Why do we have different accents and where do they come from? Why do you say ‘tomayto’ and I say ‘tomahto’? And is one way of speaking better than another? In You’re All Talk, linguist Rob Drummond explores the enormous diversity in our spoken language to reveal extraordinary insights into how humans operate: how we perceive (and judge) other people and how we would like ourselves to be perceived. He investigates how and why we automatically associate different accents with particular social characteristics — degrees of friendliness, authority, social class, level of education, race, and so on — and how we, consciously or subconsciously, change the way we speak in order to create different versions of ourselves to fit different environments. Ultimately, You’re All Talk demonstrates the beauty of linguistic diversity and how embracing it can give us a better understanding of other people — and ourselves.

National Theatre Connections is an annual festival which brings new plays for young people to schools and youth theatres across the UK and Ireland. Commissioning exciting work from leading playwrights, the festival exposes actors aged 13-19 to the world of professional theatre-making, giving them full control of a theatrical production - from costume and set design to stage management and marketing campaigns. NT Connections have published over 150 original plays and regularly works with 500 theatre companies and 10,000 young people each year. This anthology brings together 10 new plays by some of the UK's most prolific and current writers and artists alongside notes on each of the texts exploring performance for schools and youth groups. Salt Life is never plain sailing, but when a new government initiative comes into place offering young people the chance to train and learn skills overseas, droves of teens jump at the chance to secure their future. Once on board the transport ship, the promises of the glossy advert seem a far cry from what lies ahead. A play about generations, choices and hope. Class It's school election time and while most of the school is busy enjoying their lunch break, a deadlock is taking place amongst the members of the school council. Bitter rivalries, secret alliances and false promises are laid bare. As a ruthless battle ensues, who will win and does anyone really care? A play about politics, populism and the 'ping' of a text message. The Sad Club This is a musical about depression and anxiety. It's a collection of monologues, songs and duologues from all over time and space exploring what about living in this world stops us from being happy and how we might go about tackling those problems. Chaos A girl is locked in a room. A boy brings another boy flowers. A girl has tied herself to a railing. A boy doesn't know who he is. A girl worries about impending catastrophe. A woman jumps in front of a train. A boy's heart falls out his chest. A butterfly has a broken wing. Stuff Vinny's organising a surprise birthday party for his mate, Anita. It's not going well: his choice of venue is a bit misguided, Anita's not keen on leaving the house, and everyone else has their own stuff going on. Maybe a surprise party wasn't the best idea? A play about trying (but not really managing) to help. Flesh A group of teenagers wake up in a forest with no clue how they got there. They find themselves separated into two different teams but have no idea what game they are expected to play. With no food, no water and seemingly no chance of escape, it's only a matter of time before things start to get drastic. But whose side are people on and how far will they go to survive? Ageless In a not too distant future, Temples pharmaceutical corporation has quite literally changed the face of ageing. Their miracle drug keeps its users looking perpetually teenage. With an ever youthful population, how can society support those who are genuinely young? The Small Hours It's the middle of the night and Peebs and Epi are the only students left at school over half-term. At the end of their night out, former step-siblings Red and Jazz try to navigate their reunion. With only a couple of hours until morning, Jaffa tries to help Keesh finish an essay. As day breaks, Wolfie is getting up the courage to confess a secret to VJ at a party. Their choices are small yet momentous. The hours are small but feel very, very long. And when the night finally ends, the future is waiting - all of it. terra A group of classmates is torn apart by the opportunity to perform their own dance. As they disagree and bicker, two distinct physical groups emerge and separate into opposing teams. When a strange outsider appears - out of step with everyone else - the divide is disrupted. A contemporary narrative dance piece about individuality, community and heritage. Variations Thirteen-year-old Alice wishes her life was completely different. She wakes up one morning to find that her life is different. In fact, it's so different that all she wants to do is get back to normality. But how does she do that?

