Böcker i Modern Plays-serien

Winner of Best New Play at the 2023 UK Theatre Awards Winner of Best New Play at the 2023 Critics' Awards for Theatre in ScotlandTo keep that part of me silent. That is what is unbearable. That is why I must be free.Based on a true story, Enough of Him explores the life of Joseph Knight, an African man enslaved by plantation owner Sir John Wedderburn and brought to Scotland to serve in his Perthshire mansion.Highly favoured by Wedderburn and yet still enslaved, Knight balances on the knife edge between obligation and a soul-deep yearning for freedom. He forges a bond with Annie, a young Scottish servant working in the household, and the two of them fall in love.But the walls of Ballindean do not keep secrets - their affair unsettles Lady Wedderburn, whose bitter loneliness is only deepened by the close bond her husband has with Knight. Joseph will endure bondage no longer. What happens when Joseph's dreams clash with those of the man who owns him? What becomes of us all when past brutalities bleed into our present realities?Written by Glasgow-based writer May Sumbwanyambe, this compelling domestic drama is a thrilling exploration of power and its attendant tensions: between those who are enslaved and those who are free, servants and masters, and husbands and wives.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere Scottish tour by the National Theatre of Scotland, in October 2022.

If you click my face in the cornerYepThat's itThen the blue follow buttonTap itYou're done Welcome hunnyBecky wants to be famous. Becky deserves to be famous. Becky has to be famous.When drag artist Becky Biro is told they need a larger following to be considered for international TV hit The Drag Factor, Becky can smell success. She will do whatever it takes to get there, then reap the rewards of her inevitable stardom.From the writer of the multi-award winning Velvet comes an outrageous, fast-paced dark comedy, laced with irreverent humour and cabaret songs. Fame Whore holds a mirror up to the desperate human desire for relevance, and the lengths one may go to get there.This edition was published to coincide with the run at King's Head Theatre in London, in October 2022.

You do not feel pain. You do not feel hunger. Now get out there and dance as though you love this island.When a river breaks its banks one night resulting in a massive flood, one medium-sized village (or very very very small town) finds itself completely cut off - unexpectedly an island. As the residents embrace their independence, a new leader rises and a shared identity emerges - but at what cost? Shortlisted for the George Devine Award 2020, Nina Segal's O, Island! is a funny and furious modern myth about disaster and community, exploring how borders can be changed by people, by nature and by accident.This edition is published to coincide with the world premiere at The Other Place by the RSC, in September, 2022.

why these bleak thoughts today, the whole world in shadow, everything undercut and suspended in its own deliriumMarcus Conway has come home to his kitchen in Louisburgh, Co. Mayo,. Everything seems normal, yet he is haunted by the feeling that nothing is quite right. Poring obsessively over the details of his relationships, his world and his work as an engineer brings him closer to an understanding of how the things and people he loves have come together, and how they have and must inevitably come apart.Winner of the International Dublin Literary Award 2018, Solar Bones is Mike McCormack's multi-award-winning elegy to the merits of an ordinary life. This adaptation was first presented at the Kilkenny Arts Festival, and subsequently at the Abbey Theatre. The production won Best Actor for Stanley Townsend and Best Director for Lynne Parker at the Irish Times Theatre Awards.

"1936. In villages, towns and cities across Scotland, 549 lives are gradually intertwining. eople of contrasting backgrounds, ideologies and religions. Spurred on by their burning passion for equality and freedom, they will form the Scottish ranks of the Spanish Civil War's legendary International Brigade. 2022. The country is in crisis. In a small pub in Prestonpans, East Lothian, four millennials are told a story. The true story of four local miners who, over 80 years ago, travelled from the streets of Prestonpans to the valleys of Spain. They gave up everything that was familiar: for a land that was not; for a people they had never met; and for a cause they believed was right. 549, a play with songs and storytelling, is a timely insight into one of Scotland's almost forgotten conflicts. 549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War was first performed 7 February 2018 at Prestonpans Town Hall."--Provided by publisher.

