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Steven Berkoff Plays 3
by Steven BerkoffThis is a collection of three history plays, each displaying the sparkling muscularity of language that marks Berkoff out as one of the foremost wordsmiths in the English language. Set in thirteenth-century England, Ritual in Blood looks at the persecution of the Jews. Messiah begins with the image of Christ on the cross and pits His humanity and transcendent goodness against the evil of those who would kill Him. Finally, Berkoff offers a sharp and accessible adaptation of Sophocles's Oedipus tragedy.
Steven Berkoff Plays 2: Decadence; Kvetch; Acapulco; Harry's Christmas; Brighton Beach Scumbags; Dahling You Were Marvelous; Dog; Actor
by Steven BerkoffWritten with characteristic Berkoff flair and an understanding of the subtle power and violence of the English language, this second collection of his plays includes Decadence, described by the Guardian as being 'enthused with Berkoff's violent, imagist, vivid wordplay'. The collection also includes Kvetch, Acapulco, Harry's Christmas, Brighton Beach Scumbags, Dahling You Were Marvellous, Dog and Actor, and is introduced by the author.
Steven Berkoff - Plays 1: East; West; Greek; Sink The Belgrano!; Massage Lunch; The Bow Of Ulysses; Sturm Und Drang
by Steven BerkoffSteven Berkoff is a phenomenon. Among the artists working in the theatre today he is probably the most theatrical - his special combination of speech, movement and spectacle is uniquely powerful. This first collection of his plays includes East, described by Berkoff as 'an outburst or revolt against the sloth of my youth and a desire to turn a welter of undirected passion and frustration into a positive form'. Also included in this collection are the plays West and Sink the Belgrano!
Steven Berkoff Plays 1: East; West; Greek; Sink the Belgrano!; Massage Lunch; The Bow of Ulysses; Sturm und Drang (Play Anthologies Ser.)
by Steven BerkoffSteven Berkoff is a phenomenon. Among the artists working in the theatre today he is probably the most theatrical - his special combination of speech, movement and spectacle is uniquely powerful. This first collection of his plays includes East, described by Berkoff as 'an outburst or revolt against the sloth of my youth and a desire to turn a welter of undirected passion and frustration into a positive form'. Also included in this collection are the plays West and Sink the Belgrano!
Steven Berkoff: One Act Plays (Play Anthologies)
by Steven BerkoffSteven Berkoff has been variously described as controversial, thrilling, electric and dynamic. A Renaissance man of the theatre, he is known equally for his writing, directing and acting. Collecting together nineteen one-act plays, this volume presents never-before-published material. Abusive, shocking and endlessly surprising, these sharply written pieces showcase Berkoff's trademark controversy, black humour and dramatic dialectics.Themes that haunt much of his work are present: his luxurious verbosity; his counterpoint of crude street-patter and elegiac proclamation; sex wars; class wars; dislocation and abandonment of love in a thankless and unyielding world. The selection of plays allows the performer and reader to experience Berkoff's fluid anarchic poetry at its most profane within the complete and pithy structure of the one-act play. Established plays such as The Biblical Tales (which enjoyed success in their 2010 run at the New End Theatre, Hampstead) stand alongside previously unpublished material, giving the range of Berkoff's work full expression, from his established thematic concerns to his new and unseen work.Perfect for student and amateur performances, this volume contains a full introduction by Geoffrey Colman, Head of Acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Steven Berkoff: One Act Plays (Play Anthologies)
by Steven BerkoffSteven Berkoff has been variously described as controversial, thrilling, electric and dynamic. A Renaissance man of the theatre, he is known equally for his writing, directing and acting. Collecting together nineteen one-act plays, this volume presents never-before-published material. Abusive, shocking and endlessly surprising, these sharply written pieces showcase Berkoff's trademark controversy, black humour and dramatic dialectics.Themes that haunt much of his work are present: his luxurious verbosity; his counterpoint of crude street-patter and elegiac proclamation; sex wars; class wars; dislocation and abandonment of love in a thankless and unyielding world. The selection of plays allows the performer and reader to experience Berkoff's fluid anarchic poetry at its most profane within the complete and pithy structure of the one-act play. Established plays such as The Biblical Tales (which enjoyed success in their 2010 run at the New End Theatre, Hampstead) stand alongside previously unpublished material, giving the range of Berkoff's work full expression, from his established thematic concerns to his new and unseen work.Perfect for student and amateur performances, this volume contains a full introduction by Geoffrey Colman, Head of Acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Stepping Stones
by Ingemar LindhStepping Stones is the book of a practitioner. It documents the work of a laboratory-based practice that investigated the principles of collective improvisation as a performance practice.