Written (and occasionally performed) by Rob Drummond in collaboration with director David Overend, these scripts are a record of a long-term artistic partnership. From the award-winning magic of Bullet Catch (the Arches, 2012), to the audience votes of The Majority (National Theatre of Great Britain, 2017), these six plays open up a space for improvisation and participation, and a range of responses and reactions from the audience. The collection includes four previously unpublished scripts along with up-to-date versions of their most successful productions. With introductory essays and in-text commentary by both the writer and director, this is a valuable resource for practitioners, students, and scholars of contemporary British theatre.

Written (and occasionally performed) by Rob Drummond in collaboration with director David Overend, these scripts are a record of a long-term artistic partnership. From the award-winning magic of Bullet Catch (the Arches, 2012), to the audience votes of The Majority (National Theatre of Great Britain, 2017), these six plays open up a space for improvisation and participation, and a range of responses and reactions from the audience. The collection includes four previously unpublished scripts along with up-to-date versions of their most successful productions. With introductory essays and in-text commentary by both the writer and director, this is a valuable resource for practitioners, students, and scholars of contemporary British theatre.

Essential study guides for the future linguist. Language Diversity and World Englishes is an introduction to the variation of English throughout the UK and around the world. It is suitable for students at advanced level and beyond. Written with input from the Cambridge English Corpus, it examines how language varies among different geographical, ethnic and social groups, as well as looking at differing perceptions of language varieties. Using short activities to help explain analysis methods, this book guides students through major modern issues and concepts. It summarises key concerns and modern findings, while providing inspiration for language investigations and non-examined assessments (NEAs) with research suggestions.

This book examines how urban adolescents attending a non-mainstream learning centre in the UK use language and other semiotic practices to enact identities in their day-to-day lives. Combining variationist sociolinguistics and ethnographically-informed interactional sociolinguistics, this detailed and highly reflexive account provides rich descriptions and discussions of the linguistic processes at work in a previously underexplored research environment. In doing so, it reveals fresh insights into the changes taking place in urban British English, and into the difficulties of undertaking ethnographic, sociolinguistic research in a challenging context using a combination of methods and approaches. This interdisciplinary work will appeal to students and scholars from across the fields of sociolinguistics, ethnography, and education; as well as providing a valuable resource for teachers and trainees.

This book examines how urban adolescents attending a non-mainstream learning centre in the UK use language and other semiotic practices to enact identities in their day-to-day lives. Combining variationist sociolinguistics and ethnographically-informed interactional sociolinguistics, this detailed and highly reflexive account provides rich descriptions and discussions of the linguistic processes at work in a previously underexplored research environment. In doing so, it reveals fresh insights into the changes taking place in urban British English, and into the difficulties of undertaking ethnographic, sociolinguistic research in a challenging context using a combination of methods and approaches. This interdisciplinary work will appeal to students and scholars from across the fields of sociolinguistics, ethnography, and education; as well as providing a valuable resource for teachers and trainees.

Is morality just what the majority say? Is that all it is? If I don't vote, I'm not part of that discussion. Rob Drummond returns to the National with a new show about democracy. The Majority charts Rob's journey as he navigates the Scottish Independence Referendum, Brexit, Trump... and whatever today brings. So take your seat and push the button. Yes or No. Can you change the show with your votes? Every night will be different, depending on the majority.

Twelve years ago, from the mouth of a great sacrifice, a child was born. And they called her Autumn. Isaac returns to his family home with a chance to atone for the terrible mistake that claimed his childhood. Autumn is a little girl whose time is running out. With three sleeps left before her birthday, she can only hope for a miracle, or an unexpected act of selflessness. Her grandmother, Sophia, brings them together in a desperate attempt to save her family, at any cost. Set against the eerie backdrop of an isolated rural community and steeped in the folklore of the harvest, Grain in the Blood is a noir-ish thriller exploring a timely moral dilemma: how much are we prepared to sacrifice for the greater good? The play received its world premiere at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, on 18 October 2016, before opening at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on 1 November 2016.

