Bill Bryson's biography of William Shakespeare unravels the superstitions, academic discoveries and myths surrounding the life of our greatest poet and playwright. Ever since he took the theatre of Elizabethan London by storm over 400 years ago, Shakespeare has remained centre stage. His fame stems not only from his plays - performed everywhere from school halls to the world's most illustrious theatres - but also from his enigmatic persona. His face is familiar to all, yet in reality very little is known about the man behind the masterpieces. Shakespeare's life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard - from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died. Taking us on a journey through the streets of Elizabethan and Jacobean England, Bryson examines centuries of stories, half-truths and downright lies surrounding our greatest dramatist. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, he introduces a host of engaging characters, as he celebrates the magic of Shakespeare's language and delights in details of the bard's life, folios, poetry and plays.

Victor-Marie Hugo (1802-1885) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France. His best-known works are the novels Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, though in France, Hugo's literary fame comes first from his poetry. This volume contains three dramas: The Burgraves, Torquemada, and Lucretia Borgia.

The Busybody is the most popular comedy by the eighteenth-century playwright Susanna Centlivre. The play centres on two couples trying to form a relationship against the wills of their guardians, and in a battle of wits, playing with many conventions from theatre traditions across the continent, a conclusion is eventually reached. Like her predecessor Aphra Behn, Centlivre was immensely successful in her day, drawing huge crowds to extended runs of her numerous plays, but the stabbing male pens of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries decried her work as being louche and dangerous, and her name slowly sunk into obscurity. This edition, published with William Hazlitt's prefatory note and extra material on Centlivre's life and writing, seeks to highlight the dexterity with which she took on the stage.

Drawing on both historical analysis and theories from the modern affective sciences, Shakespeare and Disgust argues that the experience of revulsion is one of Shakespeare's central dramatic concerns. Known as the 'gatekeeper emotion', disgust is the affective process through which humans protect the boundaries of their physical bodies from material contaminants and their social bodies from moral contaminants. Accordingly, the emotion provided Shakespeare with a master category of compositional tools - poetic images, thematic considerations and narrative possibilities - to interrogate the violation and preservation of such boundaries, whether in the form of compromised bodies, compromised moral actors or compromised social orders. Designed to offer both focused readings and birds-eye coverage, this volume alternates between chapters devoted to the sustained analysis of revulsion in specific plays (Titus Andronicus, Timon of Athens, Coriolanus, Othello and Hamlet) and chapters presenting a general overview of Shakespeare's engagement with certain kinds of prototypical disgust elicitors, including food, disease, bodily violation, race and sex disgust. Disgust, the book argues, is one of the central engines of human behaviour - and, somewhat surprisingly, it must be seen as a centrepiece of Shakespeare's affective universe.

'n Regter bring sy mooi, jong vrou saam na 'n jagplaas om sy laaste trofee te kom skiet. So word vyf mense saamgegooi vir 'n naweek. Jaloesie, konkelary, wedywering en twis oor grondbesit is aan die orde van die dag – en nog 'n verhouding wat nooit sy le kon kry nie. 'n Misterieuse bok maak sy verskyning. Meteens raak die verlede deel van die hede. Nie almal op die plaas weet van die vloek wat oor die grond hang nie. Die omgewing word 'n medespeler wat jare se intrige op die spits dryf.

There are many monologues books on the market but very few provide rich material for comedy. This collection from up and coming comedian & actress Katy Wix plugs that gap and provides female performers with the kind of wonderfully warm and interesting characters that they need – and deserve. A comedian and writer, Wix has for the past few years been writing audition speeches for students at drama schools including RADA, LAMDA, Drama Centre and The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. A book of contemporary comedy monologues does not exist for today's actor or indeed a book comprising solely of showcase speeches. This is a collection of very funny and original audition speeches filling a significant gap in the market: made up of monologues for various age ranges, each with a running time of two to three minutes. The brevity in length makes these ideal for auditions or showcases and the variety in age and style encompasses different comedic approaches; from the very quirky to the more traditional – perfect for every type of performer.

