Methuen Drama Book of 21st Century British Plays: "Blue/orange"; "Elmina's Kitchen"; "Realism"; "Gone Too Far!"; "Pornography" (Play Anthologies)

by Anthony Neilson (Author), Aleks Sierz (Editor), Bola Agbaje (Author), Kwame Kwei-Armah (Author), Joe Penhall (Author), Simon Stephens (Author), Aleks Sierz (Editor), Anthony Neilson (Author)

New
Paperback
2010
$37.58

The Methuen Drama Book of 21st Century British Plays showcases five of the best new plays from the first decade of the twenty-first century. A perfect reminder of the relevance, vitality and innovation of British theatre, this collection represents some of the most exciting plays to emerge in recent years. Joe Penhall's multi-award-winning Blue/Orange was heralded as 'one of the best new plays in the National's history' (Sunday Times). Set in a mental hospital it provides a riveting exploration of racism, health and power, and was the winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play 2001. Elmina's Kitchen by Kwame Kwei-Armah, about gun crime and the struggle to make a living on Hackney's Murder Mile, marked the emergence of a major new writing talent. 'An exquisite tragi-comedy for our times' (Herald) Neilson's Realism dramatises the everyday life and increasingly bizarre fantasies and thoughts of its protagonist with comic zeal and inspired inventiveness. Gone Too Far! explores a London community divided by race and prejudice. The first play to be written about the London 7/7 terrorist bombings, Simon Stephens' Pornography tells seven entwining stories of people's lives during the day leading up to the catastrophic event.

Synopsis

The Methuen Drama Book of 21st Century British Plays showcases five of the best new plays from the first decade of the twenty-first century. A perfect reminder of the relevance, vitality and innovation of British theatre, this collection represents some of the most exciting plays to emerge in recent years. Joe Penhall's multi-award-winning Blue/Orange was heralded as 'one of the best new plays in the National's history' (Sunday Times). Set in a mental hospital it provides a riveting exploration of racism, health and power, and was the winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play 2001. Elmina's Kitchen by Kwame Kwei-Armah, about gun crime and the struggle to make a living on Hackney's Murder Mile, marked the emergence of a major new writing talent. 'An exquisite tragi-comedy for our times' (Herald) Neilson's Realism dramatises the everyday life and increasingly bizarre fantasies and thoughts of its protagonist with comic zeal and inspired inventiveness. Gone Too Far! explores a London community divided by race and prejudice. The first play to be written about the London 7/7 terrorist bombings, Simon Stephens' Pornography tells seven entwining stories of people's lives during the day leading up to the catastrophic event.

$37.58

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10 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 480
Publisher: Methuen Drama
Published: 26 Feb 2010
ISBN 10: 1408123916
ISBN 13: 9781408123911
Book Overview: Each of the plays has been a major hit at theatres during the last ten years Containing award-winning plays by established and emerging new writers, the collection is set to become a standard reference for students and anyone interested in contemporary theatre Blue/Orange was also awarded the Evening Standard & Critic's Circle Best Play Awards. Kwei-Armah was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising New Playwright for Elmina's Kitchen Gone Too Far! won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement 'Neilson is a writer at the height of his powers...an absolute joy from start to finish' (Herald on Realism)

Author Bio

Joe Penhall is the author of screenplay Enduring Love for Film Four, based on the Ian McEwan novel, the three-part TV drama Moses Jones besides a number of stage plays. Penhall Plays: 2 published in 2008. Kwame Kwei-Armah's most recent play, Let There Be Love was produced at the Tricycle Theatre, London, in 2008, and his first collection of plays will be published in July 2009. Anthony Neilson is an Artistic Associate of National Theatre of Scotland and a creator of pioneering, taboo-breaking new work. Neilson Plays: 2 published in 2008. Bola Agbaje had her first play Gone Too Far! produced at the Royal Court in 2007. It was revived owing to its success later that same year. Simon Stephens won the Olivier Award for Best New Play 2005 for On the Shore of the Wide World. Stephens Plays 2 published in 2009. Editor Aleks Sierz is the theatre critic of Tribune and a freelance theatre reviewer. His seminal study, In-Yer-Face Theatre, defined a new generation of writers and their work. In 2006 Methuen Drama published his guide, The Theatre of Martin Crimp.