Books in the Modern Plays series

Our China is now the worst of all worlds. Communist politics controlled by greedy capitalists, raw capitalist economics controlled by corrupt Communists. Because they''re all the same people! At least under me, the people knew what they were tightening their belts for.Anders Lustgarten''s epic play covers the years 1949 when Chairman Mao founded the Communist Party of China to the present day when investors swoop in to make money off the land. Following a number of characters and generations through these years, it portrays the foundation of modern China.The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie, from award-winning playwright Anders Lustgarten, received its world premiere on at the Arcola Theatre, London, on 6 April 2016, in a co-production between the Arcola Theatre and HighTide Festival.

They don't care about the truth or changing anything. They just want to discredit us. Bury us under a load of insinuation and then shut us up by paying us off. I can't bear to bleed out my pain and it not mean anything. When Mel meets Dave at a protest, she believes she has met her kindred spirit. Dave soon becomes central to her life and her activist friends. But is he who he appears to be?An emotionally compelling drama that explores love, betrayal, secrets and lies and exposes the brutality of a police policy that used any means necessary to undermine political protest.Based on a true story, Any Means Necessary centres on the events surrounding a group of environmental activists and the 2011 court case that charged them with trespass at nearby Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station.This real-life event set in Nottingham uncovered a national scandal that has led to a full police apology and an admission that their officers' behaviour was an abuse of the women's human rights. A major public inquiry begins in January 2016 and is expected to run for 3 years.This play was published to coincide with the world premiere of the play at Nottingham Playhouse on 5 February 2016.

Why is everyone so bloody obsessed with hashtags? What on earth do you want to do with a hashtag? Can you use it to shoot your way out of here?Tisana, Ruhab and Haleema are three normal teenage girls who have been best friends forever. But when they are kidnapped from their hometown, each must find their own way to survive. Girls explores enduring friendship, girlhood and the stories behind the headlines that quickly become yesterday''s news.Theresa Ikoko''s funny and fiercely passionate play is a Verity Bargate Award finalist and winner of the Alfred Fagon Award (2015) and George Devine Award (2016). Girls received its world premiere at HighTide Theatre Festival 2016 on 8 September 2016 in a production by HighTide, Soho Theatre and Talawa.

Where you standing? I say where you standing on this? You think it happened or you don''t think it happened?Generations of secrets have broken the Brook family.Siblings split-up, traded-off, treated differently.Angel, the youngest, has called a family meeting to sift through the wreckage. And she''s not leaving until they''ve confronted the truth about how and why her family failed her.Torn by British playwright and actor Nathaniel Martello-White was published to coincide with its world premiere at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs on 7 September 2016.

It's what life does to you. We don't have time to waste. Worrying over the small stuff while the big stuff takes its toll. You're living and then . . . boom.At 27, History teacher Nick is on the edge.A hidden secret lies under the Brink. Nick can't get it out of his mind. A series of visions force Nick to investigate what lies beneath. Nick's girlfriend doesn't understand. Neither do his fellow teachers. Frustrated, he confides in a Year 10 student but can she be expected to have all the answers?The Brink is an arch but affecting parable for the times we live in. This edition was published to coincide with the play's world premiere at the Orange Tree Theatre, London, in April 2016.

Within the next hour, our operatives will isolate, engage and capture or kill the notorious leader of the most extreme, dangerous and contagious ideology to emerge in the modern era, whose terror activities represent the gravest threat to our interests across the region and the wider world. I refer, of course, to the radical preacher and populist demagogue Y'shua Bar-Yessuf - the man known, by way of shorthand to our operatives, as "Jesus". Satan, the narrator of Justin Butcher's one-man play who is looking out for our best interests, is on a mission to harness the ways of the dangerous extremist preacher Jesus. Jesus' radical teachings and popularity have the potential to wreak havoc in the Middle East. This is exactly the sort of man the government warn us of, again and again.This clever and evocative passion play from the devil's perspective considers Jesus' relevance to contemporary issues, and retells the story of Christ's life from the perspective of the enemy. The Devil's Passion received its world premiere in June 2015 at St James's, Piccadilly, and was revived and toured in 2016.

A destitute farmer sells his land to the supermarket chain that drove him out of business.Fifteen years later and a bustling supermarket stands on the same spot. UK managing director Tony is coming to work undercover at the store for a week. Branch manager Vicky is determined to give him a more grimly authentic experience than he'd ever dared wish for. Shelf-stacker Josh dreams of escape and rock stardom. Union organiser Elliot dreams of Josh. By Friday, nothing will ever be the same for them again.Happy to Help is an acerbic comedy about how Britain has become a nation of shop assistants. This programme text edition was first published to coincide with the world premiere of the play at Park Theatre, London, in June 2016.

