Two plays by award-winning writer James Fritz, each asking urgent, pointed and complex questions of the times we live in. Ideal for schools, youth theatres and amateur companies to perform, these versatile and incisive plays demonstrate an innovative playwright at the top of his craft. In Comment Is Free, a journalist forms the centre of a devastating media storm. After being staged by Old Vic New Voices in 2015, the version published here was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016, winning both the Tinniswood and Imison Awards for Audio Drama. Start Swimming is a play about occupation, revolution and what the future holds for today's youth. One step away from disaster, there's only one thing left to do: start swimming. First staged by the Young Vic Taking Part department, Start Swimming was also performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017.

'Imagine being him. Every day you wake up. You're tired. Your body doesn't work properly... You said it - you'd kill yourself.' Two teenagers sneak into an old man's home for a secret meeting. A young couple try to build their future whilst looking after an ailing parent. A care home offers its residents the opportunity to unburden their children. James Fritz's play The Fall takes a funny, moving and candid look at young people's relationships to older people, confronting the frightening prospect of ageing in a country undergoing crises of housing and care. It was commissioned and premiered by the National Youth Theatre at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2016, and revived at Southwark Playhouse in 2018.

How far would you go for what you believe in? Kat gets up one morning, leaves her family behind and travels to London to carry out an act that will change her life and, she hopes, everyone else's. Raw, disturbing and compassionate, James Fritz's searingly powerful play forces a confrontation with some of the most urgent questions we face. What can one individual do to effect change? And where do we draw the line between absolute commitment and dangerous obsession? Parliament Square won the Judges' Award in the 2015 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting. It premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in October 2017, before transferring to the Bush Theatre, London.

'Look at all those couples. Which one will leave. Which one will run. Which one is cheating on the other. Which one will die first. Him. Him. Her. Him.' What happens when two friends who were always meant to be together, get together - and stay together? No one told them life was going to be this way... A dark and uncompromising play about romance, expectation and mortality, James Fritz's Ross & Rachel takes an unflinching look at the myths of modern love. It was first produced by MOTOR at the Assembly George Square Theatre as part of the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

He says they all do it. These kids, you know, they've got their phones. Film everything. Can't say I blame them. I would at that age. Seventeen-year-old Jack is the apple of his mother's eye. His parents, Di and David, have devoted their lives to giving him every opportunity they never had. As a result, Jack is smart, outgoing, and well on his way to achieving the grades to study Law at Durham University. But a startling incident outside the school gates threatens to ruin everything they've striven for: an incident that suggests a deep hatred of their son. As events begin to accelerate, Di and David start to doubt Jack's closest friends, Jack himself, and ultimately themselves - who can they trust? In a world where smartphones are ubiquitous, James Fritz's deeply provocative and topical drama throws a light on the sorts of insidious opportunities new technology offers - where nothing dies online, except reputation. Four Minutes Twelve Seconds was runner-up for the Verity Bargate Award in 2013. It received its world premiere at Hampstead Theatre in the Downstairs space on 2 October 2014.

Born in Venice, Italy, Antonio Vivaldi was one of the most influential and highly regarded Baroque composers, although his fame blazed only briefly. He is most remembered for his concertos, particularly "The Four Seasons," but his overall production was enormous, ranging from orchestral and vocal music for both secular and church settings, as well as opera scores and libretti. In addition, Vivaldi was a master violinist and spent much of his career as an instructor at a famous institution for girls, the Hospital of Mercy. He was educated as a priest, but poor health and probably a lack of interest in the calling encouraged him to follow another path in life. During his lifetime, the red-haired virtuoso and opera impresario was easily among the most famous musicians in Italy; this fame eventually extended throughout civilized Europe. His name was sufficient to open doors to the richest and most powerful people in the Western world. Before his death, however, his heyday had long passed. After an extended period of obscurity, the music of Vivaldi underwent a revival in the early 20th century. This book is Vivaldi's incredible story.

According to the Gospels, when Pontius Pilate was to pardon one Jewish prisoner in honor of the Passover, he offered the people a choice between Barabbas the Zealot and a rabbi known as Jesus the Nazarene. Though this was an actual historical event, their choice was symbolic as well. Under the yoke of Roman oppression, Barabbas responded with violence; in contrast, Jesus was willing to forgive. The Zealot vowed to free the nation; the rabbi showed how to free the soul. Whom did the people choose? They made the same choice that we continue to make even today:

A small asteroid has hit the capital city. Thousands have been displaced. And in a town far away, a young man called Vin is finding it hard to talk. The only person who seems to notice is Rach, who resolves to find out what's troubling him and help him find his voice again. But when Rach's family take in an articulate and charismatic survivor of the asteroid incident, Vin's silence is no longer her first priority. How does it feel when the suffering of others seems more legitimate than our own? James Fritz's Lava is a timely play about grief and the power of expression, rocking with raw emotion and sharp humour. It premiered at Nottingham Playhouse in 2018, in a co-production with Fifth Word who commissioned the play. It was revived on tour in 2022, including a run at Soho Theatre, London.