NHB Modern Plays Series

'I have people with skills who can do stuff. It's a small quibble but I refuse to constrain my personality.' A petty criminal is punished by his conscience when he becomes involved in a bungled kidnap. Conor McPherson's monologue play The Good Thief was first performed under the title The Light of Jesus by Fly By Night Theatre Company at the City Arts Centre, Dublin, on 18 April 1994. It was directed by Conor McPherson and performed by Kevin Hely. It was subsequently performed as a Loopline production, as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival on 4 October 1994. It was performed by Garrett Keogh and directed by Conor McPherson. The play was awarded the Stewart Parker Award, an annual award for the best Irish debut play.

A funny, touching and at times savage portrait of a family full of longing that's losing its grip – The Last of the Haussmans examines the fate of the revolutionary generation. Anarchic, feisty but growing old, high-society drop-out Judy Haussman remains in spirit with the ashrams of the 1960s, while holding court in her dilapidated art deco house on the Devon coast. After an operation, she's joined by her wayward offspring, her sharp-eyed granddaughter, a local doctor and a troubled teenager who makes use of the family's crumbling swimming pool. Over a few sweltering months they alternately cling to and flee a chaotic world of all-day drinking, infatuations, long-held resentments, free love and failure. Stephen Beresford's play The Last of the Haussmans was first staged at the National Theatre, London, in 2012, in a production starring Julie Walters and Rory Kinnear.

A celebration of a great English heroine, Anne Boleyn dramatises the life and legacy of Henry VIII's notorious second wife, who helped change the course of the nation's history. Traditionally seen as either the pawn of an ambitious family manoeuvred into the King's bed or as a predator manipulating her way to power, Anne – and her ghost – are seen in a very different light in Howard Brenton's epic play. Rummaging through the dead Queen Elizabeth's possessions upon coming to the throne in 1603, King James I finds alarming evidence that Anne was a religious conspirator, in love with Henry VIII but also with the most dangerous ideas of her day. She comes alive for him, a brilliant but reckless young woman confident in her sexuality, whose marriage and death transformed England for ever. Howard Brenton's play Anne Boleyn was first performed at Shakespeare's Globe, London, in July 2010, and was named Best New Play at the Whatsonstage.com Awards in 2011. The play was revived at the Globe in 2011 and toured regionally in 2012 in a joint production between Shakespeare's Globe and English Touring Theatre.

A gripping historical play that dramatises a crucial moment of English history. December 1648. The Army has occupied London. Parliament votes not to put the imprisoned king on trial, so the Army moves against Westminster in the first and only military coup in English history. What follows over the next fifty-five days, as Cromwell seeks to compromise with a king who will do no such thing, is nothing less than the forging of a new nation, an entirely new world. Howard Brenton's play depicts the dangerous and dramatic days when, in a country exhausted by Civil War, a few great men attempt to think the unthinkable: to create a country without a king. 55 Days was first performed at Hampstead Theatre, London, in October 2012, in a production directed by Howard Davies.

A deeply emotional comedy drama from the author of East is East, exploring the relationships we have with our roots, and with those that we love but don't always understand. Salford. Bonfire Night. A disparate group of warring siblings gather at the family home under the shadow of impending loss. Amidst the cut and thrust of spiky Salford banter, long harboured resentments rise to the surface, and loyalties are tested as family bonds unite and divide, unravel and unwind. Ayub Khan Din's play All the Way Home premiered at The Lowry in Salford in 2011.

An uplifting story of the triumph of love, inspiration and hope against all odds, laced with the song and dance of austere 1940s Britain.  Ricky Braithwaite, an ex-RAF fighter pilot and Cambridge graduate, arrives in London in 1948. Despite his First Class degree in electronic engineering he is turned down for job after job in his chosen profession and discovers the reality of life as a black man in post-war England. Taking the only job he can get, Ricky begins his first teaching post, in a tough but progressive East End school. Supported by an enlightened headmaster, the determined teacher turns teenage rebelliousness into self-respect, contempt into consideration and hate into love, and on the way, Ricky himself learns that he has more in common with his students than he had realised. Ayub Khan Din's play To Sir, With Love is based on E.R. Braithwaite's 1959 autobiographical novel of the same name. The play was first performed at Royal & Derngate, Northampton, in September 2013, and subsequently toured the UK.

A dark and penetrating thriller of modern morals. Captured in an award-winning shot, Alex was rescued from Rwanda and adopted by the man behind the lens. Years later, she's back from university, returning to the Hampstead home in which she was raised. As a long-hidden secret is exposed, the distance between father and daughter stretches taut. Vivienne Franzmann's play The Witness was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, in June 2012.

