British theatre of the 1990s witnessed an explosion of new talent and presented a new sensibility that sent shockwaves through audiences and critics. What produced this change, the context from which the work emerged, the main playwrights and plays, and the influence they had on later work are freshly evaluated in this important new study in Methuen Drama's Decades of Modern British Playwriting series. The 1990s volume provides a detailed study by four scholars of the work of four of the major playwrights who emerged and had a significant impact on British theatre: Sarah Kane (by Catherine Rees), Anthony Neilson (Patricia Reid), Mark Ravenhill (Graham Saunders) and Philip Ridley (Aleks Sierz). Essential for students of Theatre Studies, the series of six decadal volumes provides a critical survey and study of the theatre produced from the 1950s to 2009. Each volume features a critical analysis of the work of four key playwrights besides other theatre work, together with an extensive commentary on the period. Readers will understand the works in their contexts and be presented with fresh research material and a reassessment from the perspective of the twenty-first century. This is an authoritative and stimulating reassessment of British playwriting in the 1990s.

Winner of the 1990 Evening Standard Film Award for Best Film Post-war East End London. Ronnie and Reggie Kray are school ground bullies brought up by a domineering mother and two devoted aunts. National Service and spells in prison expose the brutality that helps establish the twin brothers as the kings of 1960s gangland London. Philip Ridley's original, uncut screenplay, almost as notorious as its subject matter is a stylised meditation on maternal love, childhood, violence and homoeroticism and takes its place as one of the masterpieces of contemporary cinema."Ridley...reveals himself most welcomely as a genuinely innovative film maker, untrammelled by conventions and with an individualistic imagination firing on all cylinders." (The Evening Standard)

Have you ever struggled to find the perfect monologue? Are you looking to expand your actors toolkit? Do you want an original monologue to impress at your next audition? Philip Ridley's The Vespers offers 100 original monologues for actors of all ages, all genders and all levels of experience. Varying in length, style and structure, this is an essential toolkit for any actor, written by one of Britain's most celebrated contemporary theatre voices. With 100 self-contained monologues to choose from, each monologue is free from context, age specification or character.

"My name is Daffodil Scissors. I haven't got any friends. Not one!" Daffodil lives alone with Dad. Dad makes extraordinary hats. The extraordinary hats go on Daffodil's head. Wearing Dad's hats makes everyone at school laugh at Daffodil. How is Daffodil ever going to make friends? Perhaps the mysterious Bag Lady has the answer.

'My name is Scribbleboy and I'm back to scribble!'

Years ago, Scribbleboy had transformed the gloomy grey concrete of the neighbourhood with his fabulous shapes and colours . . . until, without warning, he vanished. Most of the Scribbles were destroyed and only the Scribbleboy Fan Club kept his legend alive.

Then, one night, a strange figure is seen and a mysterious voice heard . . .

Could the impossible have happened? Has the legend come true? Is Scribbleboy really back?

"Now listen to me, my boy. I saved Lizard Street once. And now... now it's your turn. Be the hero you know yourself to be" It is the day for choosing a hero! Ruskin Splinter wants to be that hero! Unfortunately, the very idea he could defeat the Dragon in the school play makes everyone laugh. But in the vast sewers of Lizard Street something is stirring. Something called Krindlekrax. And, before long, Ruskin will be testing his heroic qualities... for real.

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child. "You know when you feel a rumbling in the ground, and people tell you it's a tube train going by? Well, it's not a tube train,' Corky said. 'It's the thing that lives in the sewers. It comes up at night, when we're asleep.' 'What is it?' Ruskin asked breathlessly. 'Krindlekrax,' Corky replied. There are plenty of weird and wonderful characters who live on Lizard Street. The hero of our story is Ruskin Splinter. But to be honest, Ruskin is a very unlikely hero. Small and thin, with knock-knees, thick glasses, a squeaky voice, no one at Ruskin's school believes he's capable of anything - all except for Ruskin's only friend Corky, the school caretaker. Ruskin is therefore delighted when Corky tells him the terrifying story of Krindlekrax: the giant crocodile who lives beneath their town's streets. Finally, a chance to prove himself! But can Ruskin really save the day? This witty, off-the-wall story is a classic rip-roaring adventure, from award-winning author Philip Ridley. Packed full of hilarious illustrations, this edition also has fun bonus activities! "Fizzes with life and humour ... outstanding" - Sunday Times

'Art's my hobby too.' Hobby?! Sasha was destined to take the art world by storm. At the age of fifteen pop stars wanted his paintings, and a new exhibition was going to make him a rich man. But now he serves in a stationers, and no one's even heard of him... what went wrong? Philip Ridley's darkly comic new play is about art, family, memory, and being haunted by the life we never lived. This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere performance at London's Southwark Playhouse, which was performed live and live-streamed around the world in November 2020.

Of course - as you've no doubt guessed - there's a big 'But Then' moment heading this way... It's a sunny, spring day in East London. On a street corner, two teenagers kiss. One of them is Toni. This is her first kiss. It makes her very happy. But someone is watching. Someone who doesn't care about her happiness at all. And they're about to change Toni's life... forever. Philip Ridley's thrilling new play is a startling exploration of identity, memory, love, and the lengths it takes someone to free themselves from the web of their past.

“The hallmarks of a Ridley classic; a fast-paced modern fairy-tale that burrows into the dark wormholes of the imagination … reveals how below all that glitters, there’s rarely gold.” Exeunt Ollie and Jill want to tell you about their dream home. Some of the things they did to get it, you might find shocking. But they want you to know they did it all for their baby… A wickedly comic satire about a young couple offered a 'too good to be true' way onto the property ladder. Playful, provocative, and viciously sharp, this outrageous black comedy is a meditation on how far we will go to satisfy - and justify - materialistic greed. Radiant Vermin premiered in 2015 at Soho Theatre, London. This Modern Classics edition features a brand new introduction by Aleks Sierz.