Stepping Stones
by Ingemar LindhStepping Stones is the book of a practitioner. It documents the work of a laboratory-based practice that investigated the principles of collective improvisation as a performance practice.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago: In Their Own Words (Theatre Makers)
by John MayerIn 1974, a group of determined, young high school actors started doing plays under the name of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, eventually taking residence in the basement of a church in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago. Thus began their unlikely journey to become one of the most prominent theatre companies in the world.Steppenwolf Theatre Company has changed the face of American Theatre with its innovative approach that blends dynamic ensemble performance, honest, straightforward acting, and bold, thought-provoking stories to create compelling theatre.This is the first book to chronicle this iconic theatre company, offering an account of its early years and development, its work, and the methodologies that have made it one of the most influential ensemble theatres today.Through extensive, in-depth interviews conducted by the author with ensemble members, this book reveals the story of Steppenwolf's miraculous rise from basement to Broadway and beyond. Interviewees include co-founders Jeff Perry, Gary Sinise and Terry Kinney, along a myriad of ensemble, staff, board members and others.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago: In Their Own Words (Theatre Makers)
by John MayerIn 1974, a group of determined, young high school actors started doing plays under the name of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, eventually taking residence in the basement of a church in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago. Thus began their unlikely journey to become one of the most prominent theatre companies in the world.Steppenwolf Theatre Company has changed the face of American Theatre with its innovative approach that blends dynamic ensemble performance, honest, straightforward acting, and bold, thought-provoking stories to create compelling theatre.This is the first book to chronicle this iconic theatre company, offering an account of its early years and development, its work, and the methodologies that have made it one of the most influential ensemble theatres today.Through extensive, in-depth interviews conducted by the author with ensemble members, this book reveals the story of Steppenwolf's miraculous rise from basement to Broadway and beyond. Interviewees include co-founders Jeff Perry, Gary Sinise and Terry Kinney, along a myriad of ensemble, staff, board members and others.
Stephenson Plays: A Memory of Water; Five Kinds of Silence; An Experiment with an Air Pump; Ancient Lights (Contemporary Dramatists)
by Shelagh StephensonThe first collection of plays by one of Britain's most acclaimed contemporary playwrights - "one of the most promising dramatic prospects of the new millennium" (Daily Telegraph)The collection includes the THE MEMORY OF WATER in which three sisters meet on the evening after their mother's funeral and fight out old troubles with one another. FIVE KINDS OF SILENCE is a terrifying portrayal of a family for whom rules, duties and punishments are the driving force. In AN EXPERIMENT WITH AN AIR PUMP in a world of scientific chaos, cloning and genetic engineering, the cellar of a house yields up the secrets of the scientific discoveries of 1799. In ANCIENT LIGHTS, Hollywood stars come home to the hills of Northumberland.The Memory of Water: "combines a flair for witty dialogue with a relish for the dynamics of theatre...a mistress of comic anguish" GuardianFive Kinds of Silence: "this quietly eloquent play" IndependentAn Experiment With An Air Pump: "teeming with interest, humour, eloquence and, above all, ideas...it's not often we see a new play with this much energy, variety and intelligence" IndependentAncient Lights: "a cracking, grown-up play...with a light touch that cuts surprisingly deep" Daily Telegraph
Stephenson Plays: A Memory of Water; Five Kinds of Silence; An Experiment with an Air Pump; Ancient Lights (Contemporary Dramatists)
by Shelagh StephensonThe first collection of plays by one of Britain's most acclaimed contemporary playwrights - "one of the most promising dramatic prospects of the new millennium" (Daily Telegraph)The collection includes the THE MEMORY OF WATER in which three sisters meet on the evening after their mother's funeral and fight out old troubles with one another. FIVE KINDS OF SILENCE is a terrifying portrayal of a family for whom rules, duties and punishments are the driving force. In AN EXPERIMENT WITH AN AIR PUMP in a world of scientific chaos, cloning and genetic engineering, the cellar of a house yields up the secrets of the scientific discoveries of 1799. In ANCIENT LIGHTS, Hollywood stars come home to the hills of Northumberland.The Memory of Water: "combines a flair for witty dialogue with a relish for the dynamics of theatre...a mistress of comic anguish" GuardianFive Kinds of Silence: "this quietly eloquent play" IndependentAn Experiment With An Air Pump: "teeming with interest, humour, eloquence and, above all, ideas...it's not often we see a new play with this much energy, variety and intelligence" IndependentAncient Lights: "a cracking, grown-up play...with a light touch that cuts surprisingly deep" Daily Telegraph