Hamlet: Who's There is a tightly written highly theatrical adaptation of Shakespeare's great play. Reimagining the action to take place over the course of one night, the play can be produced to last ninety minutes for a small cast of six actors. Featuring much of the original language and the famous soliloquies of Shakespeare's original play, this adaptation is ideal for people seeking a version of the tragedy to be played across a shorter timeframe or by a smaller cast.Adapted by RSC actor and teacher Kelly Hunter, Hamlet: Who's There was toured and produced by Flute Theatre, a company which produces plays by Shakespeare aimed at inclusivity for a range of audiences. This programme text edition of the play was published to coincide with a national and international tour of the play beginning in spring 2016, including dates in London, Romania, Germany and Elsinore, the original location where Hamlet was set.

A doorway to a new future is ready to open. We are the hinge of that moment. We will let the door swing wide.On a beautiful spring evening - when both moons are full - two teenagers vow eternal love. It is a moment that will have cataclysmic consequences. Not just for them, but for the world on which they live. A world where Prom Night is a matter of life or death, where weapons are grown and trained like pets, and where a chosen few are hearing a voice. A voice that speaks of ... Karagula.Philip Ridley's extraordinary, form-shattering Karagula is a play of epic proportions. Written in a fractured timescale, it explores our constant need to find meaning. To believe we're here for a reason. To have faith in something. Faith in ... anything.Karagula received its world premiere on 10 June 2016 at a secret London location in one of the largest productions ever staged in the Off-West End.

Let us not dwell on the past . . . I'm an old man, Charles. Old enough to know the past is only good for one thing - destroying the future. Guy and Kathleen grow their crops, raise their daughter, and pay their taxes. But Africa is changing, country by country. White farmers in Zimbabwe must now answer for history's crimes. When Charles arrives with a smile and a purchase order, there's more than just land at stake. With violence threatening to erupt, he will do whatever it takes to restore their farm to the 'native' population.As truths are revealed and moralities questioned, are things ever more than simply black and white?Inspired by real events in Zimbabwe, May Sumbwanyambe's debut play is an unflinching examination of land ownership, dispossession and justice in a post-colonial world.After Independence received its world premiere at the Arcola Theatre, London, on 4 May 2016, in a production by Papatango Theatre Company.

One wants to restore the image of the Church, gain back the community's trust. And as you know, this part of town has long been resistant to social progress. Otherwise Sister Bernadine wouldn't need to work so hard. Sister Bernie D'Amato doesn't look like a nun. In an oversize Bob Marley T-shirt, she smokes pot, befriends local gangs and passes out condoms to the Ukrainian prostitutes who cruise around their New Jersey slum. When the women's shelter Bernie runs comes under threat from a property developer, she vows to fight back, and recruits a teenage X-Factor wannabe and an ageing ex-nun to help. But as pressure mounts on the shelter to take their pay-out and close down, tensions start to mount in a community struggling to survive. We Wait In Joyful Hope is a funny and touching exploration of religion and capitalism in contemporary USA. Theatre503 Writer in Residence Brian Mullin delivers a sparkling 'state of the nation' debut drama. This edition is published to coincide with the play's world premiere at Theatre503, London, in May 2016.

-Quantum mechanics is one of those topics that's always just there in a like a super 'I'm so clever' conversation about the grey areas of science. You know, two places at once, walk through walls kind of stuff.-It's attractive--It's attractive because it's so spooky.In a cold converted garage by the sea, a science podcast troupe rehearse their next episode. Spindrift follows three sisters as they untangle what happened to their father when he disappeared whilst sailing around the world, 20 years ago.A mysterious, heart-breaking triptych, Spindrift traces the invisible waves orchestrating the boundaries of the natural world and examines family, endurance and the paths we choose. Two-time Fringe First-winning, curious directive tell their story with trademark visual storytelling with 3D animation, video projection and motion capture technology. Spindrift is a life-affirming story for anyone who has sat on the shore and stared out to sea for hours on end.

I don''t remember exactly when my formerly charming, humorous, omnipotent mother, who would swim a mile out into the ocean to get your beach ball in choppy seas, did the great recede. But she was a tide gradually butirrevocably washing out, she retreated, she receded, she drifted away, and there was nothing anybody could do about it.In ancient times, tribal women went alone to caves during menopause. Today, the 50 million menopausal women in America turn to cheery self-help books. As for Loh and her female friends, they are determined not to go quietly into their sixth decade, but instead opt for a desert festival of debauchery and half-nude stoners. Based on her acclaimed memoir of the same title that Booklist calls "hilarious, comforting and enlightening", Loh''s play is a hilarious, provocative, often moving consideration of what it is to be a woman in a society that values and reveres youth.The Mad Woman in the Volvo received its world premiere on 3 January 2016 at South Coast Repertory, California.

