Search results for ""nick hern books""

The story Charles Dickens might have written after drinking too much gin... Follow half-orphan Pip Bin's remarkable adventures with sisters Pippa and Poppy and best friend Harry Biscuit, as they attempt to escape the scheming clutches of Mr Gently Benevolent and defeat the irrepressible Hardthrasher siblings. Can they avert disaster at every turn? Will evil be vanquished by virtue? Can love triumph over hate? Mark Evans' play Bleak Expectations is a hilarious, chaotic caper, featuring dastardly villains, preposterous names, pulse-quickening romances, heart-rending death scenes, and, of course, a happy ending. Based on the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series, the play opened at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury, in 2022, directed by Caroline Leslie. It offers rich opportunities to amateur theatre companies looking for a gloriously daft Dickensian romp which will have their audiences joyfully transported and begging for more.

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A remarkable play about what can happen when we become stuck in the stories we tell about our lives. Visceral and tender, The Walworth Farce combines hilarious moments with shocking realism. It's 11 o'clock in the morning in a council flat on the Walworth Road in London. In two hours' time, as is normal, three Irish men will have consumed six cans of Harp, fifteen crackers with spreadable cheese, ten pink biscuit wafers and one oven-cooked chicken with a strange blue sauce. In two hours' time, as is normal, five people will have been killed. Enda Walsh's play The Walworth Farce was first performed by Druid Theatre Company at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway, in March 2006, before touring to Cork and Dublin. It was revived at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in August 2007 as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning a Fringe First Award, and received its London premiere at the National Theatre in September 2008.

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A tender and funny play about growing up in Romford in the shadow of Canary Wharf. 1995. Big buildings are rising in London's Docklands. But marooned miles to the east, half-in and half-out of the city, Romford has not been invited to the party. Confused about its identity, the inhabitants of the 'only town in London with its own ring road' are trying to cope. The relationships they forge have painful implications, in this poetic and passionate play that explores growing up, identity and loss. Ben Musgrave's play Pretend You Have Big Buildings won the 2005 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting and was first performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in 2007. 'An exceptional play... original, sophisticated, intelligent... and highly entertaining' Brenda Blethyn, Bruntwood Playwriting Competition panel of judges

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The story of a young boy's fantastic adventure after being washed up on a Pacific island – adapted for the stage by acclaimed dramatist Stuart Paterson from the best-selling novel by Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo. Michael embarks on a round-the-world sailing voyage with his parents, only for their dream to become a nightmare when Michael falls overboard. Washed up on an island in the Pacific populated with orang-utans, Michael soon makes a startling discovery: the island is already home to one extraordinary man, and this is Kensuke's Kingdom... Stuart Paterson's stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's Kensuke's Kingdom was first staged by Birmingham Stage Company in 2005.

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An adaptation for the stage of this modern children's classic by the best-selling author and 2005 Children's Laureate. Thirteen-year-old Violet has plenty to wish for. She wishes Will, her older brother, would be kinder to her. She wishes beautiful charismatic Jasmine would be her friend for ever. Most of all she wishes she could meet her favourite author, Casper Dream. Violet is sure that someone who can create the fairy tales she loves so much would be able to conjure up a solution to her problems. Seen all over the country and in the West End, this resourceful dramatisation of Jacqueline Wilson's Midnight is suitable for young actors as well as young audiences. The adapter, Vicky Ireland, has provided production notes to indicate how the play can be staged even with minimal resources - plus a lot of ingenuity! 'Vicky has adapted a handful of my books for the stage. I hope she works her magic on many more to come!' - Jacqueline Wilson

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A handbook for aspiring actors by two of the best-known names in British theatre and television. So You Want To Be An Actor? by Timothy West and Prunella Scales offers practical advice and do's and don'ts to anyone thinking of taking up acting. The authors are passionate about actor training, know the profession inside out and have more than a hundred years' experience between them... Writing alternately throughout the book - and sometimes offering radically different opinions - they cover over sixty topics including: * Drama school * Auditions and interviews * Agents * Financial Security * Learning the lines * Working in television/radio * Touring * Media attention Charmingly informal but full of sound advice, So You Want To Be An Actor? is essential reading for anyone with their eye on a career in acting.

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García Lorca's blood-soaked story of doomed love, in a version by playwright Tanya Ronder. On the eve of the wedding of a young couple from rival clans, the bride-to-be elopes with a former lover. The groom's mother is torn between a desire for vengeance and the instinct to protect her son. This version of Blood Wedding by Tanya Ronder was first staged at the Almeida Theatre, London, in May 2005, in a production directed by Rufus Norris and starring Gael García Bernal.