Stephens Plays: Bluebird; Christmas; Herons; Port (Contemporary Dramatists)
by Simon StephensFirst collection from the 2004 Pearson Award-winning playwrightSimon Stephens Plays: 1 brings together four of the early plays from the winner of the 2002 Pearson Best New Play Award. Since Bluebird in 1998, Stephens has gained recognition for humane plays that display a sharp observation and compassionate response to the lives of ordinary people in urban locations.Bluebird: Cabbie Jimmy overhears the weird, wonderful and violent tales of his passengers he confronts his past and his estranged wife. 'A rough gem of a play' - The TimesChristmas: One night in an East end pub, four men confront their past and brace themselves for an uncertain future. 'Beautifully crafted' - What's OnHerons: The disturbing story of one teenager on a violent estate in London, which saw Stephens nominated for an Olivier Award for Most Promising Playwright in 2001.Port: One woman's struggle to cope with and finally escape her life in Stockport. (Winner of Pearson Award for Best New Play.)'A brilliant writer of immense imagination with an acute observation of people's foibles' - Independent
Stephens Plays: One Minute; Country Music; Motortown; Pornography; Sea Wall (Contemporary Dramatists)
by Simon StephensThis second collection of plays by Simon Stephens, winner of the 2005 Olivier Award for Best New Play for On the Shore of the Wide World, perfectly showcases the development of one of the most exciting and impressive theatre talents of recent years. The range of plays in this volume displays a tough sensibility and a courage to confront the more unsettling challenges of our times.One Minute, first produced in 2003 and revived in London in 2008, has an uncomfortable resonance as it follows five characters variously affected by the disappearance of Daisy, an 11-year-old girl, from Seven Dials, Covent Garden. Country Music spotlights four fateful moments in the life of Jamie Carris during and after the prison sentences he has served for glassing one man and for killing another. Motortown, written in response to the War on Terror, is a blistering account of a young soldier's return home from Basra to an England he no longer recognises or connects with. Pornography captures Britain as it crashes from the euphoria and promise of the 2012 Olympics announcement into the devastation of the London bombings of 7/7. The final play, Sea Wall, is a one-act monologue about grief, following the drowning of a young child.
Stephens Plays: Harper Regan, Punk Rock, Marine Parade and On the Shore of the Wide World (Contemporary Dramatists)
by Simon StephensHarper Regan follows a woman's road trip through the heart of England in a violent and comic exploration of the moralities of sex and death. Quietly harrowing, this play is a barometer for our times exploring dark secrets and familial estrangement.Marine Parade is a musical about sex, betrayal and hope, set in a run-down B&B on Brighton's waterfront. A moving and poignant play, it 'captures the peculiar aroma of Brighton, with its mix of the bracing and the melancholy' (Guardian).Olivier award-winning play On the Shore of the Wide World is an epic piece about love, family, Roy Keane and the size of the galaxy.Punk Rock is based on Simon Stephens's experience as a teacher and he describes this play as 'The History Boys on crack'. It explores the underlying tensions and potential violence in a group of affluent, articulate seventeen year old students.
Stephens Plays: Three Kingdoms; The Trial of Ubu; Morning; Carmen Disruption (Contemporary Dramatists)
by Simon StephensFour plays inspired by and originating on the European stage from one of Britain's most important playwrights.Three Kingdoms was presented at Teater NO99 in Tallinn, Estonia on 17 September 2011, before opening at the Munich Kammerspiele, Germany, on 15 October 2011. 'An inconsolable mood of dread, abandon, violence and suspicion lurks beneath the show's skin of arty insouciance, and at times the script attains a lyrical pitch of accusation against the West that quite overrides the flippancy. There's something of value here.' Daily Telegraph;The Trial of Ubu premiered at the Schauspielhaus Essen in a co-production with the Toneelgroep Amsterdam. 'The play certainly gets at the banality of evil, and evokes the slow, sometimes dull, often uncertain slog of justice.' Sunday Times.Subtitled 'A Play For Young People', Morning was developed in partnership between the Lyric Hammersmith, London, and the Junges Theater, Göttingen. The Financial Times described it as 'theatrically daring and uncompromising'; Carmen Disruption, a reimagining of Bizet's opera, premiered at the Deutsche Spielhaus in spring, 2014, before its UK premiere at the Almeida, London, in April 2015. 'You can't help but be moved by the circumstances facing the five main characters. There's an understanding and a compassion amid the bleakness. And a fierce sense that something needs to change.' Guardian;
