Softcops renders the philosophy of Foucault as a music-hall turn and Victorian freakshow "theatre and history combine to give such intelligent fun" (TLS); Top Girls brings five great and less-than-great women from history together for a dinner party and "has a combination of directness and complexity which keeps you both emotionally and intellectually alert" (Sunday Times); Fen scrutinises the lives of the low-paid women potato pickers of the fens (in Eastern England) and "the playwright pins down her poetic subject matter in dialogue of impressive vigour and economy" (Financial Times) while Serious Money is a satirical study of the effects of the Big Bang - "Pure genius...the first play about the city to capture the authentic atmosphere of the place." (Daily Telegraph)

Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird (1831- 1904) - the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258) - the mediaeval courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan - the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, an obedient wife out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the impending crisis in Marlene's own life. A classic of contemporary theatre, Churchill's play is seen as a landmark for a new generation of playwrights. It was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982. "Top Girls has a combination of directness and complexity which keeps you both emotionally and intellectually alert. You can smell life, and at the same time feel locked in an argument with an agile and passionate mind." (John Peter, Sunday Times)

"I'm walking down the street and there's a door in the fence open and inside there are three women I've seen before." Three old friends and a neighbour. A summer of afternoons in the back yard. Tea and catastrophe. Escaped Alone premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2016, in a production directed by James Macdonald.

Packed full of analysis and interpretation, historical background, discussions and commentaries, York Notes will help you get right to the heart of the text you're studying, whether it's poetry, a play or a novel. You'll learn all about the historical context of the piece; find detailed discussions of key passages and characters; learn interesting facts about the text; and discover structures, patterns and themes that you may never have known existed. In the Advanced Notes, specific sections on critical thinking, and advice on how to read critically yourself, enable you to engage with the text in new and different ways. Full glossaries, self-test questions and suggested reading lists will help you fully prepare for your exam, while internet links and references to film, TV, theatre and the arts combine to fully immerse you in your chosen text. York Notes offer an exciting and accessible key to your text, enabling you to develop your ideas and transform your studies!

A short play about death by Caryl Churchill. A funeral party for a man with an adventurous past and a ginger cat that needs a home. Where is he now? Is his heart lighter than a feather? How did he die? And what happens to his friends? Caryl Churchill's play Here We Go was premiered at the National Theatre, London, in November 2015.

"You western-backed goats, They forced us into slavery and killed millions. Now they want us to accept the sinfulness of homos. It shall not work." In 2014, Uganda passed an Anti-Homosexuality Act. This short, startling play looks at what lies behind it. Caryl Churchill's Pigs and Dogs is substantially based on material from Boy Wives and Female Husbands by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe. It premiered at the Royal Court in 2016.

In Here We Go, Churchill confronts the topic of ageing and death, told in 3 separate sections. In the first part of the play, friends gather at a funeral and discuss, without much feeling, the passing of a friend. The second part is a monologue about the afterlife, and in the third section, a dying man is dressed and undressed by a loving caregiver. Contains roles for 3-8 characters.

Marlene has been promoted to managing director of a London employment agency and is celebrating. The symbolic luncheon is attended by women in legend or history who offer perspectives on maternity and ambition. In a time warp, these ladies are also her co-workers, clients, and relatives. Marlene, like her famous guests, has had to pay a price to ascend from proletarian roots to the executive suite: she has become, figuratively speaking, a male oppressor and even coaches female clients on adopting odious male traits. Marlene has also abandoned her illegitimate and dull-witted daughter. Her emotional and sexual life has become as barren as Lady Macbeth's.

In this collection of plays from one of our finest dramatists, Caryl Churchill demonstrates her remarkable ability to find new forms to express profound truths about the world we live in. Complete with a new introduction by the author, this volume contains: Seven Jewish Children (Royal Court Theatre, London, 2009): a short play about seven families wondering how to protect their children, written at the time of the bombing of Gaza by Israel in 2008-9. Love and Information (Royal Court, 2012): a fast-moving kaleidoscope in which more than a hundred characters try to make sense of what they know. Ding Dong the Wicked (Royal Court, 2012): two families on opposite sides of a war, locked in identical hatred. Here We Go (National Theatre, 2015): a play about dying and being dead. Escaped Alone (Royal Court, 2016): three old friends and an unexpected neighbour have tea in a sunny back yard, and face catastrophes. Pigs and Dogs (Royal Court, 2016): a look at how colonialism crushed the fluidity of sexuality in Africa and brought a new intolerance, as shown in the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014. Also included are three previously unpublished short plays, each written in response to political events: War and Peace Gaza Piece (2014), Tickets are Now On Sale (2015) and Beautiful Eyes (2017). 'The wit, invention and structural ingenuity of Churchill's work are remarkable... she never does anything twice' Telegraph 'The most dazzlingly inventive living dramatist in the English language' New York Times

"I'm walking down the street and there's a door in the fence open and inside there are three women I've seen before." Three old friends and a neighbour. A summer of afternoons in the back yard. Tea and catastrophe. Caryl Churchill's play Escaped Alone premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2016, in a production directed by James Macdonald. It was named Best Play at the 2017 Writers' Guild Awards.