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Six funny and perceptive monologues about the stresses of modern female life. Meryl Davenport – A mother who tells the story of her non-stop day in a rapid-fire internal monologue. Tiggy Entwhistle – A cactus lover bravely attempting to rise above her relationship crisis. Mary O'Donnell – A feisty teenage schoolgirl competing in a talent quest. Theresa McTerry – An increasingly disillusioned bride on her wedding day. Winsome Webster – A widow with an appetite for the unexpected. Zoe Struthers – An American cabaret singer who's had her fair share of personal problems. Joanna Murray-Smith's play Bombshells was first performed by Caroline O'Connor at the Fairfax Theatre, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia, in December 2001. It was revived at the same venue in 2004, transferring to the York Theatre in Sydney in April 2004. A reduced version consisting of four monologues was performed by Caroline O'Connor as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, in 2004. This production – now consisting of all six monologues – transferred to the Arts Theatre in the West End in September 2004.

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‘She wanted spontaneity, adventure… I said I can be spontaneous… I just need a little bit of time to plan.’ Peta is new in town and ready for whatever London has to throw at her. She's looking for romance, for friendship, for exciting people to lead her on big adventures. But being an independent woman in the new millennium isn't easy, especially when there's a constant reminder of the life you're trying to escape. With each new encounter, Peta flirts with what might have been, but has the journey to London put enough distance between her and her past? Chloë Moss's play How Love Is Spelt is a fascinating and funny play, which premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2004. It was revived by Brickdust and Project One at Southwark Playhouse in 2019.

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Richard Eyre's high-profile adaptation of Ibsen's famous 'problem play' about a headstrong woman's determination to control those around her. Arriving home after an extended honeymoon, Hedda struggles with an existence that is, for her, devoid of excitement and enchantment. Filled with a passion for life that cannot be confined by her marriage or 'perfect home', Hedda strives to find a way to fulfil her desires by manipulating those around her. Richard Eyre's adaptation of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler was premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2005. Included in this volume is an introduction to the play by Richard Eyre.

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Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price García Lorca's passionate, lyrical tale of longing and revenge: a twentieth century masterpiece. Translated from the Spanish and introduced by one of Scotland's finest playwrights, Jo Clifford.

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A powerful and straightforward dramatisation of Orwell's enduring parable on the perils of totalitarianism. Ian Wooldridge's dramatisation of Animal Farm remains faithful to Orwell's original, retaining both its affection for the animals and the inciciveness of its message. It was first performed by TAG Theatre Company at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, in 1982. This edition contains production notes for schools and other groups wishing to stage the play.

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An authoritative, hands-on guide through the practical challenges involved in performing Shakespeare. Drawing on a lifetime's experience of playing Shakespearean roles, Oliver Ford Davies offers practical advice to actors, directors and drama students on a wide variety of scenes, characters, speeches and individual lines from almost every one of the plays. The three core sections of Performing Shakespeare take us through the whole process of Preparation, Rehearsal and Performance, preceded by discussions of the Elizabethan actor and Shakespeare's language. Also included are revealing interviews with other notable Shakespearean actors including Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Harriet Walter, Simon Russell Beale and Juliet Stevenson. 'An invaluable guide to those who act and to all those who wish to gain deeper insights into the performance of Shakespeare's plays' Stanley Wells from his Foreword

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The extraordinary debut play from the Royal Court by two brothers from Siberia. A series of seemingly unrelated scenes portray the ordinary frustrations of everyday life: office workers bickering, a couple committing adultery, grannies complaining about their husbands. But the scenes unfold to reveal the mistrust and dysfunction that have become the norm, in Russia and elsewhere. Terrorism by the Presnyakov Brothers was first performed, in this English translation by Sasha Dugdale, at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2003.

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A strikingly original play combining traditional storytelling with physical theatre, created by The Imaginary Body. Imagine that you must choose one single memory from your life. Imagine that choosing this memory is your only way of passing through to eternity. Imagine that you have just one hour to choose... 100 was first performed at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it won a Fringe First Award. It subsequently went on an extensive international tour, including a sell-out run at the Soho Theatre, London. 'Armed with only five bamboo sticks, the actors created a visual piece of theatre that captured the imagination of every spectator... They all left the theatre thinking about what their 'one memory' would be' Joyce McMillan

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A hard-hitting and original family drama, winner of the 2004 Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer. 'the bits don't make the bulk and the bulk don't mek the whole and the all a your bits together don't make your versions true.' A blood-related black family. A Dad, a Mum, a Daughter, two Sisters, a Brother. A family argument. A skeleton in the closet... debbie tucker green's play born bad dives headlong into the powerful heart of this family, unleashing wit, ferocity and verbal dexterity on the way. It was premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2003.

