Books in the Modern Plays series

Over 21 million copies sold worldwide

It's at times like this I'm inspired by The Stupendous Santini. He toured the mid-West during the 1930s, entertaining farmers affected by the Dust Bowl. No one would have remembered him were in not for the fact that during his most famous trick - sword swallowing - he accidentally punctured a lung and died on the spot. He became a legend. Donny has committed an act that shocked everyone. Tabloids called him The Most Hated Boy Alive. But Donny doesn't want forgiveness. All Donny wants is . . . his own television show.Written by internationally acclaimed writer Philip Ridley, Tonight With Donny Stixx is the companion piece to Ridley's 2013 Fringe First-winner Dark Vanilla Jungle, and received its premiere at the Soho Theatre, London, on 27 July 2015 before premiering at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Now. Tonight. Before we're sent back to the front. Take every bit of money you got. Ditch everything else.July 1916. Albert Ingham and Alfred Longshaw are crouched in a muddy, rat-infested trench in France. These sharp and funny young soldiers from a battalion of the Manchester Pals are about to take part in one of the most savage assaults in the history of human warfare, The Battle of the Somme.Their survival is a miracle. Their company has lost 600 men. Overwhelmed by the sheer horror of the experience, neither of them dare stare extinction in the face again. So, when they are ordered to transfer to the Machine Gun Corps and return to the blood-soaked front line, they decide, for the first time in their young lives, to take their fragile destiny in their own trembling hands.But becoming a deserter, that most embarrassing and shameful sort of fighting man, takes more courage than they ever knew they had.Mark Hayhurst's play is a gripping thriller that exposes the impact of the First World War on soldiers and their families. It follows his acclaimed debut at Chichester Festival Theatre with Taken at Midnight in 2014, which transferred to the West End the following year. First Light received its world premiere at Chichester's Minerva Theatre on 10 June 2016.

I always thought Mondays were the worst. You tell yourself get through the day, by Tuesday you'll be back on the wagon . . . But sometimes, by the time Tuesday comes, if you're still just the same, still drinking, self-loathing . . . you know the rest of the week is a write-off. Edward still lives in his marital home, albeit alone, estranged from his wife and child. When a chance encounter with an old school friend results in an invitation to a house warming, it sets him on a self-revelatory journey, with interesting results. Written by Alfred Fagon Award-winning playwright Michael Bhim, Tuesday is a dark and tense comedy of self-discovery. It was first performed at the White Bear theatre in Kennington, London, on 18 October 2016.

It's three o'clock when the first ambulance arrives. An old Polish man who can't breathe properly. I see the paramedics try to get him on the stretcher, but he collapses on them. Sudden heart failure. They have to defibrillate right there in reception. The other patients are watching or covering their faces. It doesn't matter. He dies. It's the first time I've ever seen it. Someone dying.Plague has hit the world wiping out most of the human population. Three teenagers from Bradford are among the few survivors: Harvinder, Nusrat and Alleyne. Together and separately they struggle to survive, each bringing together their people as they try to remake their world.But their biggest challenge doesn't come from starvation, or zombie like cannibals.It comes from within.Game of Thrones meets Walking Dead. In Bradford. North Country was published to coincide with the world premiere of the play by Freedom Studios in Bradford, UK.

Oh, Misha, it's terrible to be an educated woman. An educated woman with nothing to do. What am I here for? Why am I alive? They should make me a professor somewhere, or a director of something ... If I were a diplomat I'd turn the whole world upside down ... An educated woman ... And nothing to do.Village schoolmaster Mikhail Vasilyevich has it all: wit, intelligence, a comfortable and respectable life in provincial Russia, and the attentions of four beautiful women - one of whom is his devoted wife. As summer arrives and the seasonal festivities commence, the rapidly intensifying heat makes everyone giddy with sunlight, vodka - and passion.Michael Frayn's comedy of errors, drawn from Chekhov's untitled and posthumously discovered early play, is a tale of nineteenth-century Russian life replete with classic misunderstandings, irrepressible desires and nostalgia for a vanishing world. Wild Honey received its premiere in the National Theatre's Lyttelton space, London, on 19 July 1984. This edition was published for the revival at the Hampstead Theatre in December 2016.

The one thing we realised, very early on, was not to get attached. Feel pride in your work, yes, but keep. It. Practical.Dan has a troubling past and needs help to leave it behind. Amy is employed to support him, and she's determined to succeed - by whatever means necessary.Experience is a stirring exploration of the moral implications of helping others - how far is too far and can we really never expect anything in return? A compelling and tense examination of the attachments that can form through sexual surrogacy, Experience was first published to coincide with the world premiere at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs in January 2017.

Jones and Davis are fighting.There's a skeleton in the well.There's more to being Welsh than having the accent, isn't there?Written for a single performer, Tara Robinson and Steffan Donnelly's My Body Welsh is a lyrical thriller which guides the audience through Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch and into a world of slippery small-town myth-making. My Body Welsh is a vibrant, part-bilingual piece of contemporary theatre that investigates the role storytelling plays in constructing national identity. My Body Welsh was published to coincide with Invertigo Theatre's tour of the play in January 2017.

