An alternative autobiography of the well-loved actor and man of the theatre.In My Life in Pieces Simon Callow retraces his life through the multifarious performers, writers, productions and events which have left their indelible mark on him.The story begins with Peter Pan - his first ever visit to the theatre - before transporting us to southern Africa and South London, where Callow spent much of his childhood. Later, he charms his way into a job at the National Theatre box office courtesy of his hero, Laurence Olivier - and thus consummated a lifetime';s love affair with theatre.Alongside Olivier, we encounter Paul Scofield, Michael Gambon, Alan Bennett and Richard Eyre, all of whom Callow has worked with, as well as John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Alec Guinness, David Hare, Simon Gray and many more.He writes too about figures he did not meet but who greatly influenced his life and work, figures such as Stanislavsky, Nureyev and Cocteau, as well as Charles Laughton and Orson Welles. And he even makes room for not-quite- legit performers like Tony Hancock, Tommy Cooper, Frankie Howard - and Mrs Shufflewick.The result is a passionate, instructive and beguiling book which, in tracing Simon Callow';s own 'sentimental education';, leaves us enriched by his generosity and wisdom.'an engaging passionate book which will augment Callow's growing status as a national treasure.' Guardian '...no simply a terrific actor who happens to write. You could as well call him a terrific writer who happens to act' The Times 'essential... a gift for transforming personal experience into blazingly intelligent, objective, critical appreciation' Observer'first rate... the best writer-actor we have' David Hare 'Simon Callow combines zest, originality and passion and has elegantly turned his views and life in the theatre into an astonishing memoir' Richard Eyre
A comic, contemporary vision of life in England's green and pleasant land. Winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play, and the Critics Circle and Whatsonstage.com Awards for Best New Play.
On St George's Day, the morning of the local country fair, Johnny 'Rooster' Byron, local waster and Lord of Misrule, is a wanted man. The council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his son wants to be taken to the fair, a vengeful father wants to give him a serious kicking, and a motley crew of mates wants his ample supply of drugs and alcohol.
Jerusalem premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2009, directed by Ian Rickson and starring Mark Rylance in an astonishing performance as Johnny Byron. It transferred to the West End in 2010.
'Unarguably one of the best dramas of the twenty-first century' Guardian
'Tender, touching, and blessed with both a ribald humour and a haunting sense of the mystery of things... one of the must-see events of the summer' Telegraph
'Jez Butterworth's gorgeous, expansive new play keeps coming at its audience in unpredictable gusts, rolling from comic to furious, from winsome to bawdy' Observer
'Storming... restores one's faith in the power of theatre' Independent
'Show of the year' Time Out
A simple and delightfully inventive re-telling of the stories from the Arabian Nights. This revised edition was published alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company's production in 2009. It is wedding night in the palace of King Shahrayar. By morning, the new Queen Shahrazad is to be put to death like all the young brides before her. But she has one gift that could save her – the gift of storytelling. With her mischievous imagination, the young Queen spins her dazzling array of tales and characters. On her side are Ali Baba, Es-Sindibad the Sailor and Princess Parizade – adventurers in strange and magical worlds populated by giant beasts, talking birds, devilish ghouls and crafty thieves. But will her silver-tongued stories be enough to enchant her husband and save her life? 'Superb... weaves a potent spell of enchantment as it moves from cruelty to happiness and from the blissfully ribald to the deeply affecting' Telegraph 'A masterful piece of storytelling... a truly magical piece of theatre that delights the senses' Whatsonstage.com 'The family show to see this Yule' Guardian
Four boys face the tricky transition to adulthood in Ella Hickson's riot of a play. Premiered at High Tide Festival 2012, then Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, and Soho Theatre, London. The Class of 2011 are about to graduate and Benny, Mack, Timp and Cam are due out of their flat. Stepping into a world that doesn't want them, these boys start to wonder whether there's any point in getting any older. How will they find the fight to make it as adults? Before all that they're going to have one hell of a party. It's hot and there'll be girls. Predict a riot. 'Marvellous... a play that both powerfully captures the mood of a generation and addresses permanent truths with exhilarating flair' Independent 'Will leave you with laughter lines' Time Out 'Heartfelt directness of writing that taps into a generation torn between action and inertia' Guardian