Stephens Plays: Bluebird; Christmas; Herons; Port (Contemporary Dramatists)
by Simon StephensFirst collection from the 2004 Pearson Award-winning playwrightSimon Stephens Plays: 1 brings together four of the early plays from the winner of the 2002 Pearson Best New Play Award. Since Bluebird in 1998, Stephens has gained recognition for humane plays that display a sharp observation and compassionate response to the lives of ordinary people in urban locations.Bluebird: Cabbie Jimmy overhears the weird, wonderful and violent tales of his passengers he confronts his past and his estranged wife. 'A rough gem of a play' - The TimesChristmas: One night in an East end pub, four men confront their past and brace themselves for an uncertain future. 'Beautifully crafted' - What's OnHerons: The disturbing story of one teenager on a violent estate in London, which saw Stephens nominated for an Olivier Award for Most Promising Playwright in 2001.Port: One woman's struggle to cope with and finally escape her life in Stockport. (Winner of Pearson Award for Best New Play.)'A brilliant writer of immense imagination with an acute observation of people's foibles' - Independent
Stephens Plays: Harper Regan, Punk Rock, Marine Parade and On the Shore of the Wide World (Contemporary Dramatists)
by Simon StephensHarper Regan follows a woman's road trip through the heart of England in a violent and comic exploration of the moralities of sex and death. Quietly harrowing, this play is a barometer for our times exploring dark secrets and familial estrangement.Marine Parade is a musical about sex, betrayal and hope, set in a run-down B&B on Brighton's waterfront. A moving and poignant play, it 'captures the peculiar aroma of Brighton, with its mix of the bracing and the melancholy' (Guardian).Olivier award-winning play On the Shore of the Wide World is an epic piece about love, family, Roy Keane and the size of the galaxy.Punk Rock is based on Simon Stephens's experience as a teacher and he describes this play as 'The History Boys on crack'. It explores the underlying tensions and potential violence in a group of affluent, articulate seventeen year old students.
Stephens Plays: Three Kingdoms; The Trial of Ubu; Morning; Carmen Disruption (Contemporary Dramatists)
by Simon StephensFour plays inspired by and originating on the European stage from one of Britain's most important playwrights.Three Kingdoms was presented at Teater NO99 in Tallinn, Estonia on 17 September 2011, before opening at the Munich Kammerspiele, Germany, on 15 October 2011. 'An inconsolable mood of dread, abandon, violence and suspicion lurks beneath the show's skin of arty insouciance, and at times the script attains a lyrical pitch of accusation against the West that quite overrides the flippancy. There's something of value here.' Daily Telegraph;The Trial of Ubu premiered at the Schauspielhaus Essen in a co-production with the Toneelgroep Amsterdam. 'The play certainly gets at the banality of evil, and evokes the slow, sometimes dull, often uncertain slog of justice.' Sunday Times.Subtitled 'A Play For Young People', Morning was developed in partnership between the Lyric Hammersmith, London, and the Junges Theater, Göttingen. The Financial Times described it as 'theatrically daring and uncompromising'; Carmen Disruption, a reimagining of Bizet's opera, premiered at the Deutsche Spielhaus in spring, 2014, before its UK premiere at the Almeida, London, in April 2015. 'You can't help but be moved by the circumstances facing the five main characters. There's an understanding and a compassion amid the bleakness. And a fierce sense that something needs to change.' Guardian;
Stephens Plays: One Minute; Country Music; Motortown; Pornography; Sea Wall (Contemporary Dramatists)
by Simon StephensThis second collection of plays by Simon Stephens, winner of the 2005 Olivier Award for Best New Play for On the Shore of the Wide World, perfectly showcases the development of one of the most exciting and impressive theatre talents of recent years. The range of plays in this volume displays a tough sensibility and a courage to confront the more unsettling challenges of our times.One Minute, first produced in 2003 and revived in London in 2008, has an uncomfortable resonance as it follows five characters variously affected by the disappearance of Daisy, an 11-year-old girl, from Seven Dials, Covent Garden. Country Music spotlights four fateful moments in the life of Jamie Carris during and after the prison sentences he has served for glassing one man and for killing another. Motortown, written in response to the War on Terror, is a blistering account of a young soldier's return home from Basra to an England he no longer recognises or connects with. Pornography captures Britain as it crashes from the euphoria and promise of the 2012 Olympics announcement into the devastation of the London bombings of 7/7. The final play, Sea Wall, is a one-act monologue about grief, following the drowning of a young child.
