Five stand-up theatre plays from "the female counterpart to Quentin Crisp" (Evening Standard) Who does Claire Dowie think she is? In Adult Child/Dead Child she invented an imaginary friend to be all the things she wasn't allowed to be...In Why is John Lennon Wearing A Skirt? She hated being a girl but what's the alternative? In Death and Dancing she was determined to be anything she wanted to be...In Drag Act Mother would have been proud. In Leaking From Every Orifice she was a lesbian, had a sexual relationship with a gay man and ended up pregnant..."She make you laugh as she kicks you in the teeth" (Guardian)

An anthology bringing together a selection of Claire Dowie's plays for young people, which are ideal for performance with a large cast. The anthology includes the following plays and an introduction by the author. Why Is John Lennon Wearing A Skirt? (Stage2 version, large cast) portrays a 14-year-old girl who dresses like a boy and would rather play football than anything else. This version can be performed by a cast of up to 100. Arsehammers (Stage2 version, large cast) is about a boy's relationship with his grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimer's (or "Arsehammers", as the boy hears it). He believes his grandad to have superpowers on account of his routine disappearances. A brilliant tale of living with, and understanding, mental illness. It has been reimagined for a cast of around 20. The Year of the Monkey (Stage2 version, large cast) shows a mother dreaming of injecting some excitement into her humdrum life. The play has been revised the play for around 25 young people. Hard Working Families (original version, large cast), which hasn't previously been published, is a satirical play with music that exposes the true impact that earning a living has on young people in modern-day society. It is a response to politicians' visions of 'ordinary people', set against the reality of earning a living and the way this impacts on young people's lives. It can be performed by a cast of up to 50.

I don't understand it. I've still got muscles, tendons, sinews, whatnots - nothing's changed skeleton wise, body wise. It's still all intact. Yet it doesn't work. It won't move itself. Leaping barriers of age, sexuality and gender, Gloria prepares to dance the Can Can one last time. Written and performed by the pioneering Claire Dowie, When I Fall If I Fall tells Gloria's story, a story about growing up feeling different and not fitting in... With this new work, Dowie continues her ground-breaking subversion of gender expectations and stereotypes. This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in August 2019.

Published to tie in with performances by Claire Dowie at the Drill Hall, London Two new plays by Claire Dowie which focus on sex and repression and friendship among gay and lesbian characters.

The latest collection of plays from "the female counterpart to Quentin Crisp" (Evening Standard) The Year of the Monkey, originally written for BBC Radio 3, comprises Bonfire Night, in which a daughter takes her sweet revenge; Arsehammers, where a grandson is sure that his grandfather's strange disappearances reveal supernatural powers, The Allotment, in which a quiet community of pensioners create a radical, anarchic commune by mistake, and The Year of the Monkey, where a mother yearns for some bad behaviour to puncture the boredom of her middle-class life.Designs for Living is a modern love story, challenging conventions of identity and sexuality.Sodom reveals Old Testament morality alive and well in middle England."Claire Dowie is the supreme advocate of rebellion. She debunks conformity, non-conformity - or almost anything which can be defined" - The Stage"She makes you laugh as she kicks you in the teeth" - Guardian