Men in this town were born with mouths that can right wrongs with a few words. Why are you too timid to speak?As she is about to be executed for a murder she didn''t commit, young widow Dou Yi vows that, if she is innocent, snow will fall in midsummer and a catastrophic drought will strike. Three years later, a businesswoman visits the parched, locust-plagued town to take over an ailing factory. When her young daughter is tormented by an angry ghost, the new factory owner must expose the injustices Dou Yi suffered before the curse destroys every living thing. A contemporary re-imagining by acclaimed playwright Frances-Ya Chu Cowhig of one of the most famous classical Chinese dramas, which breathes new life into this ancient story, haunted by centuries of retelling. The world premiere of Snow in Midsummer on 23 February 2017 at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, launched the RSC''s Chinese Translations Project, a cultural exchange bringing Chinese classics to a contemporary Western audience.

Twelve years ago, from the mouth of a great sacrifice, a child was born. And they called her Autumn. Isaac returns to his family home with a chance to atone for the terrible mistake that claimed his childhood.Autumn is a little girl whose time is running out. With three sleeps left before her birthday, she can only hope for a miracle, or an unexpected act of selflessness. Her grandmother, Sophia, brings them together in a desperate attempt to save her family, at any cost.Set against the eerie backdrop of an isolated rural community and steeped in the folklore of the harvest, Grain in the Blood is a noir-ish thriller exploring a timely moral dilemma: how much are we prepared to sacrifice for the greater good?The play received its world premiere at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, on 18 October 2016, before opening at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on 1 November 2016.

Meet Jess and Joe. They want to tell you their story. Joe is Norfolk born and bred and wears wellies. Jess holidays there with her au pair and is slightly too tubby for her summer dresses. They are miles apart even when they stand next to each other. This is a story of growing up, fitting in (or not), boys, girls, secrets, scotch eggs and maybe even love, but most of all, it''s about friendship.Spanning several summer holidays, Jess and Joe Forever is an unusual coming of age tale that explores rural life and what it means to belong somewhere, if you can really belong anywhere.A layered and thoughtful play about finding your place in the world when you only know a small corner of it.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere of the play at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, in September 2016.

Respect women, respect girls. Respect yourselves. Remember you are everyone who''s gone before you and you are nobody that has ever been, so make it count, make it special, make a difference, make people listen, love the women who have loved you and watch us make the world move to a better place. For Layla, every day is a battleground.The pay gap, the thigh gap, over-sexed pop and selfies that are photoshopped - they''re just part of the world she lives in.But that world is about to change.While breaking out of her bedroom - and with drama, comedy, poetry and music as her weapons - Layla breaks down and makes sense of the realities, difficulties and absurdities of teenage life in the UK today.Collected from a bespoke national survey, the voices of a thousand UK teens are brought to life in Layla. Their ambitions, concerns, role-models and regrets are woven together by award-winning Sabrina Mahfouz and theatre company Theatre Centre, offering a hard-hitting, yet hopeful, story.Layla''s Room received its world premiere at Redbridge Drama Centre on 15 September 2016 in a production by Theatre Centre. It is ideal for students and young performers between 16 and 18 years old.

- Do you have to hold your breath? ... Can you do that?- Yeah. Anyone can.- Not me. Can't be doing without breath. I'd hate to drown. I'm a big fan of air ... 400 miles from home, James has started a new career as a rigger - two weeks onshore, two weeks offshore - existing between two very different spaces; and his daughter Dyl is with him in neither of them.Instead he has Ryan, his live-in landlord - sarcastic, free-spirited and liable to say what he thinks before he thinks what he says.As James focuses on finding the answers from within himself, he risks losing the very relationships that can keep him on track. Dyl is a sad comedy about isolation, the righting of wrongs and shouldering life's responsibilities. It received its world premiere on 9th May 2017 at The Old Red Lion Theatre, London

I haven't hurt anyone, killed, raped, murdered - I just ran away - came here to be safe. But I'm locked up. I just - I can't believe this is England.They have run away from unimaginable horrors looking only for safety. But, imprisoned together at Yarl's Wood Dentention Centre, these women are stuck in a limbo that offers them exactly the opposite. Based on verbatim interviews from current and former detainees, The Scar Test takes you inside one of England's migrant detention centres, exposing the conditions the inmates must endure whilst awaiting a decision on their fate. Told with compassion, Hannah Khalil's play throws a spotlight on the harrowing ordeals of the female migrants seeking refuge in Britain and the obstacles they face in the process.Published to coincide with its 2017 London and regional tour, The Scar Test originally debuted in 2015 with Untold Arts company.

"Land beneath our feet. Got all our blood inside it hasn't it? All that time. Belongs to us."On a farm in the middle of nowhere, sisters Becky and Anna try to hold their family together after the death of their mother. Time is always moving somewhere - but here it's very quiet.When they discover a stranger wandering aimlessly across the land, the three establish an unlikely partnership in their determination to survive.Simon Longman's Royal Court debut premiered at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in February 2018.