Stephen Ward: A Musical
by Christopher Hampton Don BlackStephen Ward charts the rise and fall from grace of the man at the centre of the Profumo Scandal. Friend to film stars, spies, models, government ministers and aristocrats, his rise and ultimate disgrace coincided with the increasingly permissive lifestyle of London's elite in the early 1960s. Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, with book and lyrics by Christopher Hampton and Don Black, centres on Ward's involvement with the young and beautiful Christine Keeler, which led to one of the biggest political scandals and most famous trials of the twentieth century. Stephen Ward premiered at the Aldwych Theatre, London, in December 2013.
Stephen Joseph: Theatre Pioneer and Provocateur (Biography and Autobiography)
by Paul ElsamA 1967 obituary in The Times labelled Stephen Joseph 'the most successful missionary to work in the English theatre since the second world war'. This radical man brought theatre-in-the-round to Britain, provoked Ayckbourn, Pinter and verbatim theatre creator Peter Cheeseman to write and direct, and democratised theatregoing. This monograph investigates his forgotten legacy.This monograph draws on largely unsorted archival material (including letters from Harold Pinter, J. B. Priestley, Peggy Ramsay and others), and on new interviews with figures including Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Trevor Griffiths and Sir Ben Kingsley, to demonstrate how the impact on theatre in Britain of manager, director and 'missionary' Stephen Joseph has been far greater than is currently acknowledged within traditional theatre history narratives. The text provides a detailed assessment of Joseph's work and ideas during his lifetime, and summarises his broadly-unrecognised posthumous legacy within contemporary theatre. Throughout the book Paul Elsam identifies Joseph's work and ideas, and illustrates and analyses how others have responded to them. Key incidents and events during Joseph's career are interrogated, and case studies that highlight Joseph's influence and working methods are provided.
Stephen Joseph: Theatre Pioneer And Provocateur (Biography and Autobiography)
by Paul ElsamA 1967 obituary in The Times labelled Stephen Joseph 'the most successful missionary to work in the English theatre since the second world war'. This radical man brought theatre-in-the-round to Britain, provoked Ayckbourn, Pinter and verbatim theatre creator Peter Cheeseman to write and direct, and democratised theatregoing. This monograph investigates his forgotten legacy.This monograph draws on largely unsorted archival material (including letters from Harold Pinter, J. B. Priestley, Peggy Ramsay and others), and on new interviews with figures including Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Trevor Griffiths and Sir Ben Kingsley, to demonstrate how the impact on theatre in Britain of manager, director and 'missionary' Stephen Joseph has been far greater than is currently acknowledged within traditional theatre history narratives. The text provides a detailed assessment of Joseph's work and ideas during his lifetime, and summarises his broadly-unrecognised posthumous legacy within contemporary theatre. Throughout the book Paul Elsam identifies Joseph's work and ideas, and illustrates and analyses how others have responded to them. Key incidents and events during Joseph's career are interrogated, and case studies that highlight Joseph's influence and working methods are provided.
Step 9 (of #12)
by Rob HayesKeith just wants to say he’s sorry. A lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse has given him a lot to apologise for – particularly to the two people who raised from a child. But as the memories of violence, betrayal, lies and recriminations are raked to the surface, it becomes clear that past actions can have shocking repercussions in the present. Forgiving is easy, forgetting is a different story.‘This could have become far-fetched but Hayes's acidic humour and natural, instinctively paced dialogue stop the play spilling into melodrama. Hayes has a rare talent for creating frighteningly powerful characters who remain spine-tinglingly tangible, despite their extraordinary actions.’ 4 STARS – Time Out ‘…a tense, intimately edgy experience. Step 9 (of 12), with its numerous soul-gripping revelations, creates a drama that will wrench from its audience deep feelings of empathy, and deeply felt opinions. It's a play that involves you wholly in its central dilemma: how to clench your fist tightly enough to hold firm, but not so tight as to crush? This is thrilling, unrestrained entertainment.’ - onthefringepaper.co.uk ‘Step 9 (of 12), a new piece by the Offie-nominated playwright Rob Hayes is the second piece of his I’ve seen... More considered, fluid and conscious than the first yet maintaining his special, dark, comic tone. This is, quite genuinely, fringe theatre at its absolute best, do try and catch this show before it finishes.’ 4 stars– whatsonstage.com
Stealing Sweets and Punching People (Oberon Modern Plays)
by Phil PorterEmily is sixteen. She lives with her dad and works in a junk shop with no customers. She’s got a nose like a white strawberry, hair like a demented angel and a terrible, terrible secret… Adolescence, sexuality and guilt come together in this richly theatrical, macabre and often hilarious play about an ordinary life going badly wrong…Stealing Sweets and Punching People was produced at the Latchmere Theatre, London, in October 2003.