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The text of a talk given by renowned theatre director Peter Brook in Berlin in 1998, addressing essential questions about performing Shakespeare today. Brook invites us to consider the actual conditions of the Elizabethan theatre and the actual qualities of Shakespeare's language. Published as part of the Dramatic Contexts series: important statements on the theatre by major figures in the theatre.

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The spellbinding, beautifully observed hit from the master of suspenseful realism. A bar in a remote part of Ireland. The local lads are swapping spooky stories to impress a young woman recently moved to the area from Dublin. As the drink flows and the stories become increasingly frightening, it's clear that Valerie has something on her mind. She has a tale to tell that'll stop them all dead in their tracks. Conor McPherson's play The Weir combines superbly chilling tales of the supernatural with the hilarious banter of a small community in the heart of rural Ireland. The Weir was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs at the Ambassadors Theatre on West Street, London, in July 1997. It transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End in February 1998, where it played for two years. The play went on to win the Olivier Award for Best New Play in 1999. McPherson also won the Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Awards for Most Promising Playwright. The Weir has since been performed very widely, including on Broadway in 1999. It received a major West End revival at the Donmar Warehouse in 2013, and transferred to the West End once again. It was voted one of the hundred most significant plays of the twentieth century in a poll conducted by the National Theatre in 2000. 'The play of the decade... a modern masterpiece' - Express 'I am convinced that this is the best new play I've seen in years' - Sunday Telegraph 'There is a depth in the characterisation... that puts one in mind of an Irish Chekhov. I have rarely been so convinced that I have just seen a modern classic' - Daily Telegraph 'A beautifully crafted and compassionate piece, dealing with love, loss and loneliness. It works because one believes so intensely in the characters that one shares the experiences they talk of, because it contains at its heart a shattering event and because it demonstrates the healing potential of storytelling... a fine piece of writing' - Financial Times Best New Play, Olivier Awards

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A comprehensive instruction manual, full of practical exercises, which starts with overhauling our attitude to our voice. Based firmly on the author's extensive teaching experience all over the world, and packed full of illustrations and exercises, Singing With Your Own Voice is the book for everyone who has always wanted to sing but has been too scared to try. Orlanda Cook was a member of the experimental Roy Hart Theatre in London and in France for over twenty years from 1972, after which she worked extensively as a voice coach and director in Sweden, France, Belgium, Hungary, the Middle East and Britain. She died in mid-career just after completing this book. 'Working with Orlanda was full of enjoyment. She created a safe climate around her which helped even the most shy to come forward and find new dimensions in his or her voice' Suzanne Osten, Director, Unga Klara, Stockholm

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An emotionally involving family play that evokes the poignancy and the poison of the festive season - from the award-winning writer of The Sugar Wife. A small town in the south east of England. Eddie returns home for a peaceful family Christmas for the first time in many years. But neither he nor his parents can forget or forgive themselves for the death of their other son, Richard, and the unanswered questions that surround it. But not for much longer - it seems that Richard had secrets that are about to erupt into their lives. Dormant conflicts begin to surface as Eddie's family are confronted with the ghosts of Christmases past - along with some unwelcome revelations about the present. Elizabeth Kuti's play The Six-Days World was first staged at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2007.

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‘Masks are empowering… They enable you to take risks. They provoke you into working with the reckless logic of a six-year-old or the enigmatic stillness of someone wiser than you’ll ever be. But above all, masks let you be you without your habitual limitations.’ In Playing the Mask, award-winning theatre-maker and teacher John Wright explores and demystifies mask-work: what masks do, how they do it, and, above all, what they can teach us about acting. This book is a wonderfully accessible introduction to a fresh and innovative acting technique for actors, theatre-makers and teachers to use in training and rehearsal. A mask releases the actor to be playful, and playfulness generates ideas, finds meaning, develops characterisation – and is infinitely more fun than traditional training. Rather than a dry guide to making masked theatre, it is about, for instance, playing Lady Macbeth in Red Nose, or Hamlet in the mask of The Victim, The Ogre or The Fool, or even Romeo and Juliet in grotesque half-masks… All in the name of liberating your creativity and, ultimately, improving your performance. Extensively illustrated with a rich variety of masks, this inventive and pragmatic book is full of invaluable games and exercises drawn from the author’s own workshops, his experience as co-founder of both Trestle and Told by an Idiot, and his pioneering mask and clown work in many professional productions. ‘Brilliant, entertaining and accessible’ Paul Hunter, from his Foreword

