This second collection of plays by David Eldridge showcases the development of one of the most impressive playwriting talents of recent years. His plays combine emotional impact with complexity, realistic characterisation with humour, and are among the most powerfully moving dramas of contemporary playwriting. Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness moves between a dream story and real lives to tell an intricate, complex story of a young man dealing with the break up of his family and the legacy of race responsibility. Market Boy is a gloriously raucous rites-of-passage drama set in Romford Market in the 1980s. Bringing a market jungle to life with the decade's Thatcherite capitalist fervour, this spectacular, savage, and beautiful yarn is a tale looks at a boy's coming of age and loss of innocence. The Knot of the Heart has themes of love, family and addiction, and explores the creeping onset of self-destruction beneath a veneer of respectability. Full of David Eldridge's trademark lyricism within everyday family life and interaction, this is a play where emotions are high and relationships are sensitively written. The Stock Da'wa explodes the wafer thin bonhomie of a long-awaited reunion into a blackly funny maelstrom of pique and long repressed truth-telling - and with shocking consequences. Eldridge Plays 2 contains the definitive version of the four plays and an introduction by the author.

"A wry, funny and touching meditation on loneliness, that private shame of the singleton in the era of the dating app and of fraudulent boasting on social media ... written with a real depth of insight, humour, compassion and a keen sense of the ridiculous..." The Independent It's the early hours of the morning in the aftermath of Laura's housewarming party. Danny, 42, divorced and living with his mother, is the last remaining guest. The flat is in a mess and so are they. One more drink? This sharp and astute two-hander takes an intimate look in real-time at the first fragile moments of risking your heart and taking a chance. Both comedic and tender, it asks questions about mutual loneliness and human connections. Beginning premiered at the National Theatre, London in October 2017. This new Modern Classics edition features an introduction by Sarah Grochala.

You didn't fancy it then? Fancy what? Getting in the taxi. No. Every story starts somewhere. It's the early hours of the morning and Danny's the last straggler at Laura's party. The flat's in a mess. And so are they. One more drink? David Eldridge (Market Boy, The Knot of the Heart, In Basildon) returns to the National Theatre with a sharp and astute two-hander that takes an intimate look at the first fragile moments of risking your heart and taking a chance. This tender and funny play received its world premiere at the National's Dorfman Theatre in October 2017.

This is a gloriously raucous rites-of-passage drama from the adaptor of Festen. 'You've got to talk to them son. Listen to them. Look for a way in. You're a handsome bloke - they'll love you. Give me a year and I'll teach you everything I know.' There's an art to selling stilettos and you'd better grasp it. Learn a good wind-up, learn the pull of cash, learn drugs, learn sex, and run wild with the market monkeys. Stay sharp in the ruthless world of Essex traders. Romford Market, 1985: this boy has everything to learn. This is a spectacular, savage, gorgeous yarn, which brings a market jungle to the vast Olivier stage; it is a tale about the time Mrs Thatcher said we should embrace the marketplace; it is a story about losing your innocence, and your cherry. This publication is timed to coincide with the world premiere at the Royal National Theatre in May 2006. It follows the critical success of his new version of Ibsen's The Wild Duck (Donmar Warehouse 2005).

Filmmakers and cinema industries across the globe invest more time, money and creative energy in projects and ideas that never get produced than in the movies that actually make it to the screens. Thousands of projects are abandoned in pre-production, halted, cut short, or even made and never distributed – a “shadow cinema” that exists only in the archives. This collection of essays by leading scholars and researchers opens those archives to draw on a wealth of previously unexamined scripts, correspondence and production material, reconstructing many of the hidden histories of the last hundred years of world cinema. Highlighting the fact that the movies we see are actually the exception to the rule, this study uncovers the myriad reasons why ‘failures’ occur and considers how understanding those failures can transform the disciplines of film and media history. The first survey of this new area of empirical study across transnational borders, Shadow Cinema is a vital and fascinating demonstration of the importance of the unmade, unseen, and unknown history of cinema.

