Agatha Christie: The Lost Plays


Agatha ChristieMichael Turner - 2015
    A young woman is found dead in her flat, the day after Guy Fawkes night. Did she die by her own hand, or someone else's?In Personal Call, also written specially for radio by Agatha Christie, a disturbing telephone call from a woman named Fay has consequences for both Richard Brent and his wife Pam. This 1960 production stars Ivan Brandt and Barbara Lott.

Everything in the Garden


Edward Albee - 1968
    Albee there is a theme beneath the surface, in this case the corruption of money and the rottenness of this bigoted exurbia where conformity to its illiberal standards and its hypocritical show of respectability is all that counts. The scene is the suburban home of Jenny and Richard, beautifully played by Barbara Bel Geddes and Barry Nelson. The only thing that seems to stand in the way of their happiness is a lack of money. The action starts in an entertaining comedy of manners style. Then abruptly there enters a Mrs. Toothe in the menacing and fascinating person of Beatrice Straight who offers Jenny the opportunity to make more money than they have ever had, to buy a greenhouse and all the other luxuries that they require for their garden and their lives. Richard's realization that their newfound money is being earned by his wife's whoring comes almost simultaneously with the return of their fourteen-year-old son from school and a champagne cocktail party which they are giving to impress their country club friends. As a result, his horror, disgust and rage has to be kept under wraps in order to keep up essential appearances until tragedy strikes, and Richard realizes that the assembled wives are all involved and their husbands are aware and condoning." More than that, they are prepared not merely to justify but defend the ends through which their means are attained and the devastated Richard, left in agonized despair by the ironic events that charge the final moments of the play, must face the fact of his own share in their communal guilt.

The Personal Life of Queen Victoria


Sarah A. Southall Tooley - 2015
     First published in 1897 to coincide with Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, Tooley illustrates the woman behind the crown and empire. The writer moves seamlessly through the Queen’s life from her lonely childhood, to her intrepid early years as an unmarried queen, through the heady days of betrothal, the loving years of marriage and finally to her heart-wrenching life as a widow. Her home and court life are explored with anecdotes from those close to the Queen, creating a rare glimpse into the monarch’s personal tastes and characteristics. Praise for The Personal Life of Queen Victoria “The volume should meet the wishes of a large public in these days of diamond jubilees.” — Times. “The writer has been at great pains to collect her material, some of which is from new sources, and she has utilised the information to good purpose. Her style, which is clear and flowing, renders her book easy reading.” — Globe. “Altogether a very attractive personal biography.” — Pall Mall Gazette. “Mrs. Tooley, in addition to the ordinary sources of information, has been favoured with many special anecdotes and particulars of incidents in the Queen’s career. This gives her book a distinct value. It is very pleasantly written.” — Westminster Gazette. “In dealing with the personal side of the Queen’s life, as distinct from that aspect of it which has to do with Her Majesty’s public career, Mrs. Tooley has been enabled, apparently by persons moving in Court circles, to add largely to the store of pleasant anecdotes and incidents.” — Scotsman. “Written with fine taste and delicate reserve, the biography presents the Queen in such a manner as to enhance the affection with which all her subjects regard her..” — Independent. “An important addition to the many biographies that have been written about Her Majesty … Mrs. Tooley has accomplished her task in a manner which holds the reader’s attention from beginning to end.” — Queen.

Scary Stories


Ron Ripley - 2020
    Five macabre masterpieces, lovingly crafted from the darkest depths of your nightmares.This collection includes:Walking - A camping trip in the wilderness leads to bloodshed when an inexperienced outdoorsman trespasses on forbidden ground…The Bridge - A cancer patient’s recovery takes an unexpected turn when she discovers that cheating death comes with a hidden cost…Squatting - A homeless man seeking shelter from the cold discovers that some abandoned houses hold deadly ties to the past…Maker’s Hill - A curious ghost hunter unearths a town’s dark history of violence, and learns that some secrets are meant to stay buried…The First Bad Thing - The murder of a child’s furry friend sends him on a hunt for a vicious supernatural predator that only he can stop…There’s no end to the terror found within these tales of dread. But whatever you do, try not to scream too loud.You never know who might be listening in the dark…

Go Giants: Poems


Nick Laird - 2012
    Laird boldly engages with topics ranging from fatherhood and marriage to mass destruction and the cosmos. Go Giants is a brash, brave, and wildly imaginative new collection.From Go Giants:Go in peace to love and serve the.Go and get help. Go directly to jail.Go down in flames. Go up in smoke.Go for broke. Go tell Aunt Rhody.Go tell the Spartans. Go to hell.Go into detail. Go for the throat.