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The fourth volume of the collected plays of one of the best playwrights alive. Written over a period of ten years and evincing an extraordinary range of topics and techniques, this fourth volume of Caryl Churchill's collected plays confirms her standing as a playwright who is 'amongst the best half-dozen now writing' (The Times). This volume includes: Hotel (Schauspielhaus, Hannover, 1997), an innovative theatre piece combining music, voices and dance, with a text by Caryl Churchill and music by Orlando Gough. This is a Chair (Royal Court Theatre, 1997), a short play about the surreal nature of modern life. Blue Heart (Out of Joint & Royal Court Theatre, 1997), two linked one-act plays, both startlingly innovative, exploring the underpinnings of family relationships. Far Away (Royal Court, 2000), a brilliantly unsettling play about conflict and its unsettling effect on our lives and humanity. A Number (Royal Court, 2002), a fascinating meditation on human cloning, personal identity and the conflicting claims of nature and nurture. Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? (Royal Court, 2006),examining US foreign policy and international power politics through the lens of an intense personal relationship. A Dream Play (National Theatre, London, 2005), a spare and resonant version of August Strindberg's 1901 masterpiece.

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A unique survey of the twentieth century's most influential acting methods, offering invaluable practical insights for actors and drama teachers. Each of the ten famous techniques included in this handbook is described in detail by one of today's foremost practitioners. Each chapter outlines the development of the respective technique and offers practical guidance for actors wishing to explore it for themselves. • Lee Strasberg Technique by Anna Strasberg • Stella Adler Technique by Tom Oppenheim • Sanford Meisner Technique by Victoria Hart • Michael Chekhov Technique and The Mask by Per Brahe • Uta Hagen's Technique by Carol Rosenfeld • Physical Acting Inspired by Grotowski by Stephen Wangh • The Viewpoints by Mary Overlie • Practical Aesthetics by Robert Bella • Interdisciplinary Training by Fritz Ertl • Neo-classical Training by Louis Scheeder

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An unrivalled unofficial history of the rise – and partial fall – of fringe theatre, Mike Bradwell's deadpan account of his adventures is one of the funniest and angriest books to come out of theatre today. Winner of the 2010 Theatre Book Prize awarded by the Society for Theatre Research. As he travels through a counterculture peopled by nutters, chancers, dreamers and prophets, Bradwell makes us marvel at his resilience and creativity, captured in a succession of vivid – and often laugh-out- loud – episodes such as: creating a character with Mike Leigh; enjoying the onstage mass orgasms of The Living Theatre; eating fire with Bob Hoskins; becoming an underwater escapologist (reluctantly) in the Ken Campbell Roadshow; creating Hull Truck; and doing battle with the Health and Safety brigade, the funding bodies and a Polish heavy-metal disco during his ten years running the famous Bush Theatre in West London. Bradwell is a passionate champion of the alternative as well as an admired and successful director. He makes a compelling – and urgent – case for preserving the true and subversive spirit of theatre from castration at the hands of bankers, consultants, stakeholders, cultural-diversity compliance monitors and the Arts Council. 'Towards the end of this brilliant account of his epic forty-year journey, Mike tells us, 'I don't believe that theatre is safe in the hands of grown-ups', and it is his healthy, eternal youthfulness that makes the book so inspiring' Mike Leigh, from his Foreword

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Based on the real-life court case of a young naval cadet unjustly accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order and first staged in 1946, The Winslow Boy has been revived many times since. Ronnie Winslow is expelled from naval college, having been accused of petty theft. Enraged, his father Arthur engages a lawyer to challenge the Admiralty to prove the charges in court – but public opinion is very much against the Winslows, and each member of the family is suffering... Terence Rattigan's play The Winslow Boy was first produced (after a brief pre-London tour) at the Lyric Theatre, London, in May 1946. This edition includes an authoritative introduction by Dan Rebellato, a biographical sketch and a chronology.