"In this room, or in rooms like this room, they use phrases like collateral damage, like extraordinary rendition, like perception management. They cover up their dirty words with clean ones, in rooms like this room. In rooms like this room, they redact the names. In rooms like this room, language is laundered. The name of the game is spin." --

I don't think I'll evermeet someone wholoves me as much as Ryan loves me andhates me as much asRyan hates meA loving relationship can be anything but. In this one-woman thriller, Ruckus explores coercive control, an issue not widely recognised - yet its side effects kill up to three women every week in the UK. Each moment of the play has been inspired by real women and real stories. Acclaimed by critics and audiences, this powerful piece sends brings to light the suppression caused by coercive control. During its original run at Edinburgh Fringe in August 2022, Ruckus was the 1st Finalist for the Popcorn New Writing Award 2022, shortlisted for The Filipa Bragança Award, and winner of a Lustrum Award.This edition was published to coincide with the run at the Southwark Playhouse in London, in October 2022.

'Since your daughter's death I've not been much of a hypnotist.'A man loses his daughter to a car accident. Nothing now is what it seems. It's like he's in a play - but he doesn't know the words or the moves.The man who was driving the car is a stage hypnotist. Since the accident he's lost the power of suggestion. His act's a disaster. For him, everything now is exactly what it is. For the first time since the accident, these two men meet. They meet when the Father volunteers for the Hypnotist's act. And, this time, he really doesn't know the words or the moves...An Oak Tree is a remarkable play for two actors. The Father, however, is played by a different actor - male or female - at each performance. They walk on stage having neither seen nor read a word of the play they're in...until they're in it. This is a breath-taking projection of a performance, given from one actor to another, from a hypnotist to their subject, from an audience to a person. An Oak Tree is a bold and absurdly comic play about loss, suggestion and the power of the mind.An Oak Tree premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in August 2005.

Matthew, I don't give a f*** who's Irish and who's not. I'm just thinking about what's best for your career. And that's how themmuns in London'll see you. Calling yourself British just embarrasses them.The morning after his father's funeral, an unsure and still grief-stricken Matthew prepares to fly to London to audition for the prestigious drama school, RADA.When his painter-decorator Uncle Ray interrupts his private rendition of Richard III's opening monologue to offer some unwanted direction and dubious career advice, Matthew starts to doubt whether he should really be leaving Belfast in the first place.First presented by A Play, A Pie and A Pint at Òran Mór in May 2022. Not Now received its English premiere at the Finborough Theatre, London, in November 2022.Playwright David Ireland is the multi award-winning author of Cyprus Avenue.

The 354 Johnnyarm from Vagland will shortly be arriving in Wombtown, please brace for impact.Three lasses. One lad. And a bucket load of teen angst.When Olivia, Kim and Alisha all take a fancy to the same local lad, friendships and families are torn apart. Lies are told, secrets are spilled and their lives are about to change forever. Pick N Mix is a coming-of-age story of sisterhood, Sex Ed and sanitary pads.Kat Rose-Martin is a Bradford lass born and bred. She was the first winner of Kay Mellor Fellowship, and has written for stage and TV, including BBC's Holby City & Sky's Wolfe. Pick N Mix is her first full-length play.This edition was published to coincide with the UK tour in Leeds and Bradford, in November 2022.

I like being a doctor but I'm slowly growing to hate the sight of sick people.Being a doctor is a really good job and you get to save lives and help people, so Anna is determined not to quit. But when her patient runs out on her, and her personal life starts to spiral, she's not sure how much more she can take.Super High Resolution is a play about being a doctor in the modern NHS and the limits of anyone's ability to care for other people.Nathan Ellis' fast-paced and darkly funny play was published to coincide with the premiere at Soho Theatre, in October 2022.