A timely play based on the true story of an imprisoned Nobel Laureate. On 3 April 2011, as he was boarding a flight to Taipei, the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Airport. Advised merely that his travel "could damage state security", he was escorted to a van by officials, after which he disappeared for eighty-one days. On his release, the government claimed that his imprisonment related to tax evasion. Howard Brenton's play is based on Ai Weiwei's account in Barnaby Martin's book Hanging Man, in which he told the story of that imprisonment - by turns surreal, hilarious, and terrifying. A portrait of the artist in extreme conditions, it is also an affirmation of the centrality of art and freedom of speech in civilised society. #aiww: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei was first performed at Hampstead Theatre, London, in April 2013.

A smart and provocative thriller about spies, double agents, and the opaqueness of the human soul. A young woman is found dead. Her sister sets out to find out what happened - and stumbles into a world of secrets and subterfuge that makes her question who Justine really was. How well can you ever know someone who lies for a living? Dawn King's play Ciphers was premiered at the Exeter Northcott Theatre in October 2013, in a co-production by Out of Joint, the Bush Theatre and Exeter Northcott Theatre, directed by Blanche McIntyre, before embarking on a UK tour.

Four boys face the tricky transition to adulthood in Ella Hickson's riot of a play. The Class of 2011 are about to graduate and Benny, Mack, Timp and Cam are due out of their flat. Stepping into a world that doesn't want them, these boys start to wonder whether there's any point in getting any older. How will they find the fight to make it as adults? Before all that they're going to have one hell of a party. It's hot and there'll be girls. Predict a riot. Ella Hickson's play Boys was first performed at the HighTide Festival, Halesworth, Suffolk, in May 2012, before transferring to the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, and Soho Theatre, London.

Rattigan's well-loved play about an unpopular schoolmaster who snatches a last shred of dignity from the collapse of his career and his marriage. Twice filmed (with Michael Redgrave and Albert Finney) and frequently revived. Andrew Crocker-Harris' wife Millie has become embittered and fatigued by her husband's lack of passion and ambition. On the verge of retirement, and divorce, Andrew is forced to come to terms with the platitude his life has become. Then John Taplow, a previously unnoticed pupil, gives Andrew an unexpected parting gift: a second-hand copy of Robert Browning's translation of Agamemnon – a gift which offers not only a opportunity for redemption, but the chance to gain back some dignity. The Browning Version was premiered at the Phoenix Theatre, London, in September 1948. This volume also contains Harlequinade, a farce about a touring theatre troupe, written to accompany The Browning Version in a double-bill under the joint title, Playbill. 'Few dramatists of this century have written with more understanding of the human heart than Terence Rattigan'Michael Billington This edition includes an authoritative introduction and biographical sketch by Rattigan scholar Dan Rebellato, along with a chronology of his plays.

Mary Shelley: daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft; lover of Shelley; author of Frankenstein… Helen Edmundson's compelling play explores a crucial episode in the early life of Mary Shelley – her meeting and scandalous elopement aged sixteen with Percy Bysshe Shelley, and its consequences for her sisters, her stepmother and above all, her troubled father, the political philosopher William Godwin. Mary Shelley was first staged in a co-production between Shared Experience, Nottingham Playhouse and West Yorkshire Playhouse, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, in March 2012.

In Who is Sylvia?, which premiered in the West End in 1950, where it ran for over a year, Rattigan seems to be offering a bittersweet portayal of his father - and maybe of his own frustrated love life. Also included in this volume is Duologue, a play for one actress originally written for television and appearing here for the first time in print. It was broadcast in 1968 and subsequently staged in 1976 in a double bill with The Browning Version.

A simple and delightfully inventive re-telling of the stories from the Arabian Nights. It is wedding night in the palace of King Shahrayar. By morning, the new Queen Shahrazad is to be put to death like all the young brides before her. But she has one gift that could save her – the gift of storytelling. With her mischievous imagination, the young Queen spins her dazzling array of tales and characters. On her side are Ali Baba, Es-Sindibad the Sailor and Princess Parizade – adventurers in strange and magical worlds populated by giant beasts, talking birds, devilish ghouls and crafty thieves. But will her silver-tongued stories be enough to enchant her husband and save her life? This revised edition of Dominic Cooke's Arabian Nights was published alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company's production in 2009.

In 1949, scientist and mathematician Dr Jacob Bronowski installs a hidden, locked room in his house. Fifty years later, his grandson discovers the secrets contained in the room, unearthing echoes from across six million years of human history. David Byrne's play Secret Life of Humans was first seen during a sell-out, award-winning run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017. It had its London premiere at New Diorama in April 2018, ahead of transferring Off-Broadway. David Byrne is a playwright and director. His other plays include a radical new version of George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London.