Christianity's Contributions to Civilization BY CHARLES DAVID ELDRIDGE. Originally published in 1928. Contents include: PART ONE: CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION DURING THE ROMAN EMPIRE PAGE L Christianity's Triumph over Polytheism and the State Religion of the Roman Empire 13 II. Christianity Mitigates the Horrors of Slavery. ........ 21 III. Christianity and the Conquest of Social Evils 29 IV. Christianity and the Civilization of the Barbarian Tribes, 38 PART Two CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTELLECTUAL, RELIGIOUS, AND POLITICAL LIBERTY V. Christianity's Contributions During the Feudal Age. 43 VL Christianity's Contributions through the Renaissance. . 56 VII. Christianity's Contributions through the Reformation. 61 VI I L Christianity's Contributions through Protestantism among the Nations of Europe, ., ., ... 74 IX, Christianity's Contributions through Protestantism in England 84 X. Christianity's Contributions through Protestantism in the United States 98 XL Christianity's Contributions to Democracy 105 PART THREE CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO ART, EDUCATION, AND LITERATURE XI L Christianity's Contributions to Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture 119 XIIL Christianity's Contributions to Music 136 XIV, Christianity's Contributions to Education 143 XV. Christianity's Contributions to Literature, . 160 PART FOUR CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIAL PROGRESS XVI. Christianity 1 *! Contributions to Social I deals and Values. 181 XVIL Christianity's Contributions to the Brotherhood of Man, 193 ( 7) 8 CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS CHAPTER XVIII. Christianity's Contributions to the Uplift of Women . ., 199 XIX. Christianity's Contributions to Humane Legislation. . 217XX, Christianity and Modern Slavery, , ., .., ., 227 XXL Christianity and the Establishment $ Charitable Institutions, 2JS XXII. Christianity's Contributions through the Work of John Wesley ...., ., , .. 243 XXIII. Christianity and Prison Reform, . t, . 251 XXIV. Christianity and Temperance Reform., 26H XXV. Christianity's Contributions to the Mitigation of War, 268 PART FIVE CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NON-CHRIS TIAN PEOPLES OF TO-DAY XXVI. Christianity's Impact on Non-Christian Peoples of To-Day. ......................., , 281 PAUT Six CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF MANKIND XXVIL Christianity's Contributions to the Reiigiou* Life of Mankind.. .. *, ..*., ., .., 3 XXVIIL Christian Ideals Diffused through the Churchei and Humanitarian Organisations ., ., ..., , XXIX. Christianity the Final and Universal Reltgicm, XXX. The Goal of Christianity.., .... FOREWORD: WHAT has Christianity meant to the world? It has worked, as a recent non-Christian, yet not wholly unsympathetic, critic has said, in a measure. But in what measure? What spheres of human life has it touched? How wide, how pervasive, how powerful has been its influence? Working-, as it necessarily has done, in the midst of, and against, and with, the human imperfections, has it, in spite of all that, made good moderately, or splendidly, or at least hopefully? Can it be said that its actual achievements have given good proof of its divine origin? Or is it to be counted as just one ( the highest, to be sure) among the many faiths In this believing world? Will it go on conquering and to conquer/ 1 or must we expect it to give place to something else, more fitted to advancing humanity, that successoritself not final, but to serve awhile, and then in its tuna to be displaced? These questions can be answered only by the accom plishments of the religion of Jesus in every department of life, what it has done and is doing. The average Christian, especially the younger, is abysmally Ignorant of the rock whence ye were hewn, the hole of the pit whence ye were digged. The on