Premiered at the Royal National Theater, this extraordinary new play by one of Britain's leading playwrights combines English folk tales with modern urban life. In terms of its language alone, it is as exciting and challenging on the page as on the stage.

The play follows the Skriker, 'a shapeshifter and death portent, ancient and damaged', in its search for love and revenge as it pursues two young women to London, changing its shape at every new encounter. Along with the Skriker come Raw head and bloody bones, the Kelpie, the Green Lady, Black Dog and more, till the whole country is swarming with enticing and angry creatures that have burst from the underworld.

Marlene thinks the eighties are going to be stupendous. Her sister Joyce has her doubts. Her daughter Angie is just frightened. Since its premiere in 1982, Top Girls has become a seminal play of the modern theatre. Set during a period of British politics dominated by the presence of the newly elected Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Churchill's play prompts us to question our notions of women's success and solidarity. Its sharp look at the society and politics of the 1980s is combined with a timeless examination of women's choices and restrictions regarding career and family. This new Student Edition features an introduction by Sophie Bush, Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, UK prepared with the contemporary student in mind. 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.

"Serious Money" is perhaps Caryl Churchill's most provocative play. It is a satirical study of the effects of the "Big Bang" boom of financial markets in the 1980s and how it gave rise to hectic, chaotic, high velocity work where human values are compromised for success and wealth.

The dialogue of the play is largely overlapping with the ingenious rhyming couplets and singsong verse. It is so stylized that Churchill even includes a rhymed soliloquy and a rap number. Language in the play is coarse, there being a particular emphasis on scatological humour, and the tone is overwhelmingly angry. Churchill's characters are drawn razor sharp cartoonishly. The play's plot revolves around financial wheeler-dealers that were born into the boom and want to maximize profits above all else. The tone is contemporary, edgy, witty and has been viewed by some as massively offensive: it is a perfect example of one of Churchill's most hard-hitting works.

This Student Edition contains a chronology of the playwright's life and work; an introduction giving the background to the play, a discussion of the various interpretations and notes on individual words and phrases in the text.

Two exhilarating and teasingly entertaining one-act plays from one of the UK's leading playwrights. Heart's Desire sees a family awaiting their daughter's return from Australia, though in a series of alternative scenarios, the play collapses as it keeps veering off in unexpected and ridiculous directions. Blue Kettle tells the story of conman Derek and the five women he misleads into believing he is their biological son. Try as he might, Derek's plans are scuppered as the play is invaded by a virus. In Caryl Churchill's ever-inventive style, the two plays in Blue Heart pull apart language and structure in a way that is theatrically remarkable and fast paced, in a stirring yet truthful exploration of family and relationships. Blue Heart was first performed at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, in August 1997 in a touring co-production by Out of Joint and the Royal Court Theatre. This edition was published alongside the first major revival of Blue Heart, nearly twenty years after its premiere, in a co-production by the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, and Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol, in 2016.

A fascinating meditation on human cloning, personal identity and the conflicting claims of nature and nurture. Bernard thought he was an only child. One day he learns the shocking truth: he is just one of a number of clones. Together, he and his father confront epic questions of identity, intimacy and belonging. Caryl Churchill's play A Number pushes the boundaries of science and ethics with an astonishing twist on the dynamics of the father/son relationship. It was originally produced at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2002, winning the Evening Standard Award for Best Play. Set Text: A Number is a set text for AS/A-Level Drama (WJEC) A Number is also available in the volume Caryl Churchill Plays: Four.

'Make me happen' Your partner's died, could things have been different? Caryl Churchill's short play What If If Only premiered in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in September 2021, directed by James Macdonald. This edition also includes the resonant and surreal short piece, Air. 'Caryl Churchill has remade the landscape of contemporary drama - and earned herself a place among the greats' Guardian

Someone sneezes. Someone can't get a signal. Someone shares a secret. Someone won't answer the door. Someone put an elephant on the stairs. Someone's not ready to talk. Someone is her brother's mother. Someone hates irrational numbers. Someone told the police. Someone got a message from the traffic light. Someone's never felt like this before. In this fast moving kaleidoscope, more than a hundred characters try to make sense of what they know. Caryl Churchill's play Love and Information was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in September 2012.

