When the Second World War air raids threaten their safety in the city, Carrie and her brother Nick are evacuated to a small Welsh village. But the countryside has dangers and adventures of its own – and a group of characters who will change Carrie's life forever. There's mean Mr Evans, who won't let the children eat meat; but there’s also kind Auntie Lou. There's brilliant young Albert Sandwich, another evacuee, and Mr Johnny, who speaks a language all of his own. Then there's Hepzibah Green, the witch at Druid’s Grove who makes perfect mince pies, and the ancient skull with its terrifying curse…For adults and young people aged eight and over.Emma Reeves has created a stunning stage adaptation of Nina Bawden’s much loved classic account of life as an evacuee in the 1940s, which opened at the Lillian Bayliss Theatre in November 2006. This edition includes teachers' notes and activities for classes based on the play.‘I doubt… anything will beat this traditional page-to-stage adaptation for ceaselessly involving telling of a cracking story’ – Evening Standard ‘Irresistible’ – Sunday Telegraph , Critic's Choice‘Richly entertaining. Funny & deeply rewarding’ – Daily Telegraph , Critic’s Choice‘Consistently excellent’ – The Times , Critic’s Choice‘Dramatic, imaginative and polished’ – Evening Standard , Critic’s Choice‘Excellent. Truly refreshing story-telling’ – Daily Mail
Combining a lyrical text, immersive staging and an enigmatic and compelling performance style, Autobiographer draws us into the unravelling mind of its central character, Flora. Voiced by multiple performers, Flora reveals a curious and evocative portrait of a life refracted through the lens of dementia, layered from fragments of stories and pulses of memory. This tender, poetic and thrilling performance features a cast of four and a bold and electrifying score of voice and sound.' Autobiographer successfully presents us with one reality of dementia and our attitudes to it… deeply poetical' – Exeunt Magazine 'Wilson uses an unobtrusive vocabulary to say something quietly surprising. It is the beauty of telling stories, even when there is no narrative. And it is the importance of people connecting, especially if we don’t know who we are' 4 stars – Spoonfed 'This show is a long poem, shakily and delicately sketched in our minds by four women, who in similar clothing represent the life of one woman… A clear amount of loving research has gone into this work, which considers the terrible nature of dementia without making it overly sentimental' 4 stars – The Public Reviews ‘Heartfelt and lyrical’ – Guardian ‘ Autobiographer is a work of vivid poetry’ – Time Out London
The wind gathers, rising up suddenly.Two men on a fragile boat, a trip to sea – a few drinks, a bite to eat – when one of them decides to push on to the open ocean. Suddenly there they are: among the distant islands, the threatening fog and gathering swell of the sea, bound together on an odyssey into the unknown.Jon Fosse’s work includes novels, poetry, essays and books for children. He is one of the most produced playwrights in Europe and his plays have been translated into forty languages. Oberon Books publishes Nightsongs and The Girl on the Sofa , and his other plays in the following collections: Plays One, Plays Two, Plays Three, Plays Four and Plays Five . Plays Six is forthcoming in 2013.Oberon Books also publishes The Luminous Darkness: The Theatre of Jon Fosse by Leif Zern (translated by Ann Henning-Jocelyn).
The Welsh Boy , a lusty tale of youthful passion, is a scintillating rediscovery of one of the hidden gems of eighteenth century literature bringing back to life a true story of passionate love and outrageous sexual scandal. James ‘Jem’ Parry is blessed with a wonderful singing voice that has allowed him to escape his humble origins in South Wales. Mary Powell is the richest heiress in the district and also its loveliest, and its most daring. When Mary engages Jem as her music master their lessons at the spinet turn into tutorials in the most heavenly pleasures. But love is one thing, sex another and marriage yet a third. The Welsh Boy is based on The True Anti-Pamela , the personal diaries of James Parry which he had published as an act of revenge against his former lover Mary Powell. He saw their torrid affair as a direct inversion of Samuel Richardson's contemporary bestseller, Pamela, Or Virtue Rewarded , with himself in the role of lowly-born innocent and his lover the aristocratic villain of the piece.