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An explosive, gripping and disturbing play about the phenomenon of False Memory Syndrome. Anna Weiss is a hypnotherapist, specialising in revealing 'lost' memories. Under her care, twenty-year-old Lynn has begun to 'remember' a long history of sexual abuse by her father. When Lynn confronts her father, David, he protests his innocence vehemently – so are Lynn's memories real or are they dark auto-suggestions? Mike Cullen's play Anna Weiss was first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in 1997, winning the Edinburgh Festival Critics' Award. It was revived at the Whitehall Theatre in the West End in 1999.

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The classic manifesto on popular theatre by the founder of the 7:84 Theatre Companies. John McGrath's manifesto is as relevant today as it was when first published in 1981. Looking at the ways different classes take their entertainment, he puts the case for what theatre could be doing for the populace instead of walling itself up in subsidised fortresses for the well-to-do.

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A superb adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's famous story of the unassuming Dr Jekyll and his dark alter-ego Mr Hyde. During one of his audacious experiments trying to separate good from evil in human nature, the kind and gifted Dr Jekyll inadvertently unleashes an alternative personality of pure evil … the mysterious Mr Hyde. As this sinister figure starts causing terror and havoc in foggy London, Jekyll must race to find a cure for his monstrous alter-ego before it takes over for good. This version by David Edgar, first performed at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1996, is a revised and partially re-written version of the adaptation premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Theatre, London, in 1991.

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A handbook, complete with graded exercises, for teachers and students wanting a practical introduction to Laban's famous system of movement. Rudolf Laban is to movement what Stanislavski is to acting. He devised the first wholly successful system for recording human movement, a system which is increasingly influential in the training of actors and dancers. 'Required reading for every young student of the theatre - and a lot of the older ones would reap enormous benefit from it' Murray Melvin

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The extraordinary story of the women's orchestra in Auschwitz, originally filmed for television with Vanessa Redgrave, and adapted for the stage by Miller himself. Fania Fénelon, a Parisian singer, is arrested by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz. There, she finds herself swept into the orchestra, composed entirely of female prisoners and founded as entertainment for the camp commandants. As long as the orchestra continues to find favour, its members will be spared the gas chambers. But Fania is struggling with the corruption of what she holds most sacred in the world – her music – and the morals of the orchestra members are being ground down every day. They are, quite literally, playing for time. Arthur Miller's stageplay Playing for Time is adapted from the 1980 CBS television film, written by Miller himself, and based on acclaimed musician Fania Fénelon's autobiography The Musicians of Auschwitz. The television film starred Vanessa Redgrave as Fénelon. The stageplay was first staged at 1-Act Theatre, San Francisco, in 1985.

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‘Stand. Breathe. Look. Try to empty my mind. Somehow, for some reason, I have been brought to this place to tell this story, now. So tell it. That’s all.’ When Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical Hamilton opened in London’s West End in December 2017, it was as huge a hit as it had been in its original production off- and on Broadway. Lauded by critics and audiences alike, the show would go on to win a record-equalling seven Olivier Awards – including Best Actor in a Musical for Giles Terera, for his portrayal of Aaron Burr. For Terera, though, his journey as Burr had begun more than a year earlier, with his first audition in New York, and continuing through extensive research and preparation, intense rehearsals, previews and finally opening night itself. Throughout this time he kept a journal, recording his experiences of the production and his process of creating his award-winning performance. This book, Hamilton and Me, is that journal. It offers an honest, intimate and thrilling look at everything involved in opening a once-in-a-generation production – the triumphs, breakthroughs and doubts, the camaraderie of the rehearsal room and the moments of quiet backstage contemplation – as well as a fascinating, in-depth exploration of now-iconic songs and moments from the musical, as seen from the inside. It is also deeply personal, as Terera reflects on experiences from his own life that he drew on to help shape his acclaimed portrayal. Illustrated with dozens of colour photographs, many of which are shared here for the first time, and featuring an exclusive Foreword by Lin-Manuel Miranda, this book is an essential read for all fans of Hamilton – offering fresh, first-hand insights into the music and characters they love and know so well – as well as for aspiring and current performers, students, and anyone who wants to discover what it really felt like to be in the room where it happened. Hamilton and Me was featured as Book of Week on BBC Radio 4 in August 2021.

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Jim's writing messages. In pepperoni. On top of pizzas. His life is going nowhere. But after watching the film I Hired A Contract Killer, Jim's found a solution – he'll just put out a hit on himself. What could possibly go wrong? Alan Harris's play For The Grace Of You Go I is a darkly funny, quick-witted, fast-moving new comedy. It premiered at Theatr Clwyd, Mold, in June 2021, directed by James Grieve.