A brilliant and unsettling play from one of the UK's leading dramatists. Premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2000. At the opening of the play, a young girl is questioning her aunt about having seen her uncle hitting people with an iron bar; by the end, several years later, the whole world is at war - including birds and animals. Far Away is a howl of anguish at the increasing – and increasingly accepted – levels of inhumanity in a world seemingly perpetually involved in conflict. 'You know you are in the hands of a master' The Sunday Times 'Churchill was expected to produce something explosive, but... she has exceeded the critics' highest expectations' The Observer
A fresh and radical approach to acting by a world-famous director. 'This new "Advice to the Players" cuts open every generalisation about acting and draws out gleamingly fresh specifics. Behind the joy and humour of the writing, Declan Donnellan is subtly leading young actors to an awareness of the living processes behind their work. He brings as evidence the rich field of thought and intuition that direct experience has made his own.' - Peter Brook
Eight compelling monologues offering a state-of-the-nation group portrait for the stage. First seen on the Edinburgh Fringe, the play was produced in the West End in 2012. Edinburgh Fringe First Award 2008
Carol Tambor 'Best of Edinburgh' Award From Millie, the jolly-hockey-sticks prostitute who mourns the loss of the good old British class system, to Miles, a 7/7 survivor, and Danny, an ex-squaddie who makes friends in morgues, Eight looks at what has happened to a generation that has grown up in a world where everything has become acceptable. In its original performances, each audience voted for four of the eight monologues that they wished to see, resulting in a different line-up at every performance. A ninth unperformed monologue is included in this edition. The monologues are ideal for performance by student and amateur groups; any number and any combination can be performed. They also provide excellent opportunities for actors looking for audition material. 'Hickson's writing remains astonishing, with a huge, angry energy and poetry' The Scotsman 'Ella Hickson has already found her voice and it's a powerful one - a potent show indeed' New York Times 'One of the most self-assured, startlingly well-written and moving pieces of theatre around' Herald
A stunningly ambitious work from one of the UK's most influential playwrights. Someone sneezes. Someone can';t get a signal. Someone shares a secret. Someone won';t answer the door. Someone put an elephant on the stairs. Someone';s not ready to talk. Someone is her brother';s mother. Someone hates irrational numbers. Someone told the police. Someone got a message from the traffic light. Someone';s never felt like this before. In this fast-moving kaleidoscope, more than a hundred characters try to make sense of what they know. Premiered at the Royal Court in September 2012. 'This exhilarating theatrical kaleidoscope... What is extraordinary about Churchill is her capacity as a dramatist to go on reinventing the wheel' The Guardian 'The wit, invention and structural integrity of Churchill's work are remarkable... She never does the same thing twice' The Telegraph 'A wonderful web of complex emotions, memories, secrets and facts' A Younger Theatre
A celebration of a great English heroine, Anne Boleyn dramatises the life and legacy of Henry VIII';s notorious second wife, who helped change the course of the nation';s history. Premiered at Shakespeare's Globe in 2010. Best New Play, Whatsonstage.com Awards Traditionally seen as either the pawn of an ambitious family manoeuvred into the King';s bed or as a predator manipulating her way to power, Anne – and her ghost – are seen in a very different light in Howard Brenton';s epic play. Rummaging through the dead Queen Elizabeth';s possessions upon coming to the throne in 1603, King James I finds alarming evidence that Anne was a religious conspirator, in love with Henry VIII but also with the most dangerous ideas of her day. She comes alive for him, a brilliant but reckless young woman confident in her sexuality, whose marriage and death transformed England for ever. 'This is no dry and dusty history lesson... a witty and engrossing impression of the times that gave birth to our first Elizabethan age, and the subsequent reformation' British Theatre Guide 'The play bursts through the constraints of costume drama'The Independent 'What an absolute delight... a beautifully-written piece of theatre that instantly draws you in into the life and times of both Anne Boleyn and King James I' Whatsonstage.com