It seems a long way from Molière to Ray Cooney.There are immense distances between the worlds ofAristophanes, Plautus, Georges Feydeau, Ben Travers,Joe Orton and Basil Fawlty. But as one of the oldestgenres in the history of the theatre, farce bridges thegaps by generating gales of helpless belly laughteracross the generations.Inspired by John Mortimer’s observation that farce is‘tragedy played at a thousand revolutions a minute’,Roger Foss embarks on a lightning tour of therib-tickling world of confused characters, absurdsituations, ruined reputations, sexual innuendo andbravura comic acting and finds out if farce really is aforce to be reckoned with in the 21st century.The great creators and performers of farce arecelebrated, most notably master farceur Ray Cooney,who celebrates his 80th birthday in 2012, in essaysthat will inform and entertain both the aficionadoand anyone with a sense of humour.
As big-hearted patriarch David clings to a deal that could save both his ailing catering firm and his cherished standing in the Edgware Jewish community, his children are at loggerheads.‘You must have heard him banging on about the long line of Rosenbergs, stretching back to the Bible. He reckons some ancient relative catered the Last Supper.’While eldest son Danny fights for the Israelis in Gaza, his sister investigates war crimes in the same conflict. Their brother drinks and brawls and refuses to join their father's business. But when tragedy strikes, each family member is forced to confront head-on the clash between individual identity and the demands and expectations of community. The Holy Rosenbergs explores tribal loyalties, the culpability of family and the consequences of standing up for what you believe to be right.
On holiday with her streetwise son in Lagos, a British-Nigerian mother is in turmoil. Should she leave her only child in a strict Lagos boarding school, or return him to the battlefields of inner London? A family spanning three generations and two continents meet in Lagos for the first time in over thirty years. But the joy of reunion unleashes long-suppressed truths.‘A funny and poignant play. All parents agonise about educational choices for their children. For Black and Diaspora parents, race and culture make the decision-making even more complex.’ – Diane Abbott MP‘Honest, simple and enthralling… What makes this play incredible, is not only the humour that runs throughout, but the real life portrayal of relationships… absolutely brilliant’ – Public Reviews ‘It’s firecracker theatre that, in places, is as touching as is it hilarious.’ – The Stage
This is the first adaptation of Treasure Island with great parts for both male and female performers. Inspired by real-life female adventurers, Phil Willmott has changed the gender of several of the central characters without compromising the spirit of Stevenson's classic novel. First produced to great acclaim as part of London's Free Theatre Festival on the South Bank in 2005, this swashbuckling stage adaptation brings out all the comedy and adventure of this ever-popular story. The play can be simply staged, is suitable for performance by kids and adults and can be adapted to suit a large company or a small team playing several roles.
At their stylish country retreat, Freda and Robert Caplan host a dinner party for their colleagues and friends, all executives at a transatlantic publishing company. Young, beautiful and successful they have the world at their feet.Then a cigarette box and an ill-considered remark spark off a relentless series of revelations and other, more dangerous secrets are painfully exposed. As the truth spills out about the suicide of Robert's clever, reckless brother, and the group's perfect lives begin to crumble, the cost of professional and social success becomes frighteningly plain.
‘It is a solemn thing to hear, in a darkened room, the voice of a child…’Using Charles Dickens’ original words, a handful of tunes stolen from the vivid world of Victorian music-hall, and a chameleon ensemble of thirteen actors, Neil Bartlett’s powerful version of Oliver Twist brings the dark underbelly of nineteenth-century London back to bold theatrical life. The unforgettable characters – Fagin, Nancy, Bill Sikes, and the Artful Dodger – inhabit a world filled with images of danger and fear, innocence and hope; a world seen through the eyes of an astonished child. This version was first performed at the Lyric Hammersmith in 2004.