The world's changin', we don't have to just 'make do' anymore. There's stuff out there, there's life, there's . people and experiencin' somethin' meaningful. California, 'Arry, Woodstock, out on the road like a rollin' bloody stone, it's Dylan, 'Arry, that's who I want to be. Yer seriously think I'm goin' to stick round here.Modern life isn't easy and it never has been. This explosive play by Leo Butler transports us through time, looking at what happens when the next generation begin to find their feet in an ever-changing world. Through a kaleidoscope of characters, we see tensions rocket and values crumble, exposing the best and worst of what it means to be human. This epic roller coaster of a play combines euphoria and despair as different generations of young people ask the same question: where do we go from here?Decades received its world premiere at Ovalhouse, London, on 7 June 2016 in a production by Brit School for Performing Arts and Technology.

I told her that it wouldn't be appropriate for us to meet in person. She asked me why not. I told her the truth. Because I was extremely attracted to her and didn't want to court the destruction of my marriage. She said, your wife never needs to know. It will just be a little adventure. Nothing even needs to happen.September 2016 marks the fifteen-year anniversary of Rob and Lucy's very first date. What better way to mark this milestone than to create a show all about love? As part of his research Rob underwent an MRI scan. His ventromedial prefrontal cortex surged when looking at a picture of his wife. However, it also surged while looking at other pictures.In equal parts TED Talk and theatrical experiment, this is the show that combines a live on-stage date and evolutionary theory. Whether you're single or attached, this is a big-hearted play for those looking to find love and those wanting to celebrate it.In Fidelity received its world premiere at the HighTide Festival 2016.

You don't want to go to war on this, Tom. I mean, not now. Not after everything. You don't want to lose more than you can afford.Brad Birch (Pinter Commission winner, 2016) takes Ibsen's An Enemy of the People into the centre of a very modern scandal. How does Tom Stockmann keep both people and press on side when he makes a discovery about the town's prestigious new Spa?A taut and rigorous adaptation of Ibsen's classic play, En Folkfiende examines the faultlines of municipal power as media, politics and the public good come head to head in a thrilling drama of the conflict between the personal and the public. En Folkefiende premiered at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in May 2016 ahead of a production at the Pleasance, Edinburgh, in August 2016.

A town a ten thousand people. What parade do we get? I''m a parade. I''m a one-man parade. Halloween. A small town in the west of Ireland. There''s a party to get to and Mikey and Casey have everything they need . . . Booze. Cash. Drugs. Each other. The only problem is they''re stuck. Stuck on a roof. Stuck together. And as they wait for the Guards to stop circling the house, they find out there are some truths you just can''t climb down from. A raucous and unlikely romantic drama, twenty feet up. If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You premiered at the Old Red Lion theatre, London, in August 2016

I am shirking off the chains that have shackled me for so long - I have suddenly come to realise that I am a woman - a living, passionate, pulsating woman - it never occurred to me before. Janet Ebony and her best friend, Peter Chelsworth, are innocently sharing a sleeping compartment when their train to Paris is involved in a disastrous railway accident. Outrage and scandal ensue as Janet''s husband, Paul, and her fearsome mother-in-law accuse Janet and Peter of adultery. Aghast at their families'' accusations, Janet and Peter decide to take revenge by inventing an adulterous affair ... Written with Noël Coward''s trademark wit and insight, Home Chat is a distinctly modern comedy about female sexuality and fidelity in a society rigidly governed by decorum and reputation.This edition was published to coincide with the first revival of the play since its premiere in 1927.

You have to be tough to be kind. That's what I've learned from you, Granddad. Tough and fearless and strong. So that's what I'm going to be.Naples, 1606. Inside an unfinished church, a painting is emerging from the darkness. The Seven Acts of Mercy is Caravaggio's masterpiece - and his first painting since he killed a man and fled Rome. As the artist works, he is fueled by anger, self-loathing and his driving need to create a work that speaks of compassion in a violent world. Bootle, the present day. A retired dock worker teaches his grandson, as around them a community is disintegrating under the pressure of years of economic and political degradation. With all he has left, a book of great works of art, he tries to open the boy's eyes to the tragedy and beauty of the life he faces. And the boy reciprocates in the only way he knows.Playing out across a gap of 400 years, Anders Lustgarten's visceral play confronts the dangerous necessity of compassion, in a world where it is in short supply. The Seven Acts of Mercy received its world premiere at the Swan Theatre, RSC, on 24 November 2016.