A funny, touching and at times savage portrait of a family full of longing that';s losing its grip – The Last of the Haussmans is a play examining the fate of the revolutionary generation. It premiered at the National Theatre in 2012, starring Julie Walters and Rory Kinnear. Anarchic, feisty but growing old, high-society drop-out Judy Haussman remains in spirit with the ashrams of the 1960s, while holding court in her dilapidated art deco house on the Devon coast. After an operation, she';s joined by her wayward offspring, her sharp-eyed granddaughter, a local doctor and a troubled teenager who makes use of the family';s crumbling swimming pool. Over a few sweltering months they alternately cling to and flee a chaotic world of all-day drinking, infatuations, long-held resentments, free love and failure. 'A knockout - entertaining, sad and outrageous. [Stephen Beresford] is going to be a major name' Observer 'Beresford's drama is frequently a hoot... you can't not enjoy' Metro 'Beresford's debut is thoughtful and fresh, delighting in the savagery of a dysfunctional family... deliciously comical... drips with smart lines' Evening Standard
A remote cabin on the cliffs, a man and a woman, and a moonless night. A bewitching play by Jez Butterworth, author of the global smash-hit Jerusalem. The River was premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2012, starring Dominic West (The Wire).
An insider';s guide to achieving that dream career – by one of the brightest stars in musical theatre. Being in a West End or Broadway musical is the dream of thousands of talented performers. But competition is intense and reaching the spotlight can often require a leap into the dark. So You Want To Be In Musicals? is your comprehensive guide to building – and sustaining – a successful career in musical theatre, and introduces you to everything you need to know about: Training – how to select a drama school, what to do to get in, and what to do once you';re there Auditioning – how to choose and prepare your pieces, and foster a positive attitude towards auditions Rehearsing – how to construct your character, work with the director, and develop your own creative process Performing – how to deal with nerves, what to do as an understudy, and how to sustain that eight-show-a-week routine Working – how to get an agent, how to market yourself effectively, and how to maintain a healthy body and mind Along with a wealth of honest, straightforward advice, the book is packed with instructive anecdotes from Ruthie';s own glittering career. It was co-written by Daniel Bowling, music director for Cameron Machintosh Ltd. 'A must for fans and aspiring performers alike' broadwayworld.com 'Helpful and informative' British Theatre Guide
This volume of Conor McPherson's collected plays, covering a decade of writing, celebrates a fascination with the uncanny which has led him to be described as 'quite possibly the finest playwright of his generation' (New York Times). In Shining City, a man seeks help from a counsellor, claiming to have seen the ghost of his dead wife. The play, premiered at the Royal Court, London, is 'up there with The Weir, moving, compassionate, ingenious and absolutely gripping' (Daily Telegraph) The Seafarer, premiered at the National Theatre before going on to become a Tony Award-winning Broadway hit, tells the story of an extended Christmas Eve card game, but one played for the highest stakes possible. 'McPherson proves yet again he is both a born yarn-spinner and an acute analyst of the melancholy Irish manhood' (Guardian) Set in 'the big house' in 1820s rural Ireland, The Veil is McPherson's first period play. Seventeen-year-old Hannah is to be married off in order to settle the debts of the crumbling estate. But when Reverend Berkeley arrives, determined to orchestrate a séance, chaos is unleased. 'A cracking fireside tale of haunting and decay' (The Times) The Birds, hauntingly adapted from the short story by Daphne du Maurier, is 'deliciously chilling, claustrophobic, questioning, frightening; and with a twist' (Irish Independent). It is published here for the first time, as is The Dance of Death, a new version of Strindberg's classic, which premiered at the Trafalgar Studios in London. 'A spectacularly bleak yet curiously bracing drama that often makes you laugh out loud' (Daily Telegraph) Completing the volume is a Foreword by the author.
