Bøger i Modern Plays serien

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.

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.

"I looked around the room and I thought, I'm the only person in this room that hasn't killed anyone"Talking to Terrorists is a play commissioned by the Royal Court and Out of Joint. The writer, director Max Stafford-Clark, and actors interviewed people from around the world who have been involved in terrorism. They wanted to know what makes ordinary people do extreme things.As well as those who crossed the line, they met peacemakers, warriors, journalists, hostages and psychologists. Their stories take us from Uganda, Israel, Turkey, Iraq and Ireland - to the heart of the British establishment.Talking to Terrorists was produced Out of Joint Theatre Company at the Royal Court Theatre and on a UK tour in 2005.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Two plays in one volume, written by the same writer as "Peter Pan Man" and "To Be a Farmer's Boy". The first is set in Germany in the '30s and questions how humane people came to be swept along by the Nazi force. The second play is a portrait of a Newcastle working-class family in World War II.

"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." --

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.

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.

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.

My son is dead and sitting on the throne.1605. Orthodox Russia stands alone, defiant against the Roman Catholic and Protestant West. The Kremlin has suppressed all opposition and keeps a ruthless grip on power with the support of the church and an appeal to nationalist sentiment. In Poland, a formidable young opponent appears: Dmitry. At his back a Polish army fuelled by fear of the Russian threat marches on Moscow.But is he who he thinks he is?An explosive new version of the great German writer Schiller's last, unfinished play - resurrected in the unique, pulsating dramatic verse of Peter Oswald, which premiered in the original production directed by Tim Supple. This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at Marylebone Theatre in London, in September 2022.

You know, I honestly believe he has two hearts? A heart that fails him, of course. But another that keeps him going - a heart that won't be beaten!A story of hope, from Afghanistan to Wales. Herat, Afghanistan, 2000. A young mother makes a speech demanding freedom for Afghan women, angering local Taliban leaders who issue a warrant for her execution. With no choice but to run, the Amiri family embark on a long and terrifying journey out of Afghanistan and across Europe with the UK as their ultimate goal. Thrown into an unfamiliar world of fake passports and untrustworthy handlers, the Amiris must learn how to live with nothing and avoid capture at all costs. But with their eldest son Hussein's life-threatening heart condition growing steadily worse, the journey soon becomes a race against time. Will they beat the odds and reach the UK in time for Hussein to receive the surgery he so badly needs?The Boy with Two Hearts is the story of a family in danger and a love letter to the NHS. This extraordinary true story reveals the courage and humanity behind each refugee story, showing that hope and a sense of home can be found in the most unlikely places. This edition was published to coincide with the production at the National Theatre in London in October 2022.

There's a million in the middle - and they might go either way.On May 22nd, 2015, the people of Ireland voted resoundingly for marriage equality - making Ireland the first country in the world to introduce gay marriage by popular vote.Little about Ireland's 20th-century history suggested that the country would find itself at the vanguard of LGBT+ rights. "Homosexual conduct may lead a mildly homosexually-orientated person into a way of life from which he may never recover," warned the Irish Supreme Court in 1982. Homosexuality remained criminalised till 1993.But a long, hard fight by determined activists, as well as the individual efforts and sacrifices of thousands of ordinary people, gradually made the case for gay rights and, eventually, marriage equality. Colin Murphy's documentary drama, based on interviews by the journalist Charlie Bird, charts the arc of that fight - culminating in the fervour of the final campaign weeks - interwoven with the personal stories of some of those who were touched by it. This edition was published to coincide with the presentation of A Day in May at Dublin's Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire, in October 2022.

More Bassey than Bhangra...Sonia's life has always been a bit of a double act, brought up as one half of a Shirley Bassey tribute act. Alongside her overbearing mother Gloria, she left a trail of sequins across the working men's clubs of East Anglia.Now she's divorced, battling through the middle-age jungle, wrangling unimpressed teenagers and navigating rocky friendships.But the arrival of her half-brother Naim brings a refreshed sense of belonging and cultural identity, and she begins to piece together the mosaic of her life. Can Sonia shake off the past, even with her ever-present mother keeping 'the show' on the road from beyond the grave?Glitterball is a play with live music, wry humour and a whole lotta sparkle. This edition was published to coincide with the first run produced by Rifco Theatre and Watford Palace Theatre at Watford PalaceTheatre, in September 2022.

I exist now. Don't tell me that I didn't exist before.How should a nation apologise for the crimes of its past?Seoul, 1991. She kept her silence for over forty years. Then Sun-Hee spoke out, igniting a fire that burns to this day. Yuna is about to uncover a shameful family secret. Priyanka, the first United Nations investigator into Violence Against Women, probes the harrowing circumstances of the WWII "comfort women". Three women's lives intertwine as they speak truth to power and confront the atrocity of Japanese military sexual slavery during wartime.Based on true accounts by survivors and historical documents, The Apology is a play about what it takes to forgive. This edition is published to coincide with the world premiere at the Arcola Theatre, UK, in September 2022.

All the world‿s a stage. Have you ever been trapped in a bad relationship, playing a role that doesn‿t suit you? Jen and Sam are also trapped ‿ in a multiverse of Shakepeare‿s complete works. On their quest to discover the doorway back to reality they notice something unusual about Henry ‿Hotspur‿ Percy. Now Jen and Sam must decide; do they risk losing their way home to help someone who might be like them ‿ someone who does not yet know who she truly is?The Prince is a sharp new play that weaves through Henry IV Part One and other of the Bard‿s works, providing fun for the audience whether they be Shakespeare scholars or verse virgins. With sword fighting, lesbianism, and disappointed parents, this thrilling new work was written by Abigail Thorn, celebrated creator of Philosophy Tube. This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at London‿s Southwark Playhouse, in September 2022.

The beautiful estate of a once proud Russian aristocratic family is auctioned off to the son of a peasant who has succeeded in industry.

If you're a wheelchair-user, you've got a simple choice: either you suck sweets in a corner and watch television all day or you try to change the world around you. There ain't gonna be no magic pill in my day.This is the (mostly) true story of Martin Naughton AKA Michael Collins in a wheelchair. Martin is an agitator. A disruptor. A seeker of justice and planter of (truth) bombs. But will his anarchic quest for equality be derailed by dreams of love and new horizons?Based on the real life of Martin Naughton and his campaign for independence for disabled people in Ireland, No Magic Pill, written by Christian O'Reilly, is a joyful, shameless, no-holds-barred story of one man's fight for justice and love.This edition was published to coincide with the production at Black Box, Galway, and the Civic, Tallaght, for Dublin Theatre Festival in October 2022.

You can¿t live your life thinking everything you text will become public knowledge.Censoring yourself is no way to live.Everyone needs Jim.His mother.His best friend.His brother.A hopeful future President.But can Jim really help anyone, when he isn¿t sure who he is any more, or what he actually believes? An expert in electoral strategy, he¿s forged a successful career by advising politicians how to communicate with voters. But following seismic shifts in the political landscape, he¿s disillusioned. And his marriage is in crisis. As he juggles the demands on his life through his smartphone, will the lure of success and fame prove irresistible?The Narcissist is a gripping, inventive and witty take on personal and political communication in the internet age by celebrated US playwright Christopher Shinn. This edition was published to coincide with the premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre in August 2022.