The Methuen Drama Student Edition of Twelve Angry Men is the first critical edition of Reginald Rose's play, providing the play text alongside commentary and notes geared towards student readers. In New York, 1954, a man is dead and the life of another is at stake. A 'guilty' verdict seems a foregone conclusion, but one member of the jury has the will to probe more deeply into the evidence and the courage to confront the ignorance and prejudice of some of his fellow jurors. The conflict that follows is fierce and passionate, cutting straight to the heart of the issues of civil liberties and social justice. Ideal for the student reader, the accompanying pedagogical notes include elements such as an author chronology; plot summary; suggested further reading; explanatory endnotes; and questions for further study. The introduction discusses in detail the play's origins as a 1954 American television play, Rose's re-working of the piece for the stage, and Lumet's 1957 film version, identifying textual variations between these versions and discussing later significant productions. The commentary also situates the play in relation to the genre of courtroom drama, as a milestone in the development of televised drama, and as an engagement with questions of American individualism and democracy. Together, this provides students with an edition that situates the play in its contemporary social and dramatic contexts, while encouraging reflection on its wider thematic implications.

The Fleabag bites back. A rip-roaring account of some sort of female living her sort of life. Phoebe Waller-Bridge's debut play is an outrageously funny monologue for a female performer. It premiered at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, performed by Phoebe herself, before transferring to Soho Theatre, London, for several successful runs, followed by a UK tour. It won a Fringe First Award in Edinburgh, the Most Promising New Playwright and Best Female Performance at the Off West End Theatre Awards, The Stage Award for Best Solo Performer and the Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright. It received a Special Commendation in the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and was nominated for the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. In 2016 it was turned into a wildly successful and 'utterly riveting' (Guardian) BBC television series. This edition also features an introduction by the author.

Koos Prinsloo, wat in 1994 in die ouderdom van 37 jaar oorlede is, kan met reg as ’n James Dean van die Afrikaanse letterkunde beskou word: ’n ikoniese figuur wat te vinnig, te gevaarlik geleef en te vroeg gesterf het. Byna drie dekades ná die verskyning van sy eerste bundel en vyftien jaar ná sy dood, eggo sy stem steeds oor die grense van sy tyd en oeuvre heen – en dis in hierdie weerklank wat die toneelstuk Prinsloo Versus gestalte vind.

Prinsloo versus is nie ’n elegie aan Koos nie, maar die postmoderne vergestalting van ’n persoonlike tragedie, uitgespeel op private en openbare; persoonlike en artistieke slagvelde. Dis ’n veelvlakkige collage oor ’n kunstenaar wie se lewe en werk kwalik met ’n suikerlagie bedek kon word; wat gerebelleer het teen ’n patriargale kultuur en ’n diep weersin in alle vorme van outoriteit getoon het.

Soos ’n briefskrywer in die Burger van 24 Oktober 2003 op die eerste vertoning van die stuk gereageer het: “Ek kon nie anders as om te dink dat Koos, waar hy ook al is, met ’n sardoniese glimlaggie sit en kyk na dié stuk nie.”

The complete screenplays of the acclaimed Emmy-nominated drama based on Sally Rooney's bestselling novel. 'You know, I did used to think that I could read your mind at times.' 'In bed you mean.' 'Yeah. And afterwards but I dunno maybe that's normal.' 'It's not.' Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In school, Connell is popular. Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation, something life-changing begins. With an introduction by director Lenny Abrahamson and featuring iconic images from the show, Normal People: The Scripts contains the complete screenplays of the acclaimed Emmy-nominated television drama based on Sally Rooney's bestselling novel. OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! WINNER OF THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2018 WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS NOVEL OF THE YEAR WINNER OF NOVEL OF THE YEAR AND BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS WINNER OF THE SPECSAVERS NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS INTERNATIONAL AUTHOR OF THE YEAR LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018 LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2019

