In the last two decades there has been an explosion of scholarly interest in the Military Orders. With a history stretching from the early twelfth century to the present day, they were among the richest and most powerful orders of the church in medieval Europe. They founded their own states in Prussia and on the Mediterranean islands of Rhodes and Malta. They are of concern to historians of the Church, art and architecture, government, agriculture, estate management, banking, medicine and warfare, and of the expansion of Europe overseas. The conferences on their history, which have been organized in London every four years, have attracted leading scholars from all over the world. The present volume records the proceedings of the Fourth Conference in 2005 and is essential reading for those interested in the progress of research on these extraordinary institutions. The twenty-seven papers published here represent a selection of those delivered at the conference. Architecture, archaeology and the part which the orders played in Europe are well represented, along with work on northern and eastern Europe. Four papers deal specifically with military or naval matters, while another four deal with the spiritual life of the brothers and sisters. Family relationships represent a growing field of interest. The majority of the papers focus on the Hospitallers, but the volume includes studies on the Templars and the Teutonic Order, as well as the Portuguese military orders.

Celebrating 10 years of the London New Play Festival, featuring six plays: Wild Turkey by Joe Penhall: Two small businessmen struggle to keep their flagging burger bar afloat, in the face of increasingly savage and bizarre forces. Everlasting Rose by Judy Upton: Terrified of ageing, a caravan Casanova changes wives every decade, until a woman of the 90's challenges his routine. Strindberg Knew My Father by Mark Jenkins: Life becomes farce as Strindberg loses control over his characters while writing 'Miss Julie'. In the Fields of Aceldama by Naomi Wallace: When their only child dies in an accident, Mattie and Henry draw on her spirited past to find the strength to go on. Two Horsemen by Biyi Bandele: Baja and Langbaja trade stories about life, sex and god in a run-down shack. Will their stories sustain them, or trap them forever? Maison Splendide by Laura Bridgetman: House-sitting for gangsters, Honey and Moon enact a 'let's pretend' lesbian white wedding, parodying suburban customs.

Brighton sculptor Vonnie Sharpe's laidback routine is shattered when her flatmate Gina is carjacked during a bank robbery. Gina's car is found abandoned on the South Downs but there's no sign of the quiet young chip shop worker. A worried Vonnie enlists the help of her arty friends in the race to find her. With a singer, actor and busker on her team, she half-wonders if she could've got Arts Council funding for her search. Vonnie tracks down the bank robber, who insists he left Gina unharmed in her car. From here the trail twists and turns through art classes, language schools and escape rooms, as she narrows down her list of suspects. A ransom note arrives and it's Vonnie who the kidnappers want to deliver the money. With the cash drop imminent and not knowing who she can trust, she needs to find answers - and quickly.

If you're not interested in earning a new pair of Nikes by the end of the day...complete designer wardrobe by the end of the week...all the beers you can drink...if you don't want to meet Uma Thurman...then okay, stay here, as King of the Slackers, that's fine by me. As another summer season on the seafront gets underway Ella is turning up the heat in a high stakes game to get as far away as possible. Whilst Ruby keeps the cafe going and Dean mans the ice cream kiosk Ella learns there's no fast track to success. Judy Upton's coming of age drama first exploded onto the stage in 1998 at the Birmingham Rep. This new edition has been published to coincide with Boundless Theatre's twentieth anniversary revival at the Southwark Playhouse in May 2018.

"Judy Upton's a playful writer who likes nothing better than to upset expectations" Independent Ashes and Sand: "Searing, brutal...Judy Upton's vicious little hand grenade of a play explodes onto the stage...her writing blazes with anger about the waste of a generation with no hopes" Independent "Sunspots confirms Upton as one of the most promising writers working in London at present" What's On People on the River: "A skilfully written and entertainingly hard-nosed look at the victim culture of tabloid telly" Time Out Stealing Souls: "The writing is diamond hard, slippery and clear like thin ice covering a particularly murky pond" Guardian Know Your Rights: "A moving and accomplished piece...Upton's play can dispense with arguments and right-on statements because in creating characters she develops situation." The Times

Upton's a playful writer who likes nothing better than to upset expectations

Join the schemers and the dreamer on the English seafront, as another summer season begins. There's serious money to be made. Amongst the paint-peeling kiosks on the prom, Ella arrives like an erotic whilrwind, hell-bent on secruing the elusive jackpot and a ticket to Hollywood. But everyone else is raising their game too and, as events race towards an explosive conclusion, a pet hamster lies frozen amongst the melting Mivvis.

This volume brings together two plays of unbearable love and brutality by the winner of the 1994 George Devine and Verity Bargate awards.

"Bruises": Beyond the windows of a South Coast boarding house lies a world of violence and pain, a world where a father is passing an inheritance of drunken cruelty onto his son.

"The Shorewatcher's House": A coastal village. A nuclear power station on the horizon. Three entangled lovers obsessed by a fear of destruction play out their fantasies of breaking free.