Spanning almost ten years and embracing a remarkable range of style and subject matter, this third volume of Churchill's Collected Plays, introduced by the author, contains: Icecream - an unsettling look at British attitudes to America, and vice versa Mad Forest - Churchill's response to the Romanian Revolution The Skriker - a 'spellbinding' piece combining English folk tales with modern urban life Thyestes - a 'bleakly eloquent new translation of Seneca's Roman tragedy' (Sunday Times). Plus two collaborative pieces combining word and dance: Lives of the Great Poisoners - a libretto to music by Orlando Gough and choreography by Ian Spink A Mouthful of Birds - written with David Lan Caryl Churchill has been hailed as 'a dramatist who must surely be amongst the best half-dozen now writing' The Times

With an introduction by Graham Whybrow, literary manager of the Royal Court Theatre, this anthology collects the defining plays of the 1980s and 1990s in one volume - Top Girls 'The best British play ever from a woman dramatist' (The Guardian) Hysteria 'One of the most brilliantly original and entertaining new plays I have seen in years' (The Sunday Times) Blasted 'Her dialogue is both sparse and stunning. They will call her mad, but then they said that about Strindberg' (Mail on Sunday) Shopping and F***ing 'A real coup de theatre' (Evening Standard) The Beauty Queen of Leenane 'The most wickedly funny, brilliantly abrasive young dramatist ...a born storyteller' (New York Times)The result is a collection of "must reads" that's excellent value for students and theatre fans alike.

Comedy / Casting: 4m, 3f w/doubling / Scenery: 2 exteriors

The time-shifting comedy by the author of Top Girls created a sensation Off-Broadway directed by Tommy Tune. Here we are in 1880 darkest but British Africa as portrayed in old movies, plays and novels. Only with a difference. Both parody and spoof of the Victorian Empire and its rigid attitudes especially towards sex. There is Clive, a British functionary, his wife Betty (played by a man), their daughter Victoria (a rag doll), Clive's friend Harry an explorer, Mrs. Saunders who runs about dressed in a riding habit, Clive's son Edward who still plays with dolls and is played by a woman and Joshua a native servant who knows exactly what is really going on. What really is going on is a marvelous send up and a non-stop round robin of sexual liaisons. All this time the natives are restless in the background. The second act shifts to London in 1980 except for the surviving characters it is only twenty five years later and all those repressed sexual longings have evaporated along with the Empire.

"Intelligent, inventive and funny."-The New York Times

"I really don't know when I've had more fun. It blends farce, pathos into a work of total theatre."-New York Daily News

Serious Comedy / Castin: 7f. with doubling / Ints.

Marlene has been promoted to managing director of a London employment agency and is celebrating. The symbolic luncheon is attended by women in legend or history who offer perspectives on maternity and ambition. In a time warp, these ladies are also her co workers, clients and relatives. Marlene, like her famous guests, has had to pay a price to ascend from proletarian roots to the executive suite: she has become, figuratively speaking, a male oppressor and even coaches female clients on adopting odious male traits. Marlene has also abandoned her illegitimate and dull witted daughter. Her emotional and sexual life has become as barren as Lady Macbeth's.

"A blistering yet sympathetic look at women who achieve success by adopting the worse traits of self made men.... Truly original." N.Y. Times.

"Very funny and provocative.... A mind lifting experience." N.Y. Post.

Caryl Churchill's spare and resonant version of Strindberg's enigmatic masterpiece. Written in 1901, a mysterious amalgam of Freud, Alice in Wonderland and Strindberg's own private symbolism, A Dream Play follows the logic of a dream: A young woman comes from another world to see if life is really as difficult as people make it out to be. Characters merge into each other, locations change in an instant and a locked door becomes an obsessive recurrent image. As Strindberg wrote in his preface, he wanted 'to imitate the disjointed yet seemingly logical shape of a dream. Everything can happen, everything is possible and probable. Time and place do not exist.' This version of A Dream Play, from a literal translation by Charlotte Barslund, is by leading playwright Caryl Churchill. It was first performed in the Cottesloe auditorium of the National Theatre, London, in February 2005, in a production directed by Katie Mitchell, with additional material by Katie Mitchell and the company. Also included is an introduction by Caryl Churchill.

The dialectic of Top Girls is wide-ranging, covering universal dilemmas facing women, but focuses on major themes of contemporary life. The critique of feminist ambitions is a clear central theme and Churchill's selection of women from the past and modern world shows sympathy for the feminist cause and disdain for the male oppressor, but there is no sentimentality an no comfortable solution is offered for their problems.

Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird (1831- 1904) - the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258) - the mediaeval courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan - the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, an obedient wife out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the impending crisis in Marlene's own life. A classic of contemporary theatre, Churchill's play is seen as a landmark for a new generation of playwrights. It was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982.