'What gets me through is knowing I took this pain, and saved all of you from suffering the same.'Stumbling down Clifton Street at 11:30 a.m. drunk, Effie is the kind of girl you'd avoid eye contact with, silently passing judgement. We think we know her, but we don't know the half of it. Effie's life spirals through a mess of drink, drugs and drama every night,and a hangover worse than death the next day - till one night gives her the chance to be something more.This powerful new adaptation of the enduring Greek myth drives home the high price people pay for society's shortcomings.Winner of Best New Play at the UK Theatre Awards 2015

I am getting nearer to something. The answer to the question. Who am I? A woman who leaves her husband very suddenly for an old lover and heads to a cottage in Kerry?I needed someone strong. Someone who would sweep me along. Keep me here. In this world. Not allow me to wander down below, and I wanted a child. I dearly wanted a child.Mairead and Mal are struggling to keep their marriage together. Perhaps attending a wedding will help, or it might raise questions that are difficult to answer.Poignant, funny, and beautiful, Heaven is a new play that is full of humanity. It is presented by the Olivier Award-winning Fishamble, and written by Eugene O'Brien (winner of the Rooney Prize for Literature).This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at the Dublin Theatre Festival, followed by an Irish tour, in Autumn 2022.

Well here's the problem Edrina, the law in this country doesn't work with stories.It only works with facts. And to put it simply, your story - look it just isn't credible.Edrina was trafficked from her family home when she was fifteen. She was taken to Italy for three years before being trafficked to the UK, where she was held captive for another three years. She escaped 152 days ago. What's Mine & What's Yours tells a story of survival. Just when Edrina thought she might have a chance at life - she is catapulted backwards by a hostile immigration system that does not believe her story. She is acutely vulnerable and is re-trafficked within weeks. Could this have been prevented?The Helen Bamber Foundation provides all encompassing care to help Survivors access the therapeutic, medical, legal, housing and welfare support they need to recover from the traumas of trafficking. The foundation now seeks to address the systemic problem of re-trafficking in the UK. Dame Emma Thompson, the President of the Helen Bamber Foundation and acclaimed writer and actor, introduces this edition, explaining and contextualizing the organization's mission.Find out about their new central London Trauma Centre and learn how you can help by visiting www.helenbamber.org

I thought I would be grafting and working on it.Pursuing it until I breathed my last breath.My ambition and drive was that concrete.But ambition will.Ambition will kill you.The spark is instant. Miles away from home they find each other. They were going to make it big, together.Fast forward years later, a world reset and changed forever they return to where they left it. One an award-winning writer, the other adopting a child and putting faith in crystals. The spark is still there, electric and dangerous. But how do you heal once you've been burned? Right Where We Left Us is a lyrical and witty three-hander and a heartfelt examination of what happens instead of "happy ever after".A new Welsh play produced by Welsh theatre makers Chippy Lane Productions, this edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at the Chapter Arts Centre, in September 2022.

First, do no harm. How do we defend the "truth" when no one agrees what it is and many have reason to undermine it?Very freely adapting Professor Bernhardi by Arthur Schnitzler, Robert Icke's gripping moral thriller uses the lens of medical ethics to examine urgent questions of faith, belief, and scientific rationality.After a critically acclaimed run at London's Almeida Theatre, The Doctor transferred to the West End in September 2022. This revised and updated edition was published to coincide with the new production.

'Of course that's how it begins: a harmless fairy tale to pass the hours'When Alice Liddell Hargreaves met Peter Llewelyn Davies at the opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition in 1932, the original Alice in Wonderland came face to face with the original Peter Pan. In John Logan's remarkable new play, enchantment and reality collide as this brief encounter lays bare the lives of these two extraordinary characters.This is the new play from Academy Award winning screenwriter and playwright John Logan. His previous play RED played in London to great acclaim before transferring to Broadway where it won 6 Tony Awards including Best New Play.