Text extracted from opening pages of book: Christianity's Contributions to Civilization BY CHARLES DAVID ELDRIDGE CGKESBURY PRESS NASHVILLE, TENN. 1928 COPYRIGHT* 1928 BY IAMAR ft WHITMORft DEDICATED To MY BELOVED WIFE MARGARET UPHAM ELDRIDGE IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF HER INSPIRATION AND COOPERATION CONTENTS PART ONB CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION DURING THE ROMAN EMPIRE PAGE L Christianity's Triumph over Polytheism and the State Religion of the Roman Empire 13 II. Christianity Mitigates the Horrors of Slavery. ........ 21 III. Christianity and the Conquest of Social Evils 29 IV. Christianity and the Civilization of the Barbarian Tribes, 38 PART Two CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTELLECTUAL, RELIGIOUS, AND POLITICAL LIBERTY V. Christianity's Contributions During the Feudal Age. 43 VL Christianity's Contributions through the Renaissance. . 56 VII. Christianity's Contributions through the Reformation. 61 VI I L Christianity's Contributions through Protestantism among the Nations of Europe, ., ., ... 74 IX, Christianity's Contributions through Protestantism in England 84 X. Christianity's Contributions through Protestantism in the United States 98 XL Christianity's Contributions to Democracy 105 PART THREE CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO ART, EDUCATION, AND LITERATURE XI L Christianity's Contributions to Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture 119 XIIL Christianity's Contributions to Music 136 XIV, Christianity's Contributions to Education 143 XV. Christianity's Contributions to Literature, . 160 PART FOUR CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIAL PROGRESS XVI. Christianity 1 *! Contributions to Social I deals and Values. 181 XVIL Christianity's Contributions to theBrotherhood of Man, 193 ( 7) 8 CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS CHAPTER XVIII. Christianity's Contributions to the Uplift of Women . ., 199 XIX. Christianity's Contributions to Humane Legislation. . 217 XX, Christianity and Modern Slavery, , ., .., ., 227 XXL Christianity and the Establishment $ Charitable Institutions, 2JS XXII. Christianity's Contributions through the Work of John Wesley ...., ., , .. 243 XXIII. Christianity and Prison Reform, . t, . 251 XXIV. Christianity and Temperance Reform., 26H XXV. Christianity's Contributions to the Mitigation of War, 268 PART FIVE CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NON-CHRIS TIAN PEOPLES OF TO-DAY XXVI. Christianity's Impact on Non-Christian Peoples of To-Day. ......................., , 281 PAUT Six CHRISTIANITY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF MANKIND XXVIL Christianity's Contributions to the Reiigiou* Life of Mankind.. .. *, ..*., ., .., 3 XXVIIL Christian Ideals Diffused through the Churchei and Humanitarian Organisations ., ., ..., , XXIX. Christianity the Final and Universal Reltgicm, XXX. The Goal of Christianity.., ......, ., FOREWORD WHAT has Christianity meant to the world? It has worked, as a recent non-Christian, yet not wholly unsympathetic, critic has said, in a measure. But in what measure? What spheres of human life has it touched? How wide, how pervasive, how powerful has been its influence? Working-, as it necessarily has done, in the midst of, and against, and with, the human imperfections, has it, in spite of all that, made good moderately, or splendidly, or at least hopefully? Can it be said that its actual achievements have given good proof of its divine origin? Or is it to be counted as just one ( the highest, tobe sure) among the many faiths In this believing world? Will it go on conquering and to conquer/ 1 or must we expect it to give place to something else, more fitted to advancing humanity, that successor itself not final, but to serve awhile, and then in its tuna to be displaced? These questions can be answered only by the accom plishments of the religion of Jesus in every department of life, what it has done and is doing. The average Christian, especially the younger, is abysmally Ignorant of the rock whence ye were hewn, the hole of the pit whence ye were digged. The on

David Eldridge's new version of Ibsen's classic, published to tie-in with the production at the Donmar Warehouse, London

Should the truth be pursued whatever the cost? The idealistic son of a wealthy businessman seeks to expose his father's duplicity and to free his childhood friend from the lies on which his happy home life is based.

This new version by David Eldridge of Henrik's Ibsen's classic play of 1884 opened at the Donmar Warehouse in December 2005.

'David Eldridge's version brings out Ibsen's permanent relevance without any textual coarsening' Guardian

'Five Stars. Flawless' Guardian

'A beautifully judged and absorbing piece of work' Independent

'Five Stars. Powerful and gripping' The Times

'Perhaps the greatest of Ibsen's plays ? A masterly production of a masterpiece' Telegraph

Four plays by the writer behind the West End smash-hit, Festen Serving it Up: a "precociously perceptive debut play about East End loutishness". Evening Standard Summer Begins a story of the dreams and frustrations of working class young people living in Barking that "confirms Eldridge's impressive command of dialogue and character." Evening Standard Under the Blue Sky: "Like perfect blue skies, first-class new plays are few and far between, but when they appear they send your spirits soaring. Just such a heavenly piece of writing is the latest by David Eldridge." Daily Telegraph M.A.D.: a poignant and compelling family drama set in cold war Britain. "Beautifully written ...a marvellous play." Daily Telegraph A "young dramatist with few peers when it comes to presenting deep emotion without a hint of fuss or staginess"(Daily Telegraph)

Publication of brand new play by Royal Court author to tie in with world stage premiere Joey has lost his mother and suffers from attention deficit disorder. He takes on the mentoring of a young black boy Trevor, who sings beautifully but is regularly bullied. Joey himself relives a fantasy of Marvin Gaye and the battle he fought with his Dad over his mother - meanwhile Joey's stepmother tries to keep him in check, and his Dad wants to build fences with him. But when Trevor gets killed, his mother is looking for answers and wants to talk to Joey to find out who killed her son. Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness moves between dream story and real lives to tell an intricate, complex story of a young man dealing with the break up of his family and the legacy of race responsibility.

