WORLD PREMIERE - October 5th 2011 at the Orange Tree Theatre, RichmondGenre: Comedy. We all want to be happy. We all know what it feels like. But what if it keeps slipping through our fingers? Paul is a former happiness guru. As a young man he wrote self-help books and appeared on the television as 'Mr Happy'. But now his marriage has failed and his career as a serious novelist is faltering, while his ex-wife has remarried a wealthy advertising executive to the dismay of their troubled teenage daughter. Paul is now concerned about the state of his health, the size of his mortgage and the monthly payments on his iPhone. Mr Happy is not happy. But surely if anyone can unlock the secret of perpetual happiness, he must be the man?

This brand new one-man comedy takes us on a journey to a stand-up comedian's firstever public performance to fulfil a lifelong dream. My Dog's Got No Nose is a thought-provoking insight into the world of the comic.

This revised Student Edition includes an introduction by Bess Rowen, Visiting Assistant Professor at Villanova University, US, which looks in particular at the play's treatment of rape, vulnerable people, mental institutions (especially in connection to Williams's own family), sexuality and sexual desire. A Streetcar Named Desire shows a turbulent confrontation between traditional values in the American South - an old-world graciousness and beauty running decoratively to seed - set against the rough-edged, aggressive materialism of the new world. Through the vividly characterised figures of Southern belle Blanche Dubois, seeking refuge from physical ugliness in decayed gentility, and her brutal brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski, Tennessee Williams dramatises his sense of the South's past as still active and often destructive in modern America. METHUEN DRAMA STUDENT EDITIONS are expertly annotated texts of a wide range of plays from the modern and classic repertoires. A well as the complete text of the play itself, this volume contains: * A chronology of the play and the playwright's life and work * An introductory discussion of the social, political, cultural and economic context in which the play was originally conceived and created * A succinct overview of the creation processes followed and subsequent performance history of the piece * An analysis of, and commentary on, some of the major themes and specific issues addressed by the text * A bibliography of suggested primary and secondary materials for further study

Hypothermia is set in 1940, in a German hospital for hereditary and incurable diseases. A doctor (Erich) and his assistant (Lisa) discover their patients, who had been sent on to other doctors for further treatment, had really been the victims of the testing of various torture (and often death) methods. It poses the question 'now that you know, what will you do?'

A delightful new holiday series featuring five classic Christmas tales in luxurious hardcover editions
Truly stunning book design has become a Penguin Classics tradition. We now introduce a new must-have, collectible series featuring beautiful hardcover editions of some of the best-loved and bestselling Christmas titles of all time. Available in lovely holiday-themed packages, the series includes "A Christmas Carol "by Charles Dickens, " A Merry Christmas "by Louisa May Alcott, "Christmas at Thompson Hall" by Anthony Trollope, "The Night Before Christmas "by Nikolai Gogol, and "The Nutcracker" by E. T. A. Hoffman--treasured Christmas tales that make perfect stocking stuffers for readers of all ages.

Impressionist Alistair McGowan debuts his first play Timing at the Kings Head Theatre starting from the 30th September, starring Dean Gaffney (Robbie from Eastenders) and regular theatre star Edward Baker-Duly. It seems that McGowan, famed by his sketch show Big Impression on the BBC has decided to return to the theatre after his work in Cabaret (Lyric Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (New Ambassadors Theatre) and The Mikado (Gielgud Theatre) but this time as a playwright. Teaming up with director Tamara Harvey, Timing is all about a young guy called Julian Mann (Baker-Duly) who sets off to work one morning only to find his ex-girlfriend of 5 years is at his workplace, but the complication arises in that they have not spoken since the break-up in which she broke his heart. It is set to go on until 8th November, and if McGowan's previous work is anything to go by it should be a comic hit. It should also be interesting to see how the comedian tackles more serious topics as well. --Review from spoonfed.co.uk

On a still, cool day in the east of a city by the sea, three sounds only: a bulldozer’s engine, a forgotten song, a canon that tells the time. Behind the bulldozer, a sign: Luxury Mall Coming Soon. As the vehicle moves in to the clear ground, it strikes at something unexpected…

What Remains is a fusion of text, dance and movement to tell a story about the unexpected uncovering of a slave burial ground in Cape Town, the archaeological dig that follows and a city haunted by the memory of slavery. When the bones emerge from the ground, everyone in the city – slave descendants, archaeologists, citizens, property developers – is forced to reckon with a history sometimes remembered, sometimes forgotten.

Loosely based on the events at Prestwich Place, What Remains is a path between memory and magic, the uncanny and the known, waking and dreaming. Four figures – The Archaeologist, The Healer, The Dancer and The Student – move between bones and books, archives and madness, paintings and protest, as they struggle to reconcile the past with the now.

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'.