A funny and sardonic play about two brothers trapped in a love triangle with the woman they both love. Two brothers share the house they grew up in and then share the woman they both love. But as time passes and their family grows, the ties that bind them are tested to the limit. Spanning thirty years and offering a new slant on the eternal triangle, the plot is driven by involuntary cruelties, damaging accidents of fate and the terrible ravages of time. Simon Gray's play Japes was first performed at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, in November 2000 before transferring to the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, in February 2001.

Mike Bartlett's 'future history play' explores the people beneath the crowns, the unwritten rules of our democracy, and the conscience of Britain's most famous family. Queen Elizabeth II is dead. After a lifetime of waiting, her son ascends the throne. A future of power. But how to rule? Drawing on the style and structure of a Shakespearean history play, King Charles III opened at London's Almeida Theatre, directed by its Artistic Director Rupert Goold, in April 2014, before transferring to the West End. The play went on to win Best New Play at both the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and the Olivier Awards. It also won the South Bank Sky Arts Theatre Award.

A painfully comic excavation of a family history that asks if there is an authorised version of the past - or just the one we can live with. Kate Bane returns home to her parents for a winter weekend to introduce her new boyfriend. As the snow falls, Kate finds herself searching with increasing desperation for the truth about her family's past. Are her memories fact, or are they continually shifting acts of imagination? Unable to pin down the truth, can she write a version of the family mythology that will ensure her own happiness? Ella Hickson's play The Authorised Kate Bane first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in October 2012 in a production by Grid Iron Theatre Company. It then transferred to the Tron Theatre, Glasgow.

A sharp comedy about power games and privacy in the media and beyond. Carrie's getting them out for the lads, Charlotte's just grateful to have a job, Sam's being asked to sell more than his body, and Aidan's trying to keep his magazine from going under. Set in the cut-throat media world, Lucy Kirkwood's comedy exposes power games and privacy in the age of Photoshop. [NSFW = Not Safe For Work, online material which the viewer may not want to be seen accessing in a public or formal setting such as at work.] Lucy Kirkwood's play NSFW was premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2012.

A gripping drama about Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain. A divorcee with a young child to care for, Ruth works in the kind of nightclubs where there's more than just a drink on offer. The girls work hard, play hard and dream of a movie-star life. Then she meets the wealthy, womanising David, a racing driver with whom she becomes obsessed. Fame comes - but not in the way she imagines. Why does their relationship end in murder? Why does she plead not guilty but offer no defence? Why does she show no remorse? And who is she trying to protect? Amanda Whittington's play The Thrill of Love dramatises the true story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, and takes a fresh look at the woman behind the headlines. The Thrill of Love was first staged at the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, in 2013.

A shocking crime divides the nation. Fingers are pointed, sides are drawn, facts are hard to come by. Why did this happen? How do we move on? What must we remember? It's easy to have an opinion online, safe behind the anonymity of a keyboard, just like, share and subscribe. But as the digital mob polish their pitchforks, the world starts to question just how free should free speech be? A smart, satirical musical by Chris Bush and Matt Winkworth about truth, celebrity and public outrage, The Assassination of Katie Hopkins premiered at Theatr Clwyd, Mold, in April 2018, directed by James Grieve. It went on to win Best Musical Production at the 2018 UK Theatre Awards.

An intense real-life thriller centred around the most important weather forecast in the history of warfare. June 1944. One man's decision is about to change the course of history. Everything is in place for the biggest invasion ever known in Europe – D-Day. One last crucial question remains: will the weather be right on the day? Problematically there are two opposing forecasts. American celebrity weatherman Colonel Krick predicts sunshine, while Scot Dr James Stagg, Chief Meteorological Officer for the Allied Forces, forecasts a storm. As the world watches and waits, General Eisenhower, Allied Supreme Commander, must decide which of these bitter antagonists to trust. The decision will not only seal the fates of thousands of men, but could win or lose the entire war. An extraordinary and little-known true story, David Haig's play thrillingly explores the responsibilities of leadership, the challenges of prophecy and the personal toll of taking a stand. Pressure premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in May 2014 before transferring to Chichester Festival Theatre, in a production directed by John Dove, with the author playing James Stagg.

The play that gave birth to the smash-hit film - a wonderful comedy about growing up in multiracial Salford. The six Khan children, entangled in arranged marriages and bell-bottoms, are trying to find their way growing up in 1970s Salford. They are all caught between their Pakistani father's insistence on Asian traditions, their English mother's laissez-faire attitude, and their own wish to become citizens of the modern world. Ayub Khan Din's play East is East was first performed at Birmingham Repertory Studio Theatre in October 1996 in a co-production by Tamasha Theatre Company, the Royal Court Theatre Company and Birmingham Repertory Company, before transferring to the Royal Court, London. It was later adapted into a feature film, with a screenplay by the author, that became one of the most successful British films ever made. East is East won the John Whiting Award in 1996 and was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 1998.