Sad single teachers get together. Drink tequila, get very pissed and reveal secrets and then stagger home at four in the morning, with some dim light in your brain saying "Shit. Year seven first lesson."' David Eldridge's Under the Blue Sky premiered at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, London, in September 2000.Methuen's Royal Court Writers Series was launched in 1981 to celebrate 25 years of the English Stage Company and 21 years since the publication of the first Methuen Modern Play. Published to coincide with specific productions in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs and the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, the series fulfils the dual role of programme and playscript.

This book provides an insightful overview of the major cultural forms of 1930s America: literature and drama, music and radio, film and photography, art and design, and a chapter on the role of the federal government in the development of the arts. The intellectual context of 1930s American culture is a strong feature, whilst case studies of influential texts and practitioners of the decade -- from "War of the Worlds" to "The Grapes of Wrath" and from Edward Hopper to the Rockefeller Centre -- help to explain the cultural impulses of radicalism, nationalism and escapism that characterize the United States in the 1930s.

Key Features:

* 3 case studies per chapter featuring key texts, genres, writers and artists

* Chronology of 1930s American Culture

* Bibliographies for each chapter

Filmmakers and cinema industries across the globe invest more time, money and creative energy in projects and ideas that never get produced than in the movies that actually make it to the screens. Thousands of projects are abandoned in pre-production, halted, cut short, or even made and never distributed – a “shadow cinema” that exists only in the archives. This collection of essays by leading scholars and researchers opens those archives to draw on a wealth of previously unexamined scripts, correspondence and production material, reconstructing many of the hidden histories of the last hundred years of world cinema. Highlighting the fact that the movies we see are actually the exception to the rule, this study uncovers the myriad reasons why ‘failures’ occur and considers how understanding those failures can transform the disciplines of film and media history. The first survey of this new area of empirical study across transnational borders, Shadow Cinema is a vital and fascinating demonstration of the importance of the unmade, unseen, and unknown history of cinema.

Why do people ever see things through? Why do they ever stay? It's so hard. Every relationship reaches a crossroad some time. As dawn breaks, Maggie is heating some milk and Gary wonders what she's doing out of bed. Maybe it's time for an honest conversation - but how much honesty can this marriage take? Following his five-star play Beginning, which played sold-out runs at the National Theatre and in the West End, writer David Eldridge brings his raw, touching and funny style to a portrait of a 21st century marriage, the second of three plays to explore love and relationships.

There is one in the Kingdom of England. Who goes by the name of Richard the Lionheart. My waking dreams tell me he will come upon us. He will come to these lands and make pilgrimage, conquest. Saladin's great army have corrected a great wrong by taking Jerusalem back for Islam, after the barbaric slaughter of their people one hundred years ago. But for Muslim and Christian alike Jerusalem is a holy city. Across England and Outremer, nobles answer the call to arms from Richard the Lionheart to march on Jerusalem in the third crusade and retake the Holy City from Saladin. Holy Warriors is a tale of holy war, fraught diplomacy and revenge in the struggle for Jerusalem, taking in over a millennium of bloody conflict, as Richard the Lionheart marches east to face Saladin, and takes Jerusalem. This edition published to coincide with the play's premiere at Shakespeare's Globe, London, on 19 July 2014.