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'I just need to hear you say you believe me. You've known me my whole life. Would you be friends with someone capable of doing that?' When his friend becomes embroiled in a rape allegation, Chris Quinn offers his support. Only the rules keep changing, nothing is clear-cut, and Chris finds himself caught in a tussle between loyalty, love and doubt. Caitríona Daly's Duck Duck Goose is a viscerally charged play examining the nature of consent, trust and trial by social media. Full of moral ambiguity and psychological complexity, it was developed as part of Fishamble's A Play for Ireland initiative, and first performed by the company in the 2021 Dublin Theatre Festival.

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From those electric moments of discovery and connection to the dark hours of isolation, we all seek community and resolution. But sometimes the things that connect us are the very things we need to escape. Sally Abbott's I Think We Are Alone is a delicate and uplifting play about fragility, resilience and our need for love and forgiveness. The play was commissioned by Frantic Assembly as part of their twenty-fifth anniversary and premiered on a UK tour in 2020 as a co-production with Theatre Royal Plymouth and Curve, Leicester. The original production was co-directed by Kathy Burke and Frantic Assembly's Artistic Director Scott Graham.

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In the heat of summer, Sonya and her Uncle Vanya while away their days on a crumbling estate deep in the countryside, visited occasionally by the only local doctor Astrov. However, when Sonya's father, Professor Serebryakov, suddenly returns with his restless, alluring, new wife, declaring his intention to sell the house, the polite façades crumble and long-repressed feelings start to emerge with devastating consequences. Olivier Award-winner Conor McPherson's stunning adaptation of Anton Chekhov's masterpiece, Uncle Vanya, is a portrayal of life at the turn of the twentieth century, full of tumultuous frustration, dark humour and hidden passions. It premiered at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End in January 2020, directed by Ian Rickson. A film of the production, made by Sonia Friedman Productions/Angelica Films and shot on the stage of the Harold Pinter Theatre after the West End run was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was screened on BBC Four and went on to win the Theatre Award in the South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2021.

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‘Yes, we’re geeks, yes, we sit at computers all day, yes, we barely leave Cheltenham, but we are still, when it comes down to it, spies.’ Neil and Zef are two twenty-something computer whizzes with questionable dress sense and a highly developed interest in video games and Netflix. They're also the UK's 'National Defence Information Security Team' – recruited by GCHQ for their sky-high IQs and ability to work quickly and discreetly, no questions asked. With unfettered access to the world's data and infinite powers of electronic intrusion, these unlikely agents are essential cogs in the national security machine. But when their window onto intelligence operations shows them more than they were meant to see, they begin to question their roles in a system whose reach is unlimited but whose safeguards are not… Al Blyth's play The Haystack is an explosive espionage thriller that challenges the idea that 'if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear', exploring how we can live freely when advances in technology outpace the law. It premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2020, in a production directed by Roxana Silbert.

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‘i think i’m falling in love with you’ Ella is from Yorkshire. Haseeb is from London. They order a pizza. House red for Ella. Hot chocolate for Haseeb. People and playlists. Christmas and Eid. Travelcards and Megabuses. London to Leeds. Love is more than just a game for two. Especially when there's an elephant in the room. Zia Ahmed's I Wanna Be Yours is a tender, funny, lyrical debut play about finding love and holding onto it with everything you've got. It premiered on tour of the UK in 2019, in a co-production between Paines Plough and Tamasha, including a run at the Bush Theatre, London.

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‘This is a locals’ pub. And what’s the problem with locals? They die.’ ‘Inconsiderate bastards.’ All over London, public houses become private flats. Tomorrow The Anchor closes for good. It's the end of an era, but Kenny and the gang are going out with a bang. There's a blow-up sheep, karaoke and a lot of Campari. There's secrets and grudges and forgotten dreams. As the front doors are locked and the bar is drunk dry, there's a lot more to lose than just a pub. Anna Jordan's play We Anchor in Hope premiered at The Bunker, London, in 2019, produced by The Bunker and W14 Productions in association with the Royal Court Theatre, and directed by Artistic Director Chris Sonnex.