An inimitably warm and stylish play that deftly mines the humanity to be found in the most unlikely of situations. Tommy's not a bad man, he's getting by. Renting a run-down room in his uncle Maurice's house, just about keeping his ex-wife and kids at arm's length and rolling from one get-rich-quick scheme to the other with his pal Doc. Then one day he comes to the aid of Aimee, who's not had it easy herself, struggling through life the only way she knows how. Their past won't let go easily. But together there's a glimmer of hope they could make something more of their lives. Something extraordinary. Perhaps. The Night Alive premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, London in June 2013, directed by Conor McPherson.
One bathroom. Two people. One day. A relationship witnessed in minute, devastating detail. A story of intimacy, fragility and the darker side of love, Jack Thorne's Mydidae exposes the private and disturbing moments a couple share, and explores what becomes of a relationship when it is held together not only by love, but by fear, guilt and despair. 'A two-hander full of unexpected menace that probes and chips at its characters, peeling back layers of skin... a potent piece of writing' Exeunt Magazine 'Like a punch in the gut... what makes all of this not only bearable but completely transfixing is the unmistakeable honesty of the writing' Whatsonstage.com
A gripping historical drama that dramatises a crucial moment of English history. Premiered at Hampstead Theatre in October 2012. December 1648. The Army has occupied London. Parliament votes not to put the imprisoned king on trial, so the Army moves against Westminster in the first and only military coup in English history. What follows over the next fifty-five days, as Cromwell seeks to compromise with a king who will do no such thing, is nothing less than the forging of a new nation, an entirely new world. Howard Brenton's play depicts the dangerous and dramatic days when, in a country exhausted by Civil War, a few great men attempt to think the unthinkable: to create a country without a king. 'A forgotten era of revolutionary British history is fascinatingly unlocked... electrifying.' Whatonstage.com '[A] confident and idea-packed piece... It could have been a dour history lesson. Instead it engages with the present, raising some pungent questions about the kind of democracy we have in Britain today.' Evening Standard
A moving story of love and loyalty, courage and fear, based on Rattigan's own experiences as a tail gunner in the Second World War. 1942. The Falcon Hotel, on the Lincolnshire coast. RAF bomber pilot Teddy is celebrating a reunion with his actress wife Patricia. When Peter, Patricia's ex-lover and Hollywood heart-throb, arrives and an urgent bombing mission over Germany is ordered, Patricia finds herself at the centre of an emotional conflict as unpredictable as the war in the skies. This edition contains an authoritative introduction by Rattigan scholar Dan Rebellato. 'A three-handkerchief weepie that somehow manages to be both profoundly moving and wonderfully funny' Telegraph 'Devastating and uplifting' Evening Standard 'Tender, funny and overwhelmingly moving' The Arts Desk
The powerful debut play from Alexi Kaye Campbell, winner of an Olivier Award, the Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, and the John Whiting Award for Best New Play. Alternating between 1958 and 2008, The Pride examines changing attitudes to sexuality, looking at intimacy, identity and the courage it takes to be who you really are. The 1958 Philip is in love with Oliver, but married to Sylvia. The 2008 Oliver is addicted to sex with strangers. Sylvia loves them both. This new edition of the play was published alongside its revival at the Trafalgar Studios in the West End in 2013. 'marvellous, sad and blisteringly funny... a brave and rewarding drama that speaks to us all' Guardian 'ingenious and imaginative' Evening Standard 'a remarkable debut from a daring dramatist' Telegraph
A moving, comical and eye-opening story of four young women fighting for education and self-determination against the larger backdrop of women's suffrage. 1896. Girton College, Cambridge, the first college in Britain to admit women. The Girton girls study ferociously and match their male peers grade for grade. Yet, when the men graduate, the women leave with nothing but the stigma of being a 'blue stocking' - an unnatural, educated woman. They are denied degrees and go home unqualified and unmarriageable. In ?Blue Stockings?, Tess Moffat and her fellow first years are determined to win the right to graduate. But little do they anticipate the hurdles in their way: the distractions of love, the cruelty of the class divide or the strength of the opposition, who will do anything to stop them. The play follows them over one tumultuous academic year, in their fight to change the future of education. 'Cracking... leaves you astonished at the prejudices these educational pioneers had to overcome' Guardian 'Lively and eye-opening' Independent 'Touching and entertaining... Swale tells the story with both wit and a hint of righteous indignation' Telegraph
