Books published by Beercott Books

Worn and Wild is filled with amazing vintage inspired gifts for you to make and share with family and friends. With a mix of crafts including knitting, crochet and cooking, there is something for everyone from the beginner to the more experienced.The range of gifts include: Knitted child's tank top Crochet face Scrubbies Felted Elephant Plum chutney Beggars Shortbread Knitted Christmas decorations Crocheted mice

The Battle of Fyfield tells the story of a small village's struggle to prevent a new town being built on adjacent farmland owned by an Oxford college. Giles Debbage, the play's focal character, lives in the village's old schoolhouse or, more specifically, in a cellar-office, thanks to marital difficulties. In a vain bid to impress his wife Alice and two teenage daughters, he and a neighbour hatch a plot to kidnap a celebrity don from the college in question. They hope to blackmail the college into abandoning its plans to sell the farmland for development. The kidnap goes ahead but there are a number of surprising revelations and tragi-comic consequences.The Battle of Fyfield is perfect for a smallish, mixed-age cast. All the action takes place on a single, simple set and there are no special costume requirements. It is a mixture of comedy, history and contemporary satire, but it asks important questions about change within rural communities, the role of academic institutions, the power of social media and the future of family life. The play is based on real-life events and, although no such kidnap was ever attempted, the publicity for the play in the local press contributed to the eventual shelving of plans for the new town to be built. It will be an inspiration to any villages and towns faced with unwanted developments.

'The Trial of Rattenfanger' is a one-act play which uses a range of documentary sources, poetry and verse to explore the story of the Pied Piper.The piece presents possible solutions to the loss of 130 children from the town of Hamelin, Saxony, Germany as charted in the towns scriptures and depicted in the stained-glass window commissioned for Hamelin church in 1300 which was later destroyed by fire.

This thought-provoking play by Justine Cope is a great addition to any youth drama group.Set in an underground bunker, we follow a group of young apocalyptic 'survivors' with dreams of urban exploration as they delve into the past to make sense of the future. They are guided by two adults referred to only as 'The Wise'. But who are the Wise and are they hiding something? And what of Nostradamus and the quatrains? Do they really hold the key to the downfall of the Relics (Adults) and the success of the New World?The play offers flexible casting for Youth Groups. Characters can be Male, Female or any combination of the two, it also offers the opportunity for doubling/ combining roles for smaller casts, ensuring the characters of The Wise, Rock, Jam, Meil, Cub and Wiz remain consistent. The play allows for additions of music to aid smooth and interesting transitions and physical theatre to enact the quatrains. Staging should be adaptable and interchangeable to allow swift movement between different areas of the bunker. Costuming can be as simplistic or elaborate as the production team chose. The original production incorporated a steam-punk theme, with individualised elements for each character to reflect their identity.

A group of seven actors have devised and are rehearsing a play about the 18th century precursor of hypnosis, Mesmer. Things start to go wrong when one of the actors has to drop out and the director steps into her shoes. Not only that, but the leading actor playing Mesmer, was once a well-known television actor, and resents her direction and stirs up trouble with the rest of the cast, and when the play within a play develops, not only does this lead to some hilarious mishaps, the Mesmer play also parallels some of the actors' lives, resulting in some entertaining revelations. As the Mesmer play progresses, showing Mesmer's dramatic cure of a blind pianist leading to a scandal that rocked the Viennese court, and Mesmer's escape to Paris in the throes of the French Revolution, the rehearsal becomes more fraught as the leading actor's past catches up with him. Because The Franz Anton Mesmer Show is a two-act play set in a real-time rehearsal, it is possible to perform the play in almost any venue, using a simply staged setting.

If you like British woodland creatures and you love knitting, then A Year in Woolly Wonders  by Kerry Lucas is just the book for you. Inside you will find a selection of 12 fantastic, easy to follow patterns for creatures you would expect to find in the British woodland, along with a range of accessories so you can create your very own woodland family. There is a different creature for each month of the year, so you can work at your own pace.Each pattern contains full easy to follow instructions, with full details to enable you to complete each project.

Have yourself a woollyful Christmas with this collection of fun festive knits by Kerry Lucas. Building on the success of her first book 'A Year in Woolly Wonders', Kerry has designed a wonderful group of festive friends to adorn your home or tree at Christmas.Accompanied by full colour pictures the patterns are easy to follow and contain full instructions, as well as a list of materials and abbreviations.