'I want the world to change shape.' 'I'm not sure theatre can do that.' 'Well then where am I meant to take that impulse because I'm very serious about the endeavour?' A young writer challenges the status quo but discovers that creative gain comes at a personal cost. The Writer premiered in 2018 at the Almeida Theatre, London, in a production directed by Blanche McIntyre. The Writer was a finalist for the 2019 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. 'A playwright who grabs the zeitgeist' Independent

An epic, hilarious and moving play that takes a sideways look at the First World War. 1915. Jack Twigg, twenty-one years old, enlists in the London Regiment and goes on a journey he never imagined - nor did the rest of the world. On his way, he meets the pioneering medic Harold Gillies, who saves his life and his sanity. And who is the mysterious Doctor Scroggy who appears at night in Gillies' hospital dispensing champagne to the patients? Howard Brenton's play Doctor Scroggy's War premiered at Shakespeare's Globe, London, in September 2014.

'Love or knowledge: which would you choose?' A moving, comical and eye-opening story of four young women fighting for education and self-determination against the larger backdrop of women's suffrage. 1896. Girton College, Cambridge, the first college in Britain to admit women. The Girton girls study ferociously and match their male peers grade for grade. Yet, when the men graduate, the women leave with nothing but the stigma of being a 'blue stocking' - an unnatural, educated woman. They are denied degrees and go home unqualified and unmarriageable. In Jessica Swale's debut play, Blue Stockings, Tess Moffat and her fellow first years are determined to win the right to graduate. But little do they anticipate the hurdles in their way: the distractions of love, the cruelty of the class divide or the strength of the opposition, who will do anything to stop them. The play follows them over one tumultuous academic year, in their fight to change the future of education. Blue Stockings received its professional premiere at Shakespeare's Globe, London, in August 2013, directed by John Dove.

A fiercely funny look at the rocky relations between our press and politicians in a world of spin doctors and phone hacking. Michael is moving into 10 Downing Street and there will be no charm offensives with this Prime Minister, not with a country to run. There's no time for lunches with the press while there are children living in poverty. And there's certainly no time to comment on a minister's illicit affair while the country needs more nurses. But when his family's private life looks set to be the next big story, Michael seeks help from a press secretary who advises, 'Feed the beast before it turns on you.' Can Michael keep politics centre stage or will he become the big story himself? Steve Thompson's play Feed the Beast was premiered at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in April 2015.

A modern classic about the bitter rivalry between Mary, Queen of Scots, and her cousin and fellow ruler, Elizabeth I of England - retold by Scotland's most popular playwright. 'Once upon a time, there were twa queens on the wan green island, and the wan green island was split inty twa kingdoms. But no equal kingdoms...' Mary and Elizabeth are two women with much in common, but more that sets them apart. Following the death of her husband, the Dauphin of France, the beautiful, and staunchly Catholic Mary Stuart has returned from France to rule Scotland, a country she neither knows nor understands. Ill-prepared to rule in her own right, Mary has failed to learn what her protestant cousin, Elizabeth Tudor, knows only too well - that a queen must rule with her head, not her heart. All too soon the stage is set for a deadly endgame in which there can only be one winner and one queen on the one green island. Liz Lochhead's play Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off is presented in a distinctive cabaret style, with much of the dialogue in the 'Braid Scots' vernacular. It was first performed by the Communicado Theatre Company at the Lyceum Studio Theatre, Edinburgh, in August 1987. This revised version was published alongside the revival by the National Theatre of Scotland, which toured in 2009. Also included is a new introduction by the author.

'I know my boy. I'd know if something had happened to him.' Maddy and Rory are devoted parents to three-year-old Joshua, committed to keeping him happy and safe. But when an everyday visit to a supermarket café turns into a far more troubling incident, their trust in those closest to them is shattered. Gut is a taut psychological thriller that asks: who can be trusted with our children – and is it more dangerous not to trust at all? Gut was first produced at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in association with the National Theatre of Scotland, in 2018. It was directed by Zinnie Harris. It went on to win Best Play at the 2019 Writers' Guild Awards.

A gripping and urgent play about a well-meaning teacher who intervenes on behalf of a troublesome student, with terrifying consequences. When white secondary-school teacher Amanda is pushed to the ground by black student Jason, she's reluctant to report him as she knows exclusion could condemn him to a future as troubled as his past. But when Jason decides to protect himself by spinning a story of his own, Amanda is sucked into a vortex of lies in which victim becomes perpetrator. With the truth becoming less clear and more dangerous by the day, it isn't long before careers, relationships and even lives are under threat. Vivienne Franzmann's first play, Mogadishu won the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2008 and the George Devine Award in 2010. It was first produced at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in 2011.