Men in this town were born with mouths that can right wrongs with a few words. Why are you too timid to speak?As she is about to be executed for a murder she didn't commit, young widow Dou Yi vows that, if she is innocent, snow will fall in midsummer and a catastrophic drought will strike. Three years later, a businesswoman visits the parched, locust-plagued town to take over an ailing factory. When her young daughter is tormented by an angry ghost, the new factory owner must expose the injustices Dou Yi suffered before the curse destroys every living thing. A contemporary re-imagining by acclaimed playwright Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig of one of the most famous classical Chinese dramas, which breathes new life into this ancient story, haunted by centuries of retelling. The world premiere of Snow in Midsummer on 23 February 2017 at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, launched the RSC's Chinese Translations Project, a cultural exchange bringing Chinese classics to a contemporary Western audience. This edition has been republished for the American premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in June 2018 and includes a brand new afterword by Joshua Chambers-Letson.

Some folk are impossible to buy for. Mama said it's because they are usually the ones who are impossible to know.Before is set in Clerys of Dublin, on the very day this iconic department store shuts - for good. Pontius is inside, trying to choose a gift for his estranged daughter, whom he hasn't seen for almost 20 years. He will meet her in an hour.This father's journey is both beautiful and strange, from the isolation of his Midlands home to the madness of O'Connell Street. Before is a new play with much music, which follows the runaway international success of Fishamble's Pat Kinevane Trilogy (Forgotten, Silent and Underneath), which have won Olivier, Scotsman Fringe First, Herald Angel, Argus Angel, Adelaide Fringe and Stage Raw LA awards.This edition was published to coincide with the original production which was first produced by Fishamble: The New Play Company in November 2018.

You know what would really fuck them off? If you went out there and found the least suitable, most inappropriate, most outrageous hunk of a man that this fine city has to offer, and the pair of you rock up to that church service in May, arm in arm. Seán is feeling wronged because his boyfriend Tim has been excluded from a family wedding back home in Ireland. What does it matter that they've just broken up? The problem for his family is that Tim is femme, fabulous and worst of all, English. Spurred on by righteous anger, Seán is determined to do something about it. As Greek myths, hook-up apps, and the musical stylings of Sinéad O'Connor collide, Seán launches into his hunt for the most disruptive plus-one possible.

And we are watching the huge grey waves crashing and this is the moment when I say I have to tell you something. Claire and her wife Kit have moved from the confines of London to the wide open coasts of South Shields.To be nearer family, to be nearer the sea, to put down roots. To have a baby.Claire's new job at the local school is a step up, and she wants to make a real difference, but she soon discovers that she has as much to learn from her students as they have from her.A tender new play about gender, wild swimming, and how we define who we are.

A single dad meets his adopted daughter for the first time. Then he agrees to meet her birth-mother.When their two worlds collide, will what they have in common outweigh their differences? A one-off meeting. But three lives will be changed forever. One the One Hand, We're Happy is a tender, funny, hopeful play about being a mum when your name is Dad.This edition published to coincide with the run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in July 2019.

Lying there, drifting up into those ancient lights was exactly like looking into the past. It is looking into the past. History, I think, is just a property of light.Charlie Fairbanks was born in the dead center of the United States at the dead center of the twentieth century.Americans are going to the Moon and Charlie's sure he'll be the first one there. But as he shines his spotlight on the Moon, so too does it illuminate the darker side to his nation's history.Radio is a story about memory, love and spaceships.

A gripping portrait of life in wartime Berlin and a vividly theatrical study of how paranoia can warp a society gripped by the fear of the night-time knock on the door.Based on true events, Hans Fallada's Alone In Berlin follows a quietly courageous couple, Otto and Anna Quangel who, in dealing with their own heartbreak, stand up to the brutal reality of the Nazi regime. With the smallest of acts, they defy Hitler's rule with extraordinary bravery, facing the gravest of consequences.Translated and Adapted by Alistair Beaton (Feelgood, The Trial Of Tony Blair), this timely story of the moral power of personal resistance sees the Gestapo launch a massive hunt for the perpetrators and Otto and Anna finding themselves players in a deadly game of cat and mouse.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at Royal and Derngate Theatre in February 2020.

"Unquestionably Africa's most versatile writer and arguably one of her finest" (New York Times Book Review)

"A dramatist of exceptional and distinctive promise" (Daily Telegraph)

A play about dating through the internet. Dani's on a mission. She's just 17, hates her parents, skives college and prefers life in the chatrooms. What she's looking for is someone honest and direct. Instead she finds a man twice her age, who thinks she is 11 and a boy.

It's the end of a century, a time for people to look back and try to make sense of who they are. Across six connected lives, repressed emotion are brought to the fore in an attempt to settle the score with the world around them.

A volume which includes 2 plays from the playwright Robert Holman. The plays featured here are "Rafts and Dreams" and "Outside the Whale".