Brian Friel is Ireland's foremost living playwright, whose work spans fifty years and has won numerous awards, including three Tonys and a Lifetime Achievement Arts Award. Author of twenty-five plays, and whose work is studied at GCSE and A level (UK), and the Leaving Certificate (Ire), besides at undergraduate level, he is regarded as a classic in contemporary drama studies. Christopher Murray's Critical Companion is the definitive guide to Friel's work, offering both a detailed study of ...

Embark on a literary journey with "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare." This ebook collection features the entire repertoire of Shakespeare's plays, sonnets, and poems, providing an unparalleled opportunity to delve into the timeless works of the legendary playwright. From tragedies to comedies, histories to sonnets, Shakespeare's works offer a profound exploration of the human condition. Each play is a masterpiece of storytelling, with intricate plots, memorable characters, and tho...

"A play of depth as well as dazzle, intensely moving as well as thought-provoking and funny." — The Daily TelegraphIn The History Boys, Alan Bennett evokes the special period and place that the sixth form represents in an English boy's life. In doing so, he raises—with gentle wit and pitch-perfect command of character—not only universal questions about the nature of history and how it is taught but also questions...

Write a Play - and Get It Performed is designed for would-be writers of every level and for all types of motivation by two prize-winning professionals. Whether writing for the specific needs of an amateur drama group, community event, political campaign or simply for personal or professional development, this is a guide to the craft of playwriting. It offers guidance on the creative principles of scripts, characters, plot, structure and dialogue and explains the principles of staging and s...

I can tell the difference between who I am and a side effect.The Effect is a clinical romance. Two young volunteers, Tristan and Connie, agree to take part in a clinical drug trial. Succumbing to the gravitational pull of attraction and love, however, Tristan and Connie manage to throw the trial off-course, much to the frustration of the clinicians involved. This funny, moving and perhaps surprisingly human play explores questions of sanity, neurology and the limi...

I drank three glasses of scotch and ginger ale before we'd even cleared Coney Island. I didn't want to come home. It was then that I decided to write you these letters.On a crisp winter day in New York, Willem gets the call. It's Mum. Pauli's died. Come back to Amsterdam.An unforgettable homecoming to an estranged family, a lost love, unsettling sex and an unexamined life.One of Stephens's most poetic plays to date, Song from Far Away received its ...

Writing Plays is the invaluable and comprehensive guide to anyone who wants to write plays and get them performed.It covers the basics of the theatre, creating and working with characters, writing realistic speech and dialogue, constructing compelling plots and creating a great ending. There are also separate chapters focused on writing for different genres, including pantomimes, musicals, radio and television. And a final section looks at the practicalities of laying out,...

Etonians aren't exactly noted for their grey matter, but I've always found them perfectly adjusted to society.Jack, a possible paranoid schizophrenic with a Messiah complex, inherits the title of the 14th Earl of Gurney after his father passes away in a bizarre accident. Singularly unsuited to a life in the upper echelons of elite society, Jack finds himself at the centre of a ruthless power struggle as his scheming family strives to uphold their reputation.Bubblin...

Islam in Performancebrings together six contemporary plays from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan that highlight the political performance of Islam in South Asia, especially since the 1947 partition of the subcontinent.The plays invite comparison with one another, engaging with the issue from perspectives of the three countries concerned: Hindutva politics in India othering the Muslim population for electoral gains, radical Islamization of Pakistan paralyzing political gover...

Performed as a one-woman show, Victim follows the power struggle between prison guard Tracey and criminal Siobhan as they come face-to-face with a notorious inmate. As they both muse on their lives outside the prison walls, we come to learn of their anxieties and their hardships as they confront the realities of prison life. Darkly comic and at times chilling, Victim is a thoughtful reflection on modern life and how easily it can be turned upside down.This edition...

Some poems are better written in flesh . . .After Wall Street and Tahrir Square, after ISIS and the NSA, after Ferguson and Eric Garner: here come the poets.In a downtown poetry slam with a place on the team to be won, eight young poets prepare to do battle. But backstage it's all kicking off with love triangles, families to feed and wounds to rip open. And in the end, is it about winning – or finding the words that need to be said?Octagon received...

A Critical Companion to Lynn Nottage places this renowned, award-winning playwright's contribution to American theatre in scholarly context. The volume covers Nottage's plays, productions, activism, and artistic collaborations to display the extraordinary breadth and depth of her work.The collection contains chapters on each of her major works, and includes a special three-chapter section devoted to Ruined, winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize. The anthology also fea...