THISISPOPBABY & The Abbey Theatre presentIf These Wigs Could Talk by Panti BlissIf These Wigs Could Talk meets Panti, a drag queen at fifty-three, after a lifetime of showbiz, shenanigans and making a show of herself, taking this moment to question what her purpose and place in the world is now. Via salacious stories, impassioned polemics, some seriously funny soul searching and a few unvarnished truths, Panti takes us from rural Mayo to London's glittering West End ,to the Ambassador's residence in Vienna where, along the way, the answer to the question presents itself when she least expects it. Panti warmly invites you to learn from her mistakes, laugh at her failures and revel in her triumphs.Haunted by Tara FlynnWhat happens when you hit the floor and lose all of your marbles? Ask Tara Flynn: a fame-adjacent actor turned advocate for the campaign to Repeal Ireland's Eighth Amendment. The country voted Yes and the whirlwind of publicity and abuse came to an end, and crashing to the floor is where Tara found herself. Down there, she realised the whirlwind had conveniently kept her from dealing with the death of her dad.This is one woman's journey back from the floor. A funny, moving tale of grief, campaigning for civil rights, the offline impact of online abuse, crashing to the ground and fighting to tell your own story.

If I owned Durham, and I owned hell, I'd rent out Durham and I'd live in hell.Born in Denton Burn, Ric Renton had a troubled upbringing that led to him spending his young adulthood in prison. During a stint in solitary confinement, he declined a proffered Bible and on a whim, chanced it and asked for a dictionary instead. This choice afforded him an ability with language that would shape his life far beyond his station through writing. This is his story. Three young men Knox, Brown, and Shepherd pass their time in a prison with the highest suicide rate in the country. Energised by their friendship but with the walls around them getting smaller, haunted by the repeated pronouncements of another life lost, the arrival of a nightwatchman, Jock, offers Shepherd an unexpected way through the darkness. One Off is rich with emotion but sizzling with high energy and the blackest humour. This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at Live Theatre in Newcastle, in November 2022.

You're six years old. Mum's in hospital. Dad says she's 'done something stupid'. She finds it hard to be happy.So you start to make a list of everything that's brilliant about the world. Everything that's worth living for.1. Ice Cream2. Kung Fu Movies3. Burning Things4. Laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose5. Construction cranes6. MeYou leave it on her pillow. You know she's read it because she's corrected your spelling. Soon, the list will take on a life of its own.A new play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love.

Congratulations! Your pain is commercially viable.It's 1991 and the Gulf War rages three thousand, three hundred and twenty miles away. Darlee is 8 years old, crying behind the wheelie bookcase in Miss Stratford's classroom. She's just realised she's Iraqi. Or half. Maybe both. She saw it on the news last night after Neighbours and fish fingers. Heard the fear slipping through the receiver, saw it oozing from Dad's eyeballs and into the living room as he tried to phone home.What she can't process now, she'll be haunted by later; the spirits hounding her will make sure of that.Baghdaddy is a playfully devastating coming-of-age story, told through clowning and memory to explore the complexities of cultural identity, generational trauma and a father-daughter relationship amidst global conflict.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at London's Royal Court Theatre in November 2022.

Winner of the 2022 Critics' Circle Award for Best New PlayNominated for the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Play"A man should never turn down two things. Sex, and appearing on television."1968 - a year of protest that divided America. As two men fight to become the next President, all eyes are on the battle between two others: the cunningly conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and the iconoclastic liberal Gore Vidal. Beliefs are challenged and slurs slung as these political idols feud nightly in a new television format, debating the moral landscape of a shattered nation. Little do they know they're about to open up a new frontier in American politics, and transform television news forever.Best of Enemies is the electric new play by James Graham (Quiz, Labour of Love), directed by Jeremy Herrin, inspired by the documentary by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon.This revised and updated edition was published to coincide with the West End transfer to the Noel Coward Theatre in November 2022.

Lovesong is the newest play from acclaimed playwright Abi Morgan.

A wonderful book for drama enthusiasts, young adults and children, drama teachers and youth theatre groups.

Target Audience: Students, young writers, academics, teachers, theatre goers and fans of new British drama.

Follows a woman's Herculean struggle against the curse of infertility. The woman's barrenness becomes a metaphor for her marriage in a traditional society that denies women sexual or social equality. Her desperate desire for a child drives her to commit a terrible crime.