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'But deep down, we all know the only thing I did wrong was be a girl who spoke up. A girl who refused to stay silent. And... I'm still not gonna stay silent, because this stuff is too important to keep ignoring.' When social media goes into a frenzy over pictures of a girl at a party, Louise's teacher lectures all the schoolgirls on taking more responsibility for their actions. Enraged that it's them getting reprimanded - and not the boys who took the pictures - Louise wages war on the school's systemic misogyny. But when she threatens popular boy Scott, risking his claim to the School Captain title, things escalate horribly; a website appears, objectifying the girls and shaming them for their actions. Natalie Mitchell's play explores everyday feminism, consent and the changing face of teenage sexuality in an online world. Is it always true that 'when they go low', we should go high? Written specifically for young people, the play formed part of the 2018 National Theatre Connections Festival and was premiered by youth theatres across the UK. It offers rich opportunities for a large cast of all genders, with particularly strong roles for young women.

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‘I dunno. Like…I think I just wanna do something different, I don’t wanna do things the way everyone else is doing them but I don’t know how and I don’t know what I even mean.’ It's the middle of the night, and Peebs and Epi are the only students left at school over half-term. At the end of their night out, former step-siblings Red and Jazz try to navigate their reunion. With only a couple of hours until morning, Jaffa tries to help Keesh finish an essay. As day breaks, Wolfie is getting up the courage to confess a secret to VJ at a party. Their choices are small yet momentous. The hours are small but feel very, very long. And when the night finally ends, the future is waiting – every last bit of it. Katherine Soper's play The Small Hours was written specifically for young people. It formed part of the 2019 National Theatre Connections Festival and was premiered by youth theatres across the UK. The play offers rich opportunities for a large cast of young performers.

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‘I’m making him work for it! Got him to buy me a pack of Tangfastics and a can of Lilt before I showed him my tits.’ The problem with love is that it's different for everyone. For Bex, love is a handjob in detention and the promise of a date at a Chinese buffet. She doesn't even like Chinese. Sophie Ellerby's play LIT explores the turbulent teenage years of a Nottingham girl looking for love in all the wrong places. It premiered at the HighTide Festival Aldeburgh, Omnibus Clapham and Nottingham Playhouse in 2019, co-produced by HighTide and Nottingham Playhouse.

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Described as 'America's greatest living playwright' (Wall Street Journal), Kenneth Lonergan is internationally acclaimed for his trademark humour and his genius for capturing the real heart and soul of human interactions. This volume gathers together three of his landmark plays. This Is Our Youth (1996) is a wildly funny, bittersweet and lacerating look at three days in the lives of three affluent young Manhattanites in the 1980s. Its West End premiere in 2002 was notable for its successive casts of young Hollywood stars, including Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anna Paquin and Summer Phoenix. 'A rambunctious and witty play... caustic, cruel, compassionate' The New York Times. The Waverly Gallery (1999) is a poignant, generous and frequently hilarious play about a feisty grandmother's last battle against Alzheimer's disease. More than a memory play, it captures the humour and strength of a family in the face of crisis. It was a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and revived on Broadway in 2018 to widespread acclaim. 'Both one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see in a Broadway theatre and one of the most profoundly sad' Chicago Tribune. Lobby Hero (2001) tells the story of a luckless young security guard trying to get his life together after being thrown out of the navy. But working in a lobby proves to be no sanctuary from the world, as he is unwittingly drawn into a murder investigation. The play received its British premiere at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in 2002, and was also revived on Broadway in 2018. 'Artfully intertwines private and public issues... [Lonergan] has the lightest of touches and writes with deft humour' Guardian. This collection, published alongside the UK premiere of Lonergan's The Starry Messenger in 2019, also features an exclusive introduction by the author.

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Andy Nyman's first book, The Golden Rules of Acting, has become a bestseller in the acting world. Now he returns to bring you more priceless nuggets gleaned from more than thirty years in the acting business. This book will help you to... Learn to love auditions and self-tapes (yes, really!) Look after your mental health Deal with success and failure Burst a few bubbles that need bursting Written with the same candid wit as his first book, this is every actor's new best friend – in handy paperback form. 'With great humour, wisdom and panache, Andy Nyman presents tasty advice for any actor. He knows that the more rules and craft under your belt, the more daring and original you will be as an artist' Glenn Close 'As with the first volume, this book gets to the heart of what being a working actor is about. No faff, no mystery, just practicalities that are always worth being reminded of' Martin Freeman 'One man shouldn't be so wise and entertaining, but Andy Nyman somehow is. His latest Golden Rules are exactly that — and wild fun, to boot. I recommend this book not just to actors, but to anyone who has ever seen an actor act. Nyman's insights apply to us all' J.J. Abrams