Pit the kettle oan mither, this is braw news! Scotland's most famous family, The Broons, are brought to life in this new stage adaptation by award-winning playwright Rob Dummond. Beloved of readers since their first appearance in the Sunday Post in 1936, The Broons are a family of infamous characters including Granpaw, Paw and Maw Broon, Hen and Joe, Daphne, Maggie, Horace, the Twins and the Bairn. Living in each other's pockets in 10 Glebe Street, today they're getting together for a commemorative photograph. But change is afoot at 10 Glebe Street when Maggie announces she's getting married, Hen and Daphne are heading out on dates, Joe is off to London and Horace is off to Mars. With Paw trying to save his pennies for the wedding and Grandpaw out to settle old scores, what will Maw do to keep her family together? Filled with laughs, love and comic-strip visuals, all set to a Scottish soundtrack, The Broons is a fast-paced, fun and fantastic adaptation of a much-loved institution. It was first performed at Perth Concert Hall in September 2016 as part of a Scotland-wide tour.

I told her that it wouldn't be appropriate for us to meet in person. She asked me why not. I told her the truth. Because I was extremely attracted to her and didn't want to court the destruction of my marriage. She said, your wife never needs to know. It will just be a little adventure. Nothing even needs to happen. September 2016 marks the fifteen-year anniversary of Rob and Lucy's very first date. What better way to mark this milestone than to create a show all about love? As part of his research Rob underwent an MRI scan. His ventromedial prefrontal cortex surged when looking at a picture of his wife. However, it also surged while looking at other pictures. In equal parts TED Talk and theatrical experiment, this is the show that combines a live on-stage date and evolutionary theory. Whether you're single or attached, this is a big-hearted play for those looking to find love and those wanting to celebrate it. In Fidelity received its world premiere at the HighTide Festival 2016.

To paraphrase Alistair Beaton's Caledonia - the first play in this collection - 'The English have anthologies, the Spanish have anthologies, the French have anthologies . . . why should not Scotland have its anthology?' Scotland is entering a crucial period in its history, where its identity is being debated daily, from everyday conversation to the national and international press. At the same time, its theatre is resurgent, with key Scottish playwrights, theatres and theatre companies expanding their performance vocabularies while coming to prominence in national and international contexts. Caledonia is a tale of hubris and delusion, portraying a crucial slice of Scotland's history and its foray into imperial colonialism told with dark humour and creative flair, by award-winning playwright and satirist Alistair Beaton. Bullet Catch, by Rob Drummond, is a unique theatrical experience exploring the world of magic, featuring mind-reading, levitation, and the most notorious finale in show business. Morna Pearson's The Artist Man and the Mother Woman is a wickedly funny, deceptively simple, surreal portrait of a spectacularly dysfunctional relationship. Rantin', by Kieran Hurley draws on storytelling, live music and an unapologetically haphazard take on Scottish folk tradition, in an attempt to stitch together fragmented stories to reveal a botched patchwork of a nation. First performed at the Royal Court in 2013, Narrative by Anthony Neilson is a theatrical exploration of the the boundaries and possibilities of storytelling. Featuring plays from Alistair Beaton, Rob Drummond, Morna Pearson, Kieran Hurley and Anthony Neilson, this collection is edited by Dr. Trish Reid, a leading critical voice on Scottish theatre.

Quiz Show: Welcome to False!, the quiz show where there are no questions, only statements, where every statement is a lie, and where the prize is nothing less than the truth. Everyone's favourite quizmaster, Daniel Caplin, gives tonight's gifted contestants the chance to play for the ultimate prize - to discover what lies behind the Door of Truth. Newcomer Sandra has always been desperate to find out and she's more than a threat to our reigning champion. Tonight, there is even more to play for. Can the show survive what she discovers? Bullet Catch: The high-risk Bullet Catch has claimed many lives since its conception in 1613. Modern-day marvel William Wonder presents a theatre show with magic, mindreading, levitation and, if you dare stay, the most notorious stunt of them all. A unique theatrical experience exploring the world of magic, featuring mind-reading, levitation, and the most notorious finale in show business. One of Scotland's most exciting theatre-makers, Rob Drummond pushes the boundaries of popular culture in these two unique pieces of theatre.