A white-knuckle ride through a nightmare Dublin, where enemies and allies are interchangeable, this electrifying play won the George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. First we meet Howie. He tells us how, one night, he gets caught up in a gang intent on beating up Rookie. He's supposed to be baby-sitting his five-year-old brother, but he goes just the same. They beat up Rookie. Howie returns to discover a horrible accident has happened to the little boy. Then we hear the story from Rookie's point of view... 'grabs you by the collar and head-butts you into submission' Sunday Times 'a magnificent mix of violence and poignancy' The Stage 'mesmerising... funny, tragic, shocking and disturbing in turn' Scotsman
Phoebe Waller-Bridge's debut play is an outrageously funny but poignant look at responsibility and sexuality in today's young people. The Fleabag bites back. A rip-roaring account of some sort of a female living her sort of life, this comic monologue for a female performer won numerous awards throughout 2014, including the Critics' Circle Most Promising Playwright Award, 2014 (Joint Winner); Fringe First Award, Edinburgh Fringe, 2013; Off West End Awards Most Promising Playwright, 2014; Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Special Commendation, 2014. It was also nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. Fleabag premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2013, before going on to have two runs at Soho Theatre, London. 'sucker-punch funny... I've never seen a play quite like it' Scotsman 'frank and sometimes brutally funny... devastatingly good' The Times 'bitingly funny and genuinely moving... clever and tender and true' A Younger Theatre
My First Play is a unique collection of pieces by playwrights, actors and theatre directors – all of them regular Nick Hern Books authors – in response to the simplest of briefs: write about your first play. Candid, hilarious, and often sharply revealing, the resulting pieces – many of them written in the hurly-burly of work on a new production – combine to prove the power of theatre to entrance us, and hold us captive in its spell. Included here are remarkable first-person accounts from many of our leading playwrights: Caryl Churchill performing Cinderella to her parents with a cast of dolls and stuffed animals; Howard Brenton pinching his first main character from a boy's comic; Jack Thorne having to become a thief to get his first play on; Conor McPherson still waiting to write his ‘first play'. There are also enthralling insights into the first steps in theatre of some of our principal actors and theatre directors: Antony Sher discovering theatre in Cape Town during the apartheid years; Dominic Cooke paying the price for using a real knife in performance; Harriet Walter's photographic recall of the annual outing to Peter Pan; Richard Eyre on an open-air performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream that descends into chaos. Published to celebrate twenty-five years of Nick Hern Books, the royalties from the sale of this magical collection of sixty-six miniature autobiographies will be donated to the Theatre Section of the Writers' Guild.
A gripping and urgent play about a well-meaning teacher who intervenes on behalf of a troublesome student, with terrifying consequences. Joint Winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2008. When white secondary-school teacher Amanda is pushed to the ground by black student Jason, she's reluctant to report him as she knows exclusion could condemn him to a future as troubled as his past. But when Jason decides to protect himself by spinning a story of his own, Amanda is sucked into a vortex of lies in which victim becomes perpetrator. With the truth becoming less clear and more dangerous by the day, it isn't long before careers, relationships and even lives are under threat. 'A tough, gripping spectacle' Guardian 'Outstanding... Franzmann manages to make all the characters credible and well-rounded, even the damaged perpetrator... She gets to the rotten core of what's going on in these melting-pot battlegrounds... The play of the year? In my book, quite possibly' Dominic Cavendish,Telegraph
A witty and heartfelt look at a family falling apart – and pulling together – when life doesn't turn out quite the way they imagined. The debut play by Olivier Award-winning actor Rory Kinnear. It's Andy Griffith's twenty-first birthday. Not that he's counting. But his mother Carol is. Counting the minutes until he arrives, counting the unexpected guests, counting the times that something like this has happened before. 'Remarkable... a family drama that slowly grows to an overwhelming pitch... asks profound questions about how reconcilliation can be achieved and love restored' Telegraph 'Grips like a vice' Whatsonstage.com 'vivid and unsentimental...flecked with wry humour' Evening Standard
