A revised and updated edition of Declan Donnellan's bestselling book, a fresh and radical approach to acting by a world-famous director. 'Cuts open every generalisation about acting and draws out gleamingly fresh specifics' Peter Brook 'Explains Donnellan's highly practical system and sheds unique light on one of the greatest directors of acting in our time' Le Monde 'Hugely practical and never gets lost in theory' El Pais 'A gripping read, as acute about the psychology of lying as it is about the art of acting' Guardian 'Rooted in modern theatre, modern psychology and, above all, modern reality' Izvestia 'Unpretentious, straightforward, and pierced with acute insight' Kommersant

Robert Pattinson and Uma Thurman star in this sumptuous Paris-set period drama based on the novella by Guy de Maupassant. Georges Duroy (Pattinson) is a suave and handsome young journalist using his wits and powers of manipulation to make his way in 1890s Paris. In order to ascend the social ladder, Duroy seduces a string of influential society beauties including Madeleine Forestier (Thurman), Virginie Walters (Kristen Scott Thomas) and Clotilde de Marelle (Christina Ricci). His peasant background has soon become a distant memory as he achieves dizzying success both in his career and in fashionable society.

This adaptation of Thackeray's novel traces the lives of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley from the time when they were at school to their middle age. The play moves fluidly over a period of 30 years, the scenes remaining episodic and connected by the shifts in characters' fortunes and development.

A gritty adaptation of Dickens' least sentimental love story with a cast of some of his most unforgettable characters. Whilst at his parents' graveside, Pip is accosted by Magwitch, a convict escaped from one of the prison ships. Terrified, he is forced to help the man to get away. An unexpected invitation to the house of rich old Miss Havisham forces him into the path of her beautiful, cruel niece Estella and their strange, ruthless games. After an anonymous benefactor grants him a small fortune, Pip turns his back on his humble life as a blacksmith's apprentice - he moves to London to become a gentleman in the hopes of winning Estella. But he has no idea of the dangers that await him there, or from where his salvation will come. This adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, by Nick Ormerod and Declan Donnellan, was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 2005.

A chillingly grotesque farce set in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, banned for decades in the USSR and revived in this uproarious new version by Declan Donnellan. Moscow, 1924. The early days of the Soviet Union. Communism is everywhere - little understood but greatly feared. A landlord must pretend to be a Communist. His cook is mistaken for the missing princess Anastasia, and his lodger is threatening them with the militia. Nikolai Erdman's play The Mandate was written in 1924 and first performed in 1925 in a production directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold. This English version by acclaimed director Declan Donnellan was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in 2004, in a production directed by Donnellan.

Thebes is under attack. In a bloody battle outside the city's gates, the sons of Oedipus fight to the death. King Creon issues an edict: Eteocles, who nobly defended Thebes against his brother and the invading army, is to be buried a hero; the body of his treacherous brother must be left to rot. Antigone and her uncle are locked in conflict. With no burial rites, Antigone knows that her brother Polynices' soul will be denied passage to the underworld and the gods will be offended. As the new king, Creon cannot ignore her actions - her defiance is a matter of national security.