From high-class hookers to 7/7 survivors these monologues paint a revelatory picture of Britain as it is today. After rave reviews at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival and in New York, "Eight" opened in London's West End in July 2009.

    Ayckbourn's series of plays for 4-5 actors typify his black comedies of human behaviour. The plays are alternately naturalistic, stylised and farcical, but underlying each is the problem of loneliness. The Mother Figure shows a mother unable to escape from baby talk; in The Drinking Companion, an absentee husband attempts seduction without success; in Between Mouthfuls, a waiter oversees a fraught dinner encounter. A garden party gets out of hand in Gosforth's Fete, whilst A Talk in the Park is a revue style curtain call piece for the five actors. Whether the comedies concern marital conflict, infidelity or motherhood and take place on a park bench or at a village fete, the characters are familiar and their cries for help instantly recognisable. Principally he is respected as a radical re-inventor of form - Dominic Dromgoole.

    But Emma is completely different from every other woman he's met. Suddenly he's the one seemingly doing the chasing.Can he turn this flirtationship into something real?

    But only one woman has ever captured his heart. When mysterious feathers keep blowing in his path, will Kenneth’s only wish come true this Christmas…

    His work is inventive, disciplined and, at the same time, wild and evocative. His ear is splendid and his mind is agile.”—Edward Albee“An original, a maverick wordsmith whose weird, wry dramas gurgle with the grim humor and pain of life. Eno specializes in the connections of the unconnected, the apologetic murmurings of the disengaged.”—GuardianWinner of the 2004 Oppenheimer Award for best New York debut by an American playwright, The Flu Season is a reluctant love story, in spite of itself. Set in a hospital and a theater, it is a play that revels in ambivalence and derives a flailing energy from its doubts whether a love story is ever really a love story.Will Eno has been called “a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation” (New York Times)—he is a playwright with an extraordinary voice and a singular theatrical vision. Also included in this volume are Tragedy: A Tragedy and Intermission.Will Eno is the author of Thom Pain (based on nothing), which ran for a year Off-Broadway and was a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist. Other works include Oh, the Humanity and other good intentions, The Flu Season, Tragedy: a tragedy, and Intermission.

    A short critical essay which considers the significance of the title.

    

    He enlists the aid of his lifelong buddy, Aldo Scalicki, a confirmed bachelor who tries, without apparent success, to convince Huey that he would be better off sticking with his new lady friend, Teresa, a usually placid young waitress whose indignation flares when she learns what Huey is up to. In a moonlit balcony scene (hilariously reminiscent of Cyrano de Bergerac) Aldo pleads his lovesick friend's case and, to his astonishment, Janice capitulates although not for long. However we do learn that her earlier abuse of Huey was intended to make him "act like a man" which, at last, he does. And, more than that, he (and the audience) become aware that, in the final essence, "the greatest and only success is to be able to love" a truth which emerges delightfully from the heartwarming, wonderfully antic and always imaginatively conceived action of the play.

    A series of scenes that gradually tell the story of how the financial collapse affects a British couple and how fiscal worry, stress, and fear can strain mankind's greatest emotion.

    In Eyes for Consuela, based on Octavio Paz’s classic story “The Blue Bouquet,” a vacationing American encounters a knife-toting Mexican bandit on a gruesome quest. And in When the World Was Green, cowritten with Joseph Chaikin, a journalist in search of her father interviews an old man who resolved a generations-old vendetta by murdering the wrong man. Together, these plays form a powerful trio from an enduring force in American theater.

    

    But when a domestic disturbance call takes a turn for the worse, their friendship is put on the line. The result is a difficult journey into a moral gray area where trust and loyalty struggle for survival against a sobering backdrop of pimps, prostitutes, and criminal lowlifes.A dark duologue filled with sharp storytelling and biting repartee, A Steady Rain explores the complexities of a lifelong bond tainted by domestic affairs, violence, and the rough streets of Chicago.

    At first, the new doctor cures anything

    Someone - or something - is leaving bite marks in the avocados, Clay and Kelly's little daughter has an itch, and Carol can't remember who played Gandhi. This work takes a look at phoney liberal values.

    Thanks for sharing their lives with us. Reminds me of my family’s toffee legacy. As the only daughter the receipe falls on my shoulders. I laughed at the antics of Ethel and Carol as it hit home with me. Can’t wait to read more. Merry Christmas Diane from Colorado -Diane C Boyle ★★★★★ Five Stars Love all the stories! November 26, 2017 Love all the stories! I love the "clean" romance, and the spirit of the characters. With all the hate, violence, and over sexualization in books, TV, movies, news, these stories took me to a place where people are kind and beautiful in heart. I'm smiling from ear to ear! - Penguin812 “So holiday perfect! 6 Inspirational and funny books, heartwarming, and delightful to read! As a senior I was really happy to see older characters having romances as well! The inhabitants of Kissing Bridge are so cute I want to live there! S.Stevens - Kindle Good Books“Linda West has such a knack for the humorous side of characters … Her writing style is so upbeat and unique I hope to see more of these characters I’ve come to love - I laughed my butt off over Kat's story with her long distance boyfriend. I laughed so hard my husband kept asking me what I was reading. I love Kissing Bridge!”Debbie Dragna< Book 1 - Christmas Kisses and Cookies - Supermodel Summer Landers is forced to return home from LA to Christmas crazy and ultra adorable Kissing Bridge Mountain. She discovers her family blue ribbon cookie winning legacy is in shambles. Together with her mom and older Aunt they work to beat their rivals and Martha Stewart. Book 2 - Holiday Kisses and Valentine Wishes - Dodie is broken hearted when she comes to stay at the Kissing Bridge lodge. She finds herself falling for a soldier she writes letters to. She never imagined he'd show up in Kissing Bridge. Book 3 - Chocolate Kisses and Heartfelt Wishes - Olympic hopeful Kacey Anderson comes home to Kissing Bridge to heal and secretly train against her coaches wishes. A compelling activist makes her question her true path in life and love. Book 4 - Firework Kisses and Summertime Wishes - Sweet Elle is broken hearted when her longtime boyfriend dumps her because she's not good enough to be his future wife. She finds solace in her horses and a stranger that has lost as much as she has. Book 5 - Christmas Wishes and Paris Kisses - Kat O'hara is a writer that can't write. Her long distance relationship is putting a strain on her nerves and her diet. When she meet a stunning stranger, Raj Kumar from India, she dislikes him immediately. A super funny odd couple, they are thrown together in a night class, and transform each others lives. 6 - Christmas Belles and Mistletoe - Kissing Bridge is in an uproar when the Landers' famous blue ribbon cookie recipe is stolen. Everyone is a suspect, especially Mrs. Beaverton who's been stealing kisses from all the men in town that happen anywhere near hanging mistletoe. It's a cosy mystery only a Christmas miracle and Santa can solve. Magical recipes and secret baby's delight all in this HEA set.