"Come to A Raisin in the Sun as you would to any classic. It speaks to us today as it did almost half a century ago." Bonnie Greer In south side Chicago, Walter Lee, a Black chauffeur, dreams of a better life, and hopes to use his father's life insurance money to open a liquor store. His mother, who rejects the liquor business, uses some of the money to secure a proper house for the family. Mr Lindner, a representative of the all-white neighbourhood, tries to buy them out. Walter sinks the rest of the money into his business scheme, only to have it stolen by one of his partners. In despair Walter contacts Lindner, and almost begs to buy them out, but with the help of his wife, Walter finally finds a way to assert his dignity. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway and won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Hansberry was the youngest and the first Black writer to receive this award. Deeply committed to the Black struggle for equality and human rights, Lorraine Hansberry's brilliant career as a writer was cut short by her death when she was only 34. This new, updated edition in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series includes the full, definitive text and a brand new introduction by Soyica Diggs Colbert.

The Frank Daniels Trio were a singing, dancing, comedy sensation. A Wow Top of the Bill Socko Frank, the manager, was always on the left. Tony, the comedy man, was always on the right. Both men adored the girl in the middle - the beautiful Sarah. The perfect recipe for an entangled triangle. Sarah yearned for the more exciting Tony to declare his love, but it was the stable Frank who made the first move. She accepted. And so they married and lived happily - well, almost - ever after. That was in the 60's. Music changed. Styles changed. The trio disbanded. Sarah often thought about Tony. Tony wondered about Sarah. And when, years later, the three friends re-unite, memories and yearnings return - this time offering a second chance for true happiness. Will they dare to take it? With stand-up comedy and 'grumpy old men', this emotional roller coaster of a play will confirm the old adage that 'truth will out'.

In her early twenties, university-educated Bex took over her mother's hairdressing salon rather than begin a teaching career. Now Bex is approaching 40 and her salon is under fierce competition from a newcomer across the road, precipitating a crisis with Heidi, her friend who works for her. Her husband Max has planned a surprise 40th birthday party for her, though it's not much of a surprise and in fact rather unwelcome. As the two women attend to their clients, I Want That Hair looks without flinching at what turning 40 can mean to someone who has never really been anywhere in their life, and is just beginning to realise that they probably never will.

The play examines the idea that Winston Churchill had advance warning of the attack on Coventry. Was Coventry sacrificed for the greater good? Or to provoke and hasten America's entry into the war?

It's good to meet up with old friends ... or perhaps not When Nigel arranges a reunion in the back room of a pub, he is optimistic of a good turnout. Whilst the numbers disappoint him, he soon has his hands full when a motley middle-aged threesome turn up, bringing with them assorted wives, girlfriends, prejudices, and resentments that have simmered for the last twenty-five years. As the evening unfolds, the men are forced to reassess their old alliances and reflect on their lives, as the women are increasingly struck by the futility of the whole exercise Comedy and confusion combine in this hilarious but poignant story of 'small people' in a 'big world'.

Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name! In a small tight-knit community, gossip and rumour spread like wildfire, inflaming personal grievances until no-one is safe from accusation and vengeance. The Crucible is Arthur Miller's classic dramatisation of the witch-hunt and trials that besieged the Puritan community of Salem in 1692. Seen as a chilling parallel to the McCarthyism and repressive culture of fear that gripped America in the 1950s, the play's timeless relevance and appeal remains as strong as when the play opened on Broadway in 1953. This new edition includes an introduction by Soyica Diggs Colbert, that explores the play's production history as well as the dramatic, thematic, and academic debates that surround it; a must-have resource for any student exploring The Crucible.

These seven short plays by various authors, originally commissioned and produced by the Tricycle Theatre London, explore the nature of the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.

This provocative new comedy is about a group of desperate souls who come together in pursuit of a shared dream. It's set in the 'wannabe culture', where everything is possible as long as you want it hard enough, and are willing to pay the price. Natasha is an actress but her latest role is going way too far for her boyfriend Ben. Guru theatre director Gavin is pushing the limits - but despite his reputation as an enfant terrible, he isn't at all what he seems. Fellow actor Danny has a sexual appetite liable to land him in big trouble, while the producer Danielle is worried about the outrage Gavin's production is sure to cause. And Writer Hannah has a story to tell, but does it still ring true? Bad Jazz is a gratuitous farce that exploits and satirises modern theatre, asking the question, 'how far are you prepared to go?'

Heard the one about the Englishman, the Scotsman and the Irishman? This biting topical comedy pokes a finger at ideas of national identity, class and Britain's role in the modern world. Set in a once-grand country manor house now converted into a language school teaching English to foreign students, Queens English looks at the peculiarities and the stereotypes of the English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish and American cultures. The American, a brash New Yorker named Ruby, has recently won the school in a poker game, and now has big plans - including a surprise visit from a Royal guest. But first she has to try and gain control over the four teachers and their different backgrounds as tempers flare while personal and national grudges are brought out into the open, threatening to upstage HRH's imminent visit.

It was a brave man who would cross the Devon moorlands in darkness. For the ancient legend of the hound of the Baskervilles had persisted in family history for generations. It was Sir Charles's mysterious death in the grounds of Baskerville Hall that brought Sherlock Holmes to the scene.

Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird (1831- 1904) - the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258) - the mediaeval courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan - the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, an obedient wife out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the impending crisis in Marlene's own life. A classic of contemporary theatre, Churchill's play is seen as a landmark for a new generation of playwrights. It was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982. "Top Girls has a combination of directness and complexity which keeps you both emotionally and intellectually alert. You can smell life, and at the same time feel locked in an argument with an agile and passionate mind." (John Peter, Sunday Times)