What you haven't realised is that I sew to aid my thought processes. Look - needle - stab - stitch - thought. Needle - stab - stitch - thought. So next time you see a woman demurely sewing a sampler, be very, very wary. God knows what she may be planning. Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) was a social theorist who is often credited as being the first female sociologist. In Harriet Martineau Dreams of Dancing, Shelagh Stephenson depicts the great writer in a period of convalescence, living as an invalid by the sea in Tynemouth. Shut off from her usual society, Harriet is visited by women of the locale; Impie, a recent widow who is using her new-found marital freedom to paint murals on the ceilings of her family home; Beulah, the daughter of a woman who'd been sold into slavery and escaped; and Jane, the housemaid, whose unfeted and unexpected gifts lift her out of domestic servitude and could help Harriet out of illness. Harriet Martineau is a play about female self-reliance in a time of patriarchal dominance. Written by Shelagh Stephenson, it premiered at Live Theatre, Newcastle, in winter 2016.

I was the punk. I was born punk. But she was my rock. The only one I ever had.1976. Fran and Leni meet in a North London comp. Three years later they are The Rips. Girls with guitars, bored of playing nice. Music, sex, fishnets, tits and spitting. A two-girl escape from everything sugar and spice. Fran & Leni is punchy two-hander about punk rock and life-long friendship from the writer of the critically acclaimed Pramkicker. This edition was published to coincide with the play's production at Assembly, George Square, during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, after its world premiere at Latitude Festival 2016.

How would you feel about sitting in front of that nice old village pub on a sunny afternoon while convoys of 40-ton tankers roll past six feet away?Deerland Energy's plans to drill for shale gas in the pretty village of Fenstock are going well. The company is looking at big profits.They can count on the support of distinguished scientists working in university departments funded by the energy companies while at local level, Councillor Pilbeam, Chair of the Planning Committee, seems to be open to lucrative offers.The only slight snag is a ragged band of protesters, reluctantly led by retired academic Elizabeth Blackwood. Surely she's just another 'mad old biddy', as she's characterised by ruthless PR guru Joe Selby.This new razor-sharp black comedy by Alistair Beaton takes a timely look at the conflicted core of planetary energy and earthly power. Fracked! received its world premiere at the Chichester's Minerva Theatre on 8 July 2016.

Now you can question the life I live and the choices I've made, but when I step onto that dancefloor I know, without a doubt, that is exactly where I'm supposed to be. The world and his wife don't mean a thing, all that matters is where I am and the people I'm with. Dave used to be a DJ. And not just any DJ; he spent his 20s filling fields and dropping beats for thousands of young revelers flocking to the 90s rave scene.All good things must come to an end so now, in his 40s, he finds himself working in an advertising firm selling things he hates. But old habits die hard and soon Dave is leading a group of young millennials, disenchanted with the lot of Generation Y, back into the fray.Happy Dave was first performed in preview at the New Diorama, London, ahead of its month-long stint at the Pleasance, Edinburgh, for the 2016 Festival Fringe.

I just think you shouldn't put people on pedestals that's all. It makes them seem perfect when they're not.Martha McDonald was a world-famous singer - Grammy Hall of Fame resident, poster girl for revolution, and writer of one of the most iconic songs of the 1970s. Until she disappeared.For many years she hasn't written or sung a single note. Hidden from public view deep in the Californian Mountains, Martha guards a secret that, if revealed, will change everything. And only one other person holds a key to this enigma: her estranged daughter, Anna.Anna is desperately trying to escape the long shadow of her mother's fame and legacy. Will exposing the secret liberate her - and her mother - or might it destroy them both?Hannah Patterson's intriguing play explores the impact that success and celebrity have on relationships and why honesty is not always the best policy. Platinum received its world premiere at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs on 9 December 2016.

We share a history, we share a memory and they both share my heart. It's that time of the year. A time that Eoin, Mary Anne and Jack all remember. Having grown up together in various care homes for the disabled, they now rely on each other in adulthood for support, friendship and love. But when young film-maker Eleanor arrives, struggling with hidden issues and agendas of her own, to make a documentary about their lives together, the examination and attention she brings threatens to disrupt the long-term relationships and friendships at the heart of their group. Mainstream is a complex drama about truth, lies and the mainstreaming of Travellers with disabilities. It was produced in November 2016 in a co-production between Fishamble Theatre Company and Project Arts Centre, Dublin.