Mary has just been released from prison. She wants to come home and forget all about it – but Briana has other ideas.Over two tumultuous days, a family is forced to confront not only their past, but everything about themselves. Because the truth doesn't go away, even if you refuse to hear it.A powerful story of family and forgiveness, Deborah Bruce's play Dixon and Daughters was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in April 2023, directed by Róisín McBr...

A sharp, dark comedy that explores the inescapable difference between feeling 19 and being 19.Lou is getting on with her life, carefree and without ties. But this abruptly comes to a halt when her 19-year-old god-daughter Minnie moves in to take up a place at university. Minnie's arrival shines a harsh light into the corners of Lou's life – revealing it to be not as it seems. Her relationships are complicated, her neighbours are closing in on her, and the clock is ticking. What doe...

A painfully funny play about motherhood (and fatherhood), about keeping control, and about letting go.Good friends should be there for one another – no matter what. But when Bea returns home after five years abroad, having made a bold choice about her life, old friends struggle to support her, or even to understand. One night in Brighton, things threaten to slide into chaos...Deborah Bruce's play The Distance was premiered at the Orange Tree Theatre, London, in Oc...

It's been thirty years since former flames Alex and Jason last saw each other. With their carefree university days long behind them, the student reunion seems the perfect opportunity to reconnect, revive and relive their heyday. But as they flirt with reigniting their passion – even if just for one night – will the march of time get in the way? Deborah Bruce's Raya is a witty and tender play about whether or not we can ever turn back – or stop – the clocks. It opened at Hampstead Theatre D...

When Josie dies in an old people's home, her grandchildren gather to share their memories of her, and her fellow residents feel the effects of her death as her funeral takes place. Is the gulf between the young and old as wide as it feels, or are we fundamentally the same inside whatever age we are?Deborah Bruce's play Same was commissioned as part of the 2014 National Theatre Connections Festival and premiered by youth theatres across the UK. Originally written for young ...

Five characters share a common thread: Joanne. But it's not about her. It's about Stella, whose tomorrow is as far away as winter from summer. It's the way Grace finds her song on the footpath between two cars. It's about Alice's MBA wasted on plugging holes, Kath's patients crawling alongside her after the night shift and it's Becky caught in the crosshairs of what's best and what's right for her students.But what about her? What about Joanne?In Joanne, five of th...

'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...

Matching the right pastor with the right congregation is one of the most important — and daunting — decisions either party can make. While there are many pastors and congregations that merely fit OK, there are other matches that fit perfectly.Leadership that Fits Your Church explores how to find what really works for pastors and congregations. Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce, known for their extensive work with congregational life research, lead you on an enlightening ...

Drawing together the work of ten leading playwrights - a mixture of established and emerging writers - this National Theatre Connections anthology is published to coincide with the 2014 festival, which takes place across the UK and finishes up at the National Theatre in London. It offers young performers between the ages of thirteen and nineteen everywhere an engaging selection of plays to perform, read or study.Each play is specifically commissioned by the National Theatre's liter...

Clean Break is a British theatre company set up in 1979 by two women in prison. It exists to tell the stories of women with experience of the criminal justice system and to transform women's lives through theatre.Over 40 years, Clean Break has commissioned some of the most progressive and brilliant women writers to write ground-breaking plays, alongside developing the writing skills of the women they work with in its London studios and in prisons. This is a collection of monologues...

Bringing together five plays commissioned specially for the RADA Elders Company, this anthology provides a selection of dynamic and thought-provoking works for elders companies anywhere.The RADA Elders Company began in 2013 in order to provide opportunities for older people to experience the academy's training at its best. Each year, a playwright is invited to create a new piece for the company, encompassing a wide range of theatre disciplines and skills.This collection fea...

The Feel-Good One: Part of the Love…Maybe ebook short story collection.It’s Valentine’s Day and, for single girl Kate, the only thing that could make that worse would be having to go to her own fortieth birthday party as well!Every year it’s the same: people asking if she has got herself a man yet. And every year she has to say no. Once upon a time the idea of a fabulous, successful career seemed more important than ‘settling down’ but now she’s beginning to wish she hadn’t...