Five of the best plays from the first decade of the twenty-first century produced by the Royal Court Theatre, London. Royal Court Plays 2000-2010 is an essential anthology for anyone interested in the best work from the most important new writing theatre produced during the last decade. Under the Blue Sky by David Eldridge is a touching and comic play about love, war and teaching. Produced in 2000 it was revived on the West End in 2008 and has become a turn-of-the-century classic. Roy Williams' play Fallout was written in response to the killing of Damilola Taylor and the McPherson report into racism in the Metropolitan Police and is an essential play exploring how black teenagers are drawn into violence and mutual mistrust. Motortown is about the 'war on terror' and the war in Iraq. Described as 'an instant modern classic, the first major anti-anti-war play of this era' (What's on Stage) Simon Stephens' play examines the effects of the war on individuals. Mike Bartlett emerged as one of the most exciting young writers of recent times when his play My Child premiered in 2007. A play about fatherhood, broken families and what it means to be a good parent, it was heaped with praise: 'Brutal, thrilling...unmissable' (Evening Standard). The final play, Enron, is an epic satire about the notorious rise and fall of Enron and its founding partners, written by Lucy Prebble. A huge hit and acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, the play transferred to the West End in 2010 and opened on Broadway that same year.

Disgraced and destitute following a fraud scandal and imprisonment, John Gabriel Borkman paces alone in an upstairs room. Downstairs, his family is trapped in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a household bound for explosion.

A scorching indictment of 19th century capitalism, Ibsen's penultimate play paints a devastating picture of selfish ambition.

The play has its premiere in this new version by David Eldridge on 15 February 2007 at the Donmar Warehouse, London.

In a cinema that has presented John Wayne interpreting Genghis Khan as a medieval gunslinger, the idea that Hollywood filmmakers have historical consciousness might seem strange. However, they do and they did and in fascinating ways, which are revealed by David Eldridge in this innovative and detailed analysis of the film industry's use of history. Grounded in exceptional resources and rich in close readings of the films, "Hollywood's History Films" focuses on the Fifties, when Hollywood's interest in the past was at its peak. It reconstructs how filmmakers understood their treatment of the past, suggesting why many of them saw their work as superior to that of professional historians. The book embraces westerns, romances, biblical epics, biopics and the like, exploring the overlapping anxieties that encouraged an unprecedented turn to history, including the Cold War's ever-present nuclear threat, McCarthyism and the industry's fears about a haemorrhaging box-office. In an environment shaped by such tensions, filmmakers were not ignorant of the facts, nor simply exercising dramatic licence. David Eldridge considers researchers, advisors and outside interference from proponents of particular versions of the past and uncovers the different - and limited - ways in which producers, directors and screenwriters were exposed to historical debates and ideas. Challenging preconceptions, his book helps us to understand just how and why Hollywood blurs the boundaries between fiction and historical reality.

'M.A.D.' is a poignant and compelling family drama following the lives of a struggling market trader, his frustrated wife and their young boy, John, as their whole world appears to be coming to an end.

Helge, the patriarch of a chain of restaurants, is celebrating his sixtieth birthday and everyone is coming home from the party including Helge's sons, Christian, Michael and his daughter Helene. Missing from the roster of invitees is Christian's twin sister, Linda, who recently committed suicide. The reason for her action and the repercussions from it, form the basis of the shocking and painful events that transpire during a twenty-four hour period. In the midst of dinner, Christian makes a startling accusation and, even as the disbelieving guests are choosing sides, the play slowly unwraps the truth. David Eldridge powerful new play is adapted from Thomas Vinterborg's screenplay of the very successful film, Dogme.Published to tie in with Almeida Theatre production in March 2004 directed by Rufus Norris

"Trash for starters, Tories for seconds: David Eldridge is Serving it up again" (Independent) Serving It Up "Combines a promising talent for spark, funny dialgue with a bleak vision of racism and rage in London's East End...What is astonishing is that it manages to be rancidly funny and deeply chilling at the same time." (Guardian) Ever struggled to maintain standards at work, with a new partner and a political party that seems to be falling apart? Or battled with preparations for your daughter's expensive wedding? Spend A Week With Tony as he juggles his job, relationship, party politics and plans for the biggest and best wedding his constituency's ever seen.

""Why has this happened to us? Things like this don't happen to families like ours."
"Beautiful and privileged, Lucy is enjoying a burgeoning career in television. But her social drug habit has become a serious addiction, casting a dark shadow over her future happiness. As her charmed life begins to slip away Lucy comes to realize that the devoted support of her family does not come without a price.
With themes of love, family and addiction, "The Knot of the Heart "explores the creeping onset of self-destruction beneath a veneer of respectability. Full of David Eldridge's trademark lyricism within everyday family life and interaction, this is a play where emotions are high and relationships are sensitively written. Ultimately hopeful and redemptive, "The Knot of the Heart" is atmospheric and poetic without undermining the all-too-believable characters' realism.