From the Royal Shakespeare Company - a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's great drama of ambition, desire and guilt. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Macbeth in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are three interviews with leading directors - Rupert Goold, Gregory Doran and Trevor Nunn - providing an illuminating insight into the extraordinary variety of interpretations that are possible. This edition also includes an essay on Shakespeare's career and Elizabethan theatre, and enables the reader to understand the play as it was originally intended - as living theatre to be enjoyed and performed. Ideal for students, theatre-goers, actors and general readers, the RSC Shakespeare editions offer a fresh, accessible and contemporary approach to reading and rediscovering Shakespeare's works for the twenty-first century.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Stars, hide your fires! Let not light see my black and deep desires.' One of Shakespeare's darkest and most violent tragedies, Macbeth's struggle between his own ambition and his loyalty to the King is dramatically compelling. As those he kills return to haunt him, Macbeth is plagued by the prophecy of three sinister witches and the power hungry desires of his wife.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire is the tale of a catastrophic confrontation between fantasy and reality, embodied in the characters of Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Arthur Miller. 'I have always depended on the kindness of strangers' Fading southern belle Blanche DuBois is adrift in the modern world. When she arrives to stay with her sister Stella in a crowded, boisterous corner of New Orleans, her delusions of grandeur bring her into conflict with Stella's crude, brutish husband Stanley Kowalski. Eventually their violent collision course causes Blanche's fragile sense of identity to crumble, threatening to destroy her sanity and her one chance of happiness. Tennessee Williams's steamy and shocking landmark drama, recreated as the immortal film starring Marlon Brando, is one of the most influential plays of the twentieth century. Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) was born in Columbus, Mississippi. When his father, a travelling salesman, moved with his family to St Louis some years later, both he and his sister found it impossible to settle down to city life. He entered college during the Depression and left after a couple of years to take a clerical job in a shoe company. He stayed there for two years, spending the evenings writing. He received a Rockefeller Fellowship in 1940 for his play Battle of Angels, and he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948 and 1955. Among his many other plays Penguin have published The Glass Menagerie (1944), The Rose Tattoo (1951), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), The Night of the Iguana (1961), and Small Craft Warnings (1972). If you enjoyed A Streetcar Named Desire, you might like The Glass Menagerie, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'Lyrical and poetic and human and heartbreaking and memorable and funny' Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather 'One of the greatest American plays' Observer

South Africa, 2019. Twenty-five years since the first post-apartheid democratic elections, two men from contrasting walks of life are thrust together to reflect on a quarter-century of change. Jack Morris is a celebrated classical actor who has just been given both a career-defining role and a life-changing diagnosis. Besides his age, Jack has seemingly little in common with his at-home nurse Lunga Kunene, but the two men soon discover their shared passion for Shakespeare, which ignites this ‘rich, raw and shattering head-to-head’ (The Times).

Written by South African actor, activist and playwright John Kani, this refreshingly funny and vital new play premiered in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon in 2019, before transferring to the Ambassadors Theatre in London. A co-production with the Fugard Theatre, it was directed by Janice Honeyman with moving performances from Antony Sher and John Kani.

My theme is memory, that winged host? that soared about me one grey morning of wartime. Billeted to Brideshead during the Second World War, Captain Charles Ryder is overwhelmed by memories of his Oxford days and holidays spent in the fine stately home under the privileged spell of the dazzling Marchmains. As past and present blur, Charles recalls his enchantment with the beguiling Sebastian, his beautiful sister Julia and the doomed Catholic family, and considers how they would change his life for ever. Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, reimagined for the stage by Bryony Lavery, was co-produced by English Touring Theatre and York Theatre Royal. The show premiered at York Theatre Royal in April 2016 and then toured the UK.

A revised and updated edition of the bestselling guide to all things Ambridge, For the Love of the Archers contains extensive all-new content that will keep any fan of the show enlightened and entertained. It's been over 70 years since the familiar dum-di-dum-didum-di-dum of "Barwick Green" first brought The Archers to our airwaves, and in that time millions of listeners have followed the everyday lives of country folk in Ambridge. Bringing together a wealth of fascinating facts, amusing insights and expert trivia about characters, controversies and country customs in one handy volume - now fully revised and updated to include recent developments - this companion is the perfect gift for avid addicts and keen newcomers alike. Long-time Archers super-fan Beth Miller will be your highly engaging guide to every aspect of radio's most enduring drama, including the following recurring features: Welcome to Ambridge takes you on a tour of all the key locations Meet the Characters profiles all your favourite personalities Memorable Moments celebrates some of the most entertaining and emotional episodes Gone But Not Forgotten remembers the dearly departed Quiz Night at the Bull tests your knowledge of the programme at regular intervals For all this and much more, dive into this incredible miscellany and become a true Ambridge expert.