Blood Knot and Other Plays


Athol Fugard - 1989
    "A rare playwright, who could be a primary candidate for either the Nobel Prize in Literature or the Nobel Peace Prize."--Mel Gussow, The New Yorker

The Violet Hour


Richard Greenberg - 2004
    He has two manuscripts but lacks the funds to publish both. His difficult decision--whether to publish his lover's memoir or the novel written by his best friend--is further complicated by the arrival of a mysterious machine that produces pages predicting the future of the play's protagonists, affecting their lives and relationships in haunting and unexpected ways. "The Violet Hour" opened on Broadway on November 6, 2003, starring Robert Sean Leonard.

Teechers


John Godber - 1989
    Using the format of an end-of-term play, the new drama teacher's progress through two terms of recalcitrant classes, synical colleagues and obstructive caretakers is reviewed. Disillutioned, he departs for a safer private school.

Abigail's Party & Goose-Pimples


Mike Leigh - 1979
    While teenager Abigail parties a few doors away, the pretentious Beverly and her estate agent husband, Laurence, entertain their neighbours – Abigail’s mother, Susan, ex-footballer, Tony, and his wife, Angela. But as the alcohol flows, tensions in the hosts’ barely functional marriage emerge and their obsessions, prejudices and petty competitiveness are ruthlessly, and hilariously, exposed. ‘Goose-Pimples’, meanwhile, is easily as sharp and uncompromising. This time, the action focuses on ambitious casino croupier, Jackie, and Saudi businessman, Muhammad, who meet – and misunderstand – one another spectacularly.

Chekhov: The Cherry Orchard


James N. Loehlin - 2006
    In the century since its first performance, The Cherry Orchard has undergone a wide range of conflicting interpretations: tragic and comic, naturalistic and symbolic, reactionary and radical. Beginning with the 1904 premiere at Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theatre, this study traces the performance history of one of the landmark plays of the modern theatre. Considering the work of such directors as Anatoly Efros, Giorgio Strehler, Peter Brook, and Peter Stein, Chekhov: The Cherry Orchard explores the way different artists, periods and cultures have reinvented Chekhov's poignant comedy of failure and hope.

Hello Out There


William Saroyan - 1941
    

The Wife of Willesden


Zadie Smith - 2021
    Mother. Lover. Aunt. Friend.She plays many roles round here. And neverScared to tell the whole of her truth, whetherOr not anyone wants to hear it. WifeOf Willesden: pissed enough to tell her lifeStory to whoever has ears and eyes . . .'Zadie Smith's first time writing for the stage, The Wife of Willesden is a riotous twenty-first century translation of Geoffrey Chaucer's classic The Wife of Bath's Prologue, brought to glorious life on the Kilburn High Road.Commissioned to celebrate Brent's year as Borough of Culture 2020, The Wife of Willesden will premiere at the Kiln Theatre, London in September 2020.

hang (NHB Modern Plays)


debbie tucker green - 2015
    In her hands. A shattering play about one woman’s unspeakable decision. hang premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2015, in a production directed by the author, and featuring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Claire Rushbrook and Shane Zaza.

Independence


Lee Blessing - 1985
    Her oldest daughter, Kess, is a university professor in Minneapolis, but she has come home at the request of her sister, Jo who is concerned for Evelyn's mental health. Kess, a professed lesbian, wants to cut her family ties once and for all; Jo, an incurable romantic and longtime virgin, has now become pregnant; while Sherry, salty-tongued and amoral, wants only to finish high school so she can leave home for good. In the end, there is no accommodation possible but, instead, only a kind of arbitrary independence for each of the protagonists, as they come to realize that each must find her own heaven or hell in her own way.

Savage Instinct


Leila Jefferson - 2011
    At the tender age of eleven she is given to Bank Roll, who has his hand in every type of hustle, to settle a drug debt for her parents. Bank Roll is much older and once he sees how unique Lexi is, he breeds her to be his special girl, falling in love with her in the process. She loves him as well, but has him ripped away from her life too soon.While many use the ‘molested at a young age’ story as an excuse, Lexi takes the cards she is dealt and learns all she can because she’s a grown woman in a girl’s body. Not one to settle or let life take over her, she uses the gems she has learned over the years and dabbles in everything she can, just like her mentor. A few chance meetings put her in position to use what she has to get what she needs, and while still in her teen years not only is she on top of the world, but she is also running it. Lexi knows that street smarts can get you so far, but can her Savage instincts take her where she wants to be?