A doorway to a new future is ready to open. We are the hinge of that moment. We will let the door swing wide. On a beautiful spring evening - when both moons are full - two teenagers vow eternal love. It is a moment that will have cataclysmic consequences. Not just for them, but for the world on which they live. A world where Prom Night is a matter of life or death, where weapons are grown and trained like pets, and where a chosen few are hearing a voice. A voice that speaks of ... Karagula. Philip Ridley's extraordinary, form-shattering Karagula is a play of epic proportions. Written in a fractured timescale, it explores our constant need to find meaning. To believe we're here for a reason. To have faith in something. Faith in ... anything. Karagula received its world premiere on 10 June 2016 at a secret London location in one of the largest productions ever staged in the Off-West End.

'Look - they're fading. Those liars. Dissolving . . . It's the end of their world . . . The birth of a new one . . . Our one . . . Our world.' It's Mother's Day and mother is dead. Now her two sons gather in her home to argue about the truth of their childhood. But a storm is approaching . . . with a violent new truth all of its own. Piranha Heights is non-stop, filthily poetic and a searing insight into the disenchantment of young people today. This edition, featuring a revised script, published to coincide with play's revival at the Old Red Lion, London, in November 2014. Praise for Leaves of Glass: 'Like a shard of glass plunged straight to the heart . . . superb.' Guardian

Dakota wanted to run but she couldn't move. The monster crawled closer. It's going to kill me, she thought. Then a hand landed on Dakota's shoulder. 'Got you, darling,' hissed Medusa.

Dakota Pink is afraid of nothing - until the day she decides to find out the truth about Medusa's baby monster.

But that is only the beginning of a quest that will lead Dakota and her best friend Treacle away from the White Flats, over the river with its mutant killer eels, to Dog Island and the Fortress.

The Fortress is built of barbed wire and broken glass. with a notice on the door which says 'KEEP OUT ALL CHILDREN AND SIMILAR GERMS'. In this forbidding building lives Lassitter Peach, best-selling author of romantic novels, and total recluse: he never goes out of the Fortress and no one ever goes in. Until Dakota and Treacle come in search of the diamond-studded turtle and find much, much more than they could ever have dreamt of.

Award-winning author Philip Ridley sends his readers on a wild and thrilling voyage of discovery with his fearless heroine, a voyage in which anything can happen...

If you think I'm threatened by you, you're wrong. I'm Travis Flood. I was threatening people before you were born. Back in the sixties, Travis Flood and his gang terrorised Bethnal Green. Now, after an absence of 25 years, Travis returns and meets Rio, whose haunting beauty leads him to confront a story that bears no relation to his own distorted memory. And then there's the Cheerleaders . . . a present-day gang, more vicious and terrifying that anything Travis led in the past. This edition of Ghost from a Perfect Place was published to coincide with the first major revival of the play at the Arcola Theatre, London, in September 2014.

The Pitchfork Disney heralded the arrival of a unique and disturbing voice in the world of contemporary drama. Manifesting Ridley's vivid and visionary imagination and the dark beauty of his outlook, the play resonates with his trademark themes: East London, storytelling, moments of shocking violence, memories of the past, fantastical monologues, and that strange mix of the barbaric and the beautiful he has made all his own. The Pitchfork Disney was Ridley's first play and is now seen as launching a new generation of playwrights who were unafraid to shock and court controversy. This unsettling, dreamlike piece has surreal undertones and thematically explores fear, dreams and story-telling. First produced in 1991, it has gone on to be recognised as the annunciation of Ridley's dark and seductive world.

British theatre of the 1990s witnessed an explosion of new talent and presented a new sensibility that sent shockwaves through audiences and critics. What produced this change, the context from which the work emerged, the main playwrights and plays, and the influence they had on later work are freshly evaluated in this important new study in Methuen Drama's Decades of Modern British Playwriting series. The 1990s volume provides a detailed study by four scholars of the work of four of the major playwrights who emerged and had a significant impact on British theatre: Sarah Kane (by Catherine Rees), Anthony Neilson (Patricia Reid), Mark Ravenhill (Graham Saunders) and Philip Ridley (Aleks Sierz). Essential for students of Theatre Studies, the series of six decadal volumes provides a critical survey and study of the theatre produced from the 1950s to 2009. Each volume features a critical analysis of the work of four key playwrights besides other theatre work, together with an extensive commentary on the period. Readers will understand the works in their contexts and be presented with fresh research material and a reassessment from the perspective of the twenty-first century. This is an authoritative and stimulating reassessment of British playwriting in the 1990s.

'We can't all just be hurtling through nothing towards nowhere...can we?' A young couple are moving into their new home. A soldier is being held hostage. Two boys are searching for monsters. All these things are connected by both family and time but what story can be told when family and time are broken? Set over the course of twelve years, Shivered unpicks the story of two families and then re-weaves it into something new and startling. Seven people, one war, a derelict car plant and mysterious lights in the sky come together in the Essex new-town of Draylingstowe, where the view from green hills once offered hope and prosperity for all. An oblique and startlingly anachronistic piece, the timeframe is an emotional, rather than linear sequence, reflecting the characters' broken memories and shattered lives. Depicting a panorama of people and time, connecting links of friendship, family and encounters eddy around each other in a tantalising, surprising and intelligent way. Shivered is a state of the nation play meets a dreamlike memory play.

Philip Ridley's latest play for Soho Theatre brