's acclaimed novel The Secret River was first performed by the Sydney Theatre Company in 2013. The play had its UK premiere in August 2019, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, before transferring to the National Theatre, London. This edition includes an introduction by adapter Andrew Bovell, a foreword by historian Henry Reynolds, and music used in the original production. 'The Secret River is a sad book, beautifully written and, at times, almost unbearable with the weight of loss, competing distresses and the impossibility of making amends' Observer on the novel The Secret River

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Perfect for playwrights and screenwriters of all levels of experience, The Writer's Toolkit will equip you with everything required to kickstart your creativity, develop your craft, and make your writing the very best that it can be. Written by an experienced playwright, screenwriter and producer, this essential book is packed with almost two hundred practical exercises, techniques and ideas for every part of your process, designed to be used either solo or in a group. It includes: Writing warm-ups to focus your mind and get your creative muscles in gear Dozens of exercises to strengthen fundamental elements of your writing such as developing characters, improving dialogue, layering in subtext, creating a strong setting and constructing a compelling plot Immersive-writing techniques to lift the world of your script off the page and allow you to shape it more effectively A blueprint for writing a ten-minute play – a great way to practise your craft, explore a new idea and add to your portfolio A Submission Surgery with exercises and pointers so you can review and fine-tune your completed work before sending it out 101 quick-fire writing prompts to help you warm up, take a break from your current project, or just keep you feeling productive Also included are mindful meditations to use at the beginning and end of your writing sessions, to help you relax, boost your productivity and maximise your creative output. Whatever you need as a writer – whether that’s to crack a problem in your current script, develop ideas for future projects, build up your skills and experience, or bust through writer’s block – this book will give you the right tools for the job. So get writing! 'A generous and inventive book, packed full of the creativity it is bound to inspire' Anna Jordan, playwright and screenwriter (Succession, Killing Eve, Yen) 'An enthusiastic, encouraging guide with endless tips to make every stage of the writing process not only doable but enjoyable too' Diane Samuels, playwright and author (Kindertransport)

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Sarah gets spat at in the street. Frankie doesn't go to her lectures. In the aftermath of the accident that brought them together, neither expects to find solace in the other's company. Between hate mail and novelty teddy bears, the two women become something like friends. They want to punish themselves. They might save each other. Holly Robinson's debut play soft animals is a tender and unflinching story about motherhood, self-destruction and the way women help each other heal. It was shortlisted for the Tony Craze Award in 2017, and premiered at Soho Theatre, London, in February 2019.

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A psychological thriller excavating the fault lines that separate the entitled from the rest, Alys, Always is adapted for the stage by Lucinda Coxon from Harriet Lane's gripping novel. Frances works on the books pages of a Sunday newspaper. She's quiet and capable, but nobody takes much notice: her face is pressed to the window, on the outside, looking in. One evening, driving back to London after visiting her infuriating parents, she comes across an overturned car crumpled on the side of the road. She waits with the injured driver, Alys Kyte, until the ambulance arrives. Later, when Alys's famous family gets in touch, Frances finds herself ushered for the first time into the world on the other side of the window. And she begins to wonder: what will it take to belong? This stage version of Alys, Always was premiered at the Bridge Theatre, London, in February 2019, directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Joanne Froggatt and Robert Glenister. 'Wonderfully observed… a gripping, psychologically complex achievement, whose greatest success is the lingering sense of unease' Sunday Telegraph on Harriet Lane's novel

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‘Listen!’ In this collection of new essays, the world-renowned director Peter Brook offers unique and personal insights into sound and music – from the surprising impact of Broadway musicals on his famous Midsummer Night's Dream, to the allure of applause, and on to the ultimate empty space: silence. It is studded throughout with episodes from the author's own life and career in opera, theatre and film – including working on many of his most notable productions, and intimate first-hand accounts of collaborating with leading figures including Truman Capote, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh – and ranges across musical styles and cultures from around the world. Playing by Ear is full of Brook's shafts of insight and perception, and written with his customary wit and wisdom. It is a rich companion to his earlier reflections on Shakespeare in The Quality of Mercy and on language and meaning in Tip of the Tongue.

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An anthology of seven of the best plays from VAULT Festival 2019, London's biggest and most exciting arts festival. 3 Billion Seconds by Maud Dromgoole is a hilarious, macabre love story about a pregnant couple of activists attempting to offset the carbon footprint of their unborn baby's life. Alcatraz by Nathan Lucky Wood is a thrilling play about family and social care that follows Sandy on her daring, Christmas mission to emulate Clint Eastwood and bust her gran out of lock-up. Collapsible by Margaret Perry is a funny, furious monologue about navigating a world that cares so much about you keeping it together, it doesn't notice you falling apart. Inside Voices by Nabilah Said blends dark comedy and magic realism in its subversive portrayal of three Singaporean Muslim women challenging the bounds of freedom, feminism and faith in a place that isn't home. Open by Christopher Adams and Timothy Allsop is a frank, refreshing romance that draws on interviews, conversation and private correspondence to explore the authors' real-life open marriage. JERICHO by MALAPROP Theatre is an off-kilter, high-energy, form-pushing play about what pro-wrestling and politics have in common. It asks big questions in weird ways, like what can a pop-culture journalist do to stop the world burning down? Thrown by Jodi Gray sees a child-psychologist attempting to record what she's spent her whole life trying to forget, as the memories of former patients collide with her own. 'A major London festival … showcasing new and rising talent' Independent on VAULT Festival

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'Round ma way, the boys would drive tay the top of the car park; right tay the edge full speed. I wanted tay get involved. They said, "Oh aye Sarah, no bother, if you sit on Gerro's knee, he'll hold you nice an tight." Well, I thought tay mysel, that sounds like a full breach of health an safety regulations. I drive the car now lads. An get paid to do it.' Stationed on the tense border between Estonia and Russia, Cormack, Findlay and Davies are the first generation of women to ever serve in the British infantry. They've aced physical tests only five per cent of female soldiers can pass – they've been trained to shoot, fight and kill. But everyone around them questions whether they should even be allowed to serve. And now they're about to be tested to their limits. Kate Bowen's taut, funny and powerful play follows three pioneering young women in the world's most dangerous workplace. Close Quarters premiered at Sheffield Theatres in 2018, in a co-production between Sheffield Theatres and Stockroom, and directed by Stockroom's Artistic Director Kate Wasserberg. It was chosen as one of the Observer's Top 10 Theatre Shows of 2018.

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In a small Nigerian town, Ben and Obembe, along with their two older brothers, slip away to fish at a forbidden river. Unnoticed and carefree, they keep coming back until one day a madman's prophecy changes the course of their lives forever. Adapted by Gbolahan Obisesan from the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel by Chigozie Obioma, The Fishermen is a powerful allegory of brotherhood, vengeance and fate. It was first seen at HOME, Manchester, in 2018, before a tour of the UK including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in a co-production between New Perspectives and HOME. 'A remarkable, mythic book' Alice Walker on The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma

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‘I just thought it would be a secret I’d have to die with. And now – I think it’ll be what kills me.’ Life as the director of a Muslim funeral parlour isn’t always easy, but Ayesha has things pretty sorted. She and Zeyd share everything: a marriage, a business, a future. Until Tom walks in to organise his boyfriend’s funeral. A snap moral decision, informed by the values of Ayesha’s community and faith, has profound consequences. Forced to confront a secret she has hidden even from herself, Ayesha must decide who she is – no matter the cost. Iman Qureshi's play The Funeral Director is an incisive and heartfelt story of sexuality, gender and religion in twenty-first-century Britain. It won the 2018 Papatango New Writing Prize and premiered at Southwark Playhouse, London, in 2018.

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A play for anyone that’s ever been a dick on the dance floor. A wedding. A free bar. A blast from the past. G and Kayla’s lives are a mess but tonight they’re determined to Have It Large. As their veins course with adrenaline and cheap prosecco, we follow them on an epic journey through thirty years of pop. Can the DJ save them as they become Dancing Queens, reliving their Teenage Dream, Staying Out For The Summer and Spicing Up Their Lives? Pop makes promises it can’t keep, and soon they’ll discover they have more in common than their taste in tunes. Anna Jordan's play Pop Music is an emotionally contagious rollercoaster. It premiered at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in September 2018 (previews at Latitude Festival, July 2018), produced by Paines Plough and Birmingham Repertory Theatre in association with Latitude Festival, followed by a tour. This edition also includes Anna Jordan's short play Closer to God, which received the Overall Winner and Audience Choice Awards when it was premiered at the inaugural OffCut Festival in 2009.

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‘I want to return to my home.’ A Northern British coastal town. Three young men are coming home from war. Their stories, set at different times over a hundred years, are beautifully interwoven in Anna Jordan's The Unreturning, a play that explores the profound effect that war has on young people’s lives, and asks – what does coming home really mean? What is home? And when experience has shattered you into a million pieces, will home help to put you together again, or treat you as an ugly truth it does not want to confront? The Unreturning was premiered at Theatre Royal Plymouth in September 2018, in a co-production between Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth, before touring the UK.

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Two rich and startling monologues from award-winning actor and playwright Karen Cogan. Cork, 1998. An obsessive odyssey through the city. Dancing on tables, 3 a.m. breakfast rolls and waking up, polluted, on the wrong person’s doorstep. Brenda and her ferocious best pal are part of the city furniture. But one of them is realising that she's got it all, all of it, horribly wrong and it might be too late. Drip Feed is an infectious, dark comedy about the messiness of being young(ish), female and queer. The play was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award 2017, and premiered at Assembly George Square as part of the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in a co-production between Fishamble and Soho Theatre, London. Also included in this volume is Karen Cogan’s first play The Half Of It, a relentless, darkly lyrical work about a life, lived unseen, which won the Stewart Parker Award in 2018 after a sold-out run at the Dublin Fringe Festival, produced by Mommo Theatre. In a London flat, a Cork woman is climbing the walls. She lives alone, eating dry digestives and hiding from the postman. She hasn't stepped outside in six years. Does she definitely still exist?

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‘The history of Manchester jumps off its axis. The history of England jumps off its axis. 2 a.m., 8th July, 1981, all the major cities of England burn.’ Crackling with anger, humour and authenticity, Ed Edwards’ play The Political History of Smack and Crack chronicles the fallout for communities crushed by the heroin epidemic at the height of Thatcherism. Shot through with home truths about the road to recovery, this is an epic love song to a lost generation inspired by the playwright’s own personal experience. The Political History of Smack and Crack was shortlisted for the Theatre503 Playwriting Award. It was first performed in Paines Plough’s Roundabout at Summerhall at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018, before transferring to Soho Theatre, London, produced by Most Wanted and Offstage Theatre in association with W14 Productions, Alastair Michael and Soho (co-commissioners). ‘A terrific honest, funny, moving firecracker of a play’ Roy Williams OBE

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Two women from very different worlds: Karen has built a picture-perfect life while Gail struggles to keep hers together. When Gail re-enters Karen’s life from out of the blue, she brings with her everything Karen has been running from… Katherine Chandler's tense, revealing play explores what it means to care for one another and asks who, in a time of increasing disconnect, we expect to look after us. Thick As Thieves was premiered at Theatr Clwyd, Mold, in October 2018, in a co-production between Clean Break and Theatr Clwyd. Acclaimed theatre company Clean Break produces ground-breaking plays with women writers and actors at the heart of its work. Founded in 1979 by two women prisoners who needed urgently to tell their stories through theatre, the company today has an independent education programme delivering theatre opportunities to women offenders and women at risk, in custodial and community settings.

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Serena and Jeff have one last chance to conceive: Genesis Incorporated, whose glowing testimonials and bespoke treatments surely justify a final roll of the dice. Meanwhile, Bridget has put it all on ice while she focuses on her high-flying career and on finding Mr Right. And all Miles wants is to be able to afford a property in Zone 4 – oblivious to the fact that, in a different kind of currency, he’s actually the richest of them all… Genesis Inc. explores the final frontier of twenty-first-century capitalism: the privatisation of human reproduction. Jemma Kennedy's explosively funny comedy takes a closer look at the lengths to which people will go to defy biology – and at the moral compass of an industry that trades on fear and hope. Genesis Inc. premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2018, in a production directed by Laurie Sansom.

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"You've endangered us. You've endangered your family." During an attack on London, 20 year old Imogen joins a campaign offering refuge to victims. Before her family have even had a chance to have a reasonable discussion, John is at their door. He is different to them. He isn't what they expected. And although they'd never admit it to themselves, he isn't necessarily what they want. "You will do anything, in the end, to keep the people you love safe." One for Sorrow is Cordelia Lynn's second play to have its world premiere at London's Royal Court Theatre, following her acclaimed debut Lela & Co.

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‘I want the world to change shape.’ ‘I'm not sure theatre can do that.’ ‘Well then where am I meant to take that impulse because I'm very serious about the endeavour?’ A young writer challenges the status quo but discovers that creative gain comes at a personal cost. The Writer premiered in 2018 at the Almeida Theatre, London, in a production directed by Blanche McIntyre. The Writer was a finalist for the 2019 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. 'A playwright who grabs the zeitgeist' Independent

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When her first play, Eight, transferred from student theatre in Edinburgh to the West End and then New York, Ella Hickson was still in her early twenties. She has since built on that promise with a series of engaged and engaging dramas that pit romanticism and optimism against the realities of life as a young person in Britain. Eight (Edinburgh Fringe, 2008), that astonishing first success, is included here: a state-of-the-nation group portrait in monologues, ‘an interactive Talking Heads for 21st-century teens and twentysomethings’ (Independent). Also included is Hot Mess (Edinburgh Fringe, 2010), a dark and lyrical tale about twins born with just a single heart between them, and Precious Little Talent (Edinburgh Fringe, 2009; West End, 2011), about two young adults graduating into a world that’s sold them down the river. In Boys (HighTide Festival, Nuffield Theatre Southampton and Soho Theatre, 2012), the Class of 2011 faces a tricky transition to adulthood in a play that ‘powerfully captures the mood of a generation’ (Independent). The volume also contains an introduction by the author and two short plays: the previously unpublished PMQ, part of the Coalition season at Theatre503, London, in 2010; and Gift, first seen as part of Headlong’s immersive theatre production Decade in 2011. ‘On the cusp of greatness’ Independent

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‘We talkin’ about life. We talkin’ about being treated as equals. We talkin’ about not being shot down in the streets and motherfuckers gettin’ off scot-free.’ Lynchburg, Virginia, on the former site of a cotton mill. Fourteen-year-old Ruffrino is struggling to make sense of his place in an impoverished world filled with seemingly random killings of young black men. As his anger towards reality grows, he moves further away from his family. Losing himself online, Ruffrino’s world sinks around him while he battles to wake up the zombies and prove by any means necessary that Black Lives Matter. Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm's play Br’er Cotton was first seen at Kitchen Dog Theatre, Texas, in 2017, and received its UK premiere at Theatre503, London, in 2018. It was shortlisted for both the Theatre503 Playwriting Award 2016 and the Relentless Award, and won the 2019 Off-West End Award for Best New Play.

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Essential warm-up exercises for anyone who wants to use their voice more effectively. If you're using your voice in a professional capacity - as a performer, a public speaker, a teacher, or even for long hours over the telephone - then warming up is an essential part of ensuring best practice and vocal health. On this CD, Jeannette Nelson, Head of Voice at the National Theatre, provides three complete and easy-to-use voice warm-ups that she uses with actors and non-actors alike. Simply press play, and follow the instructions, either on your own or in a group. Each warm-up helps you release physical tension and prepare your breathing, open up your voice and improve your resonance, and get the speech muscles in your mouth working freely. There is also a warm-down for after you have been using your voice, to release any tensions, re-establish good muscle action, and keep healthy for the next time. `Jeannette's warm-up sessions are tremendous' Zoë Wanamaker CBE `Jeannette's knowledge is astonishing, and her approach so gentle and effective' Derren Brown `She makes voice production endlessly fascinating and fun. There is no one better' Rory Kinnear

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Two plays showcasing the exciting and distinctive voice of Josh Azouz. Buggy Baby is a horror comedy about trying to build a normal life when nothing about life is normal. Jaden, Nur and baby Aya have escaped another country and ended up in a rotting room in London. While Nur is at college, Jaden chews leaves and has visions of giant rabbits with burning red eyes. He thinks Aya is someone else, someone dangerous. But she’s just a baby. Isn’t she? The Mikvah Project is a playful and poignant play about two men who meet every Friday in a north-west London Mikvah, a traditional Jewish pool used for ritual cleansing. Avi is married but childless. Eitan’s voice is breaking and he’s having wet dreams. At the Mikvah they talk about football, the synagogue choir, women. And as their bond deepens, a transformation begins… Both plays premiered at The Yard, London: Buggy Baby in 2018, directed by Ned Bennett, and The Mikvah Project in 2015, directed by the theatre’s Artistic Director, Jay Miller.

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A prodigiously talented young musician, an Ivy League school, a life changing allegation. Out of 37,451 applicants to Eliot University, Angela stands out - but not for the right reasons. An ambiguous event in her past threatens to overshadow her talent, potential, and her future prospects. Can she overcome the prejudices of those judging her application or is she already tainted beyond redemption, regardless of whether she is victim or perpetrator? Crackling with razor-sharp dialogue, Amy Ng’s explosive new play asks whether we can ever escape our past and investigates the destructive side of our search for acceptance.

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1968. A time of political upheaval the likes of which has not been seen since. Until - perhaps - now. In a new age of radical leftism and global politics, this new version of David Edgar's 1983 award-winning hit play, Maydays, has startling parallels to the political revolution of the Millennial Generation. It's 1968. David is 20. It is the height of the worldwide student revolt. The Vietnam war rages. Enoch Powell delivers his 'Rivers of Blood' speech. Martin Luther King is assassinated. These events will define David's politics and give focus to his writing. It's 50 years on. The 70-year-old is confronted by the 20-year old. Do they share the same beliefs? If not, is it the world that's changed, or him? Trying It On is a new play, written and perfromed by David Edgar. It premieres at the RSC in October 2018.

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Family, food, music and mourning. Gloria is gravely sick. When her time comes, the celebration begins; the traditional Jamaican Nine Night Wake. But for Gloria's children and grandchildren, marking her death with a party that lasts over a week is a test. Nine nights of music, food, sharing stories - and an endless parade of mourners. Natasha Gordon's debut play Nine Night is a touching and very funny exploration of the rituals of family. It is premiered at the National Theatre in April 2018.

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A celebrated war photographer, whose audience with Osama bin Laden prior to 9/11 shaped his career. A young Syrian, six months pregnant, on an ageing fishing boat in the Mediterranean, sinking fast under the weight of refugees. Through two alternating monologues, Borders provides an urgent, moving and occasionally hilarious commentary on one of the great crises of our time. Henry Naylor's play premiered at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it won the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Fringe Award and a coveted Fringe First, before North American performances at the Spoleto Festival, Charleston, and New York Theatre Workshop in 2018.

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'Destruction never approaches weapon in hand. It comes slyly, on tiptoe, making you see bad in good and good in bad.' The devastation of war is tearing the Bharata family apart. The new king must unravel a mystery: how can he live with himself in the face of the devastation and massacres that he has caused. In Battlefield, the internationally renowned team of Peter Brook, Marie-Hélène Estienne and Jean-Claude Carrière revisit the great Indian epic The Mahabharata, thirty years after Brook's legendary production took world theatre by storm. An immense canvas in miniature, this central section of the ancient text is timeless and contemporary, asking how we can find inner peace in a world riven with conflict. It was first performed at Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris, in 2015, before an international tour including a run at the Young Vic Theatre, London, in 2016.

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'Tonight I need you to understand the difference between fiction and the truth. Tonight you will discover that Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is in fact… fact.’ Travelling across Europe, from the dark and sinister Transylvanian mountains to the charming seaside town of Whitby, Professor Van Helsing and his three amateur actors stage a life-changing, theatrical production of Dracula – hoping to establish, once and for all, the bloody truth. The result is a delightfully silly, fast-paced and faithful (-ish) adaptation by John Nicholson (Hound of the Baskervilles, Peepolykus) of Bram Stoker’s novel, originally performed by physical-comedy theatre company Le Navet Bete on a UK tour in 2017. Performed by four actors playing forty characters, Dracula: The Bloody Truth is a full-blooded adaptation offering abundant opportunities for any theatre company or drama group to sink their teeth into.

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If you are born in a country where being yourself can get you killed, exile is your only choice. Frances Poet's play Adam is the remarkable true story of a young trans man having to make that choice and begin his journey. It charts Adam's progress from Egypt to Scotland, across borders and genders, in his search for a place to call home. The play was first performed by the National Theatre of Scotland at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017, where it won a Fringe First award. It was directed by Cora Bissett, with music by Jocelyn Pook, and starred Adam Kashmiry, whose story inspired the play. A TV movie based on the play, written by Frances Poet and also starring Adam Kashmiry, was made by Hopscotch Films and National Theatre of Scotland, and was broadcast by the BBC in 2021. The film was the winner in the Television Scripted category at the 2021 BAFTA Scotland Awards.

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A bittersweet and vital play that throws a spotlight on 'Generation Rent' and the lengths they will go to in order to get that first step on the property ladder. Rachel and Ben want to buy a flat in London. And so do their friends, Melanie and Sam. But what with rent, tax, student loans and bills, it's impossible to save for a deposit. So the foursome come up with a fast-track solution to the problem: live together. Sneakily split the rent and bills on a tiny one-bedroom flat for a year. But with paper-thin walls and space growing sparser by the day, which will they sacrifice first – the friendship, the relationship, or the dream of buying their own property? Matt Hartley's play Deposit premiered at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs in 2015, and was revived there (in this revised and updated version) in 2017.

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'Do you want to live forever? YES or NO.' Polly and Owen have nailed it. Successful in their careers and wildly in love with each other, they feel ready to take on the world. But when a mysterious new technology, promising a break from the daily grind, creeps into everyone's phones, their world is turned upside down. As the line between physical and digital rapidly dissipates, Polly and Owen are forced to question whether their definitions of reality and freedom are the same. Girl in the Machine is a disturbing but compassionate vision of our potential digital future, and what it might mean for 'life' as we know it. The play premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in 2017, directed by Traverse Artistic Director Orla O'Loughlin.

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Helen Edmundson's gripping play tells the little-known story of a monarch caught between friendship and duty. 1702. William III is on the throne and England is on the verge of war. Princess Anne is soon to become Queen, and her advisors vie for influence over the future monarch. Who can Anne turn to when even her most trusted friends seem bent on pursuing power? Contending with deceit and blackmail, Anne must decide where her allegiances lie, and whether to sacrifice her closest relationships for the sake of the country. Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Queen Anne premiered at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in November 2015, and was revived at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, in 2017.

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'I just don't know if I'm ever happy. Like, really truly happy. Even if you sent me up to space, by day four I'd be worrying if I had enough stuff on my Kindle...' What makes us truly happy? Health? Family? Professional success? Blasting it in the gym? Romance? Pills? Or are we ignoring the bigger stuff? Real life-changing stuff that can devastate the world if we just keep ignoring it. Glenn Waldron's darkly surprising comedy The Here and This and Now takes a look at the pharmaceuticals business, the salaryman and woman, and the quest for happiness. It premiered at Theatre Royal Plymouth in March 2017.

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'My parents are here. In the walls and the floorboards and the bricks of this house. This is not only your street with only your stories.' On a residential street in South East London, reclusive siblings Peppy and Daniel live in a house stuffed full of everything they have ever owned. With their eccentric appearance and their rampant garden hedge, they're not like others on their road. When young Ben from next door comes visiting, looking for friendship, what happens next challenges everyone's idea of neighbourliness. Deborah Bruce's play The House They Grew Up In is a tender, dark and funny look at co-dependency, anxiety, and living alongside those who are different from us. The play was first performed at Chichester Festival Theatre in July 2017 in a co-production with Headlong.

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A divisive left-wing leader at the helm of the Labour Party. A Conservative prime minister battling with her cabinet. An identity crisis on a national scale. This is Britain 1981. One Sunday morning, four prominent Labour politicians – Bill Rodgers, Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins and David Owen – gather in private at Owen's home in Limehouse, East London. They are desperate to find a political alternative. Should they split their party, divide their loyalties, and risk betraying everything they believe in? Would they be starting afresh, or destroying forever the tradition that nurtured them? Steve Waters' thrilling drama takes us behind closed doors to imagine the personal conflicts behind the making of political history. Limehouse premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in 2017, directed by Polly Findlay. It is a fictionalised account of real events, and it is not endorsed by the individuals portrayed.

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Made in China. Sold in Britain. Worn by you. From the factory floor to the catwalk, from Shanghai to London, World Factory weaves together the untold stories of people connected by the global textile industry. This published edition adapts the highly successful, provocative and participative theatre production for the page, offering readers the opportunity to play - as individuals or in teams - the managers of a clothing factory in China and recreate the experience of the game. Like a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' novel, the game has multiple routes and outcomes, interlinking questions of ethics, fashion, consumer capitalism, environmental impact, working conditions, migration and globalisation. In a cross between Monopoly and poker, players trade in workers and money, but it is a game about values - will you be an ethical factory owner or will profits always come first? In the rag trade, can anyone ever really win? World Factory was created and produced in 2015 by the performing arts company METIS, in co-production with the New Wolsey Theatre, Young Vic, and Company of Angels. It was performed at the Young Vic, London, and on tour of the UK.

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On a frozen Minnesota lake, the ice is beginning to creak and groan. It's the end of the fishing season, and two old friends are out on the ice, angling for something big; something down there that is pure need. Something that might just swallow them whole. In Nice Fish, celebrated actor Mark Rylance draws on his own teenage years in the American Midwest, in a unique collaboration with critically acclaimed Minnesotan contemporary prose poet Louis Jenkins and the whole company. This sublimely playful, profound and very funny play transferred direct from a sell-out run in New York to the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, in 2016, in a production directed by Claire van Kampen and starring Rylance and Jim Lichtscheidl.

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‘I know you’re there… Miranda? Miranda!’ On a summer’s day in 1900, three Australian schoolgirls on a picnic expedition to the remote Hanging Rock abscond from their group. They are last seen heading towards the beckoning Rock… In Tom Wright’s chilling adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s classic novel, five performers struggle to solve the mystery of the missing girls and their teacher. Euphoria and terror reverberate throughout the community, as the potential for history to repeat itself becomes nightmarishly real. This adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock was first co-produced by Malthouse Theatre and Black Swan State Theatre Company, Perth, and first performed at Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, in 2016. The play received its European premiere at the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, in 2017.

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Two explosive plays about the need to be seen. Somalia Seaton's House is a play about family, culture clash, memory and truth. When Pat returns to her childhood home after a five-year absence, she's ready to forgive her mother for the neglect she suffered at her hands, but Mama isn't ready to let the demons back into her home. In Chino Odimba's Amongst the Reeds, two friends scratch out a living on the margins of society. Oni and Gillian have made their home in a disused office block, finding ever more precarious ways to stay hidden from the authorities. But now Gillian is heavily pregnant, and visibility might be the only way to give her baby a chance. Commissioned by Clean Break and produced in association with the Yard Theatre, London, House + Amongst the Reeds premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2016, before transferring to The Yard. Acclaimed theatre company Clean Break produces ground-breaking plays with women writers and actors at the heart of its work. Founded in 1979 by two women prisoners who needed urgently to tell their stories through theatre, the company today has an independent education programme delivering theatre opportunities to women offenders and women at risk, in custodial and community settings.

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'I refuse to be a panda. I refuse to go extinct. I want to live, to live well, to live like them.' Bunny, a young woman from the officially designated 'Shangri-La' in the Himalayan foothills of China's Yunnan Province, has witnessed her family's livelihood destroyed by mass tourism. She dreams of escape as a globe-trotting photographer. But what happens when the only thing you have to sell is your culture? When the only way to free yourself is to betray your roots? In Shangri-La, her first full-length play, Amy Ng lays bare the contradictions and private pain of cultural tourism. The play premiered at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2016.

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Parents-to-be Kurt and Martha just want the best for their baby. They're not afraid of hard work – the latest buggy doesn't come cheap. But when Kurt's boss offers him a chance to make some easy money with a mysterious side job, his rashness catches up with him. A fable about the moral and environmental cost of our materialistic nesting instincts, Conor McPherson's powerful new version of Franz Xaver Kroetz's Das Nest premiered at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, in 2016 and the Young Vic, London, directed by Ian Rickson.

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'You western-backed goats, They forced us into slavery and killed millions. Now they want us to accept the sinfulness of homos. It shall not work.' In 2014, Uganda passed an Anti-Homosexuality Act. This short, startling play looks at what lies behind it. Caryl Churchill's Pigs and Dogs premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2016, in a production directed by Dominic Cooke.

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Getting pissed, getting laid, getting by. The adventures and misadventures of a group of graduates working in a North London call centre: Alice wants to be a singer, Liam wants to travel, Rob wants to make a killing and Sally's been there too long but it's okay, it's not forever, is it? Is it? New Labour is a comedy drama about being young, working in a shit job, living in debt, and all the funny and sad things you do to cope. It's about the modern workforce – the children of New Labour; their hopes, their realities. First performed by students of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London, in 2014, directed by Richard Wilson, it provides rich opportunities for drama schools and youth theatre groups to perform.

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A sensitive, delicate and powerful play that asks what our labour is worth and how life can be lived when the system is stacked against you. ‘I dreamt about this last night. I dreamt that I was packing boxes in boxes in boxes.’ Tamsin packs boxes in a warehouse, on the clock, to a target, with a zero-hour contract. Her brother Dean is housebound, working to obsessive-compulsive rituals of his own. When Dean is declared fit for work, their benefits are cut. There are phone calls to make, appeals to lodge and endless forms to fill in. Tamsin must pack faster, work harder, and fight to get the support she and her brother so desperately need. Katherine Soper's play Wish List won the 2015 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting and was co-produced by the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, and the Royal Court Theatre, London. It premiered at the Royal Exchange in September 2016 and the Royal Court in January 2017, and Katherine Soper was named Best Writer in the 2017 Stage Debut Awards. ‘The play has such eloquence, such quiet craft, such dignity and such compassion’ Sir Nicholas Hytner

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A gripping portrait of a destructive friendship between two women who push themselves to their limits. Luce and Charlene are thirty-something binge-drinking soulmates. Clocking in after a heavy night out on the tiles, they pop caffeine pills and down miniatures on the factory floor, boasting about last night's sexual conquests. When you're living for today, who cares about tomorrow? Kathryn O'Reilly's play Screwed premiered at Theatre503, London, in 2016, in a co-production with KOR.

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