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‘Come, you drunken spirits. Come, you battalions. You fields of ghosts who walk these green plains still. Come, you giants!’ When Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2009, it served notice of an astonishing development in the career of a writer whose debut, Mojo, had premiered on the same stage nearly fifteen years before. Unearthing the mythic roots of contemporary English life, and featuring Mark Rylance in an indelible central performance as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron, the play transferred to the West End and then to Broadway, before returning to the West End in 2011. 'Storming… restores one's faith in the power of theatre' Independent. 'Unarguably one of the best dramas of the twenty-first century' Guardian. Jerusalem was followed by the bewitching chamber play The River (Royal Court, 2012), a 'magnetically eerie, luminously beautiful psychodrama' Time Out. 'A delicately unfolding puzzle… all of it is wrapped in marvellous language… extraordinary' The Times. This volume concludes with the multi-award-winning The Ferryman (Royal Court and West End, 2017; Broadway, 2018), an excavation of lives shattered by violence, set in a farmhouse in Northern Ireland in 1981. 'A richly absorbing and emotionally abundant play… an instant classic' Independent. 'A magnificent play that uses, brilliantly, the vitality of live theatre to express the deadly legacy of violence' Financial Times. Also included here is the screenplay for the short film The Clear Road Ahead (2011), published here for the first time, and an edited transcript of a conversation between Butterworth and the playwright Simon Stephens.

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‘Rule number eleven: We don’t talk about them. Not here. They don’t exist here.’ Nadia and Daniel have a secret. In fact they have quite a few. They've just signed on the dotted line for a studio flat. Under a pseudonym, naturally – Mr and Mrs White. After years of school pick-ups, TV takeaways, and the day-to-day drudgery of married life, this is their chance to wipe the slate clean. But as much as they try and redefine the rules, and themselves, the outside world is closing in. Ultra-contemporary, sexy and funny, Kenny Emson's play Rust pushes the boundaries of trust, love and lust to the limit. Rust premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, ahead of transferring to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and HighTide Festival in 2019, in a co-production between the Bush and HighTide.

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August Strindberg's classic portrayals of secrets and lies, seduction and power – both written in the summer of 1888 – in brilliant new versions by Howard Brenton. Miss Julie begins as a flirtatious game between the daughter of a wealthy landowner and her father's manservant, and gradually descends, over the course of a long and sultry Midsummer's Eve, into a savage fight for survival. In Creditors, young artist Adolf is deeply in love with his new wife Tekla – but a chance meeting with a suave stranger shakes his devotion to the core. Passionate, dangerously funny, and enduringly perceptive, Strindberg considered this wickedly enjoyable black comedy his masterpiece. Both plays premiered in co-productions between Jermyn Street Theatre, London, and Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, directed by Jermyn Street's Artistic Director Tom Littler.

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It's 1955 and the Pallas Players, an all-female theatre company, are putting on a play: Whisky Galore. They transport us back to 1943 on the Scottish islands of Great and Little Todday, where the whisky supply has dried up because of the war, leaving tensions running high. Relief seems to be at hand when a ship carrying 50,000 bottles of whisky is wrecked just offshore. Then it's every thirsty man for himself as the islanders try to rescue as many bottles as possible before stuffy Captain Waggett of the Home Guard can put a stop to their fun. Philip Goulding's stage adaptation of Compton Mackenzie's comedy classic is a tribute to the feisty all-female touring theatre companies of the post-war years. First performed in a touring production by Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Hull Truck Theatre and New Vic Theatre, Whisky Galore combines rollicking physical theatre, panto and farce, with an array of hilarious characters for any female-led theatre company. This edition includes an introduction by Philip Goulding, notes on the characters, and the original music by Alan Edward Williams that accompanied the premiere production.

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‘If the sky dropped the stars or the river drained the water there would be outrage, but we treat children like this and there is silence.’ Something's not right. Children are being raised by animals. A mother is slowly sinking in the bath. The trees are left doing the paperwork. The air is filled with screams of children howling for help. And some twins want to tell you a story about how everything got so fucked up. A spiralling odyssey of dizzying theatricality, Wolfie is a bold, fantastical fairytale following two twins separated at birth and asks who is truly responsible for society's most vulnerable children. Ross Willis's debut play is a wildly imaginative, irreverent look at life in and after the care system. It was premiered at Theatre503, London, in March 2019, directed by Theatre503 Artistic Director Lisa Spirling. Wolfie was awarded Best Play at the 2020 Writers' Guild Awards, and Best New Play at the 2020 Off-West End Awards. It also earned Willis a nomination for Best Writer at the 2019 Stage Debut Awards and Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

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