"Matura's play not only offers a potted guide to Trinidadian ethnicity, economics and politics, but also a potent metaphor for the post-colonial process. It is also very funny ... the real power of Matura's play lies in its reminder, under all that surface exuberance, that the movement towards independence carried its own element of fancy-dress masquerade." The Guardian 1950s Port of Spain. Samuel, a young tailor's assistant, dreams of Trinidad's independence. On the eve of carnival everyone fills the streets, dressed up to play mas. This annual celebration turns to tragedy and spurs Samuel on to make a decision that will change the political landscape of the future of this vibrant, volatile island. Play Mas premiered at the Royal Court in 1974, winning the Evening Standard Award for Best Play, and transferred to the West End. Described as a wickedly funny, exuberant and poignant play, it is published in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series for the first time, with a brand new introduction by Paulette Randall.

Colonial Trinidad 1939. Three sisters endure a mundane but privileged life in the capital, Port of Spain. Living with their simpleton brother and his domeneering wife the women pass the time entertaining and being entertained by the local Volunteer Regiment. They occupy their lives with empty marriages and petty liasons whilst dreaming of returning to their adopted home country Cambridge, England where they spent their cosmopolitan youth. But hopes of emigrating to Britain are soon shattered as the European war escalates into a global conflict, Port of Spain is bombed and the Trinidadian soldiers are called to serve King, country and Empire. One of Chekhov's greatest plays, Three Sisters has been adapted and updated by one of the most prolific and lyrical African-Caribbean playwrights of our time. Mustapha Matura has won numerous awards including the George Devine award and the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright.

Boy, wen we come ter power we go change dis whole island, upside down, we go make all dem people who was taking advantage a we, suffer, we go make dem bawl. 1950s Port of Spain. Samuel, a young tailor's assistant, dreams of Trinidad's independence. On the eve of carnival everyone fills the streets, dressed up to play mas. This annual celebration turns to tragedy and spurs Samuel on to make a decision that will change the political landscape of the future of this vibrant, volatile island. A wickedly funny, exuberant and poignant play from Mustapha Matura. Born in Trinidad, he is the multi-award-winning writer of numerous plays including Rum an' Coca-Cola, Playboy of the West Indies and The Coup. Play Mas premiered at the Royal Court in 1974, winning the Evening Standard Award for Best Play, and transferred to the West End. This edition was published to coincide with its first major revival at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, which opened on 11 March 2015.

The Methuen Drama Book of Plays by Black British Writers provides an essential anthology of six of the key plays that have shaped the trajectory of British black theatre from the late-1970s to the present day. In doing so it charts the journey from specialist black theatre companies to the mainstream, including West End success, while providing a cultural and racial barometer for Britain during the last forty years. It opens with Mustapha Matura's 1979 play Welcome Home Jacko which in its depiction of a group of young unemployed West Indians was one of the first to explore issues of youth culture, identity and racial and cultural identification. Jackie Kay's Chiaroscuro examines debates about the politics of black, mixed race and lesbian identities in 1980s Britain, and from the 1990s Winsome Pinnock's Talking in Tongues engages with the politics of feminism to explore issues of black women's identity in Britian and Jamaica. From the first decade of the twenty-first century the three plays include Roy Williams' seminal pub-drama Sing Yer Hearts Out for the Lads, exploring racism and identity against the backdrop of the World Cup; Kwame Kwei-Armah's National Theatre play of 2004, Fix Up, about black cultural history and progress in modern Britain, and finally Bola Agbage's terrific 2007 debut, Gone Too Far!, which examines questions of identity and tensions between Africans and Caribbeans living in Britain. Edited by Lynnette Goddard, this important anthology provides an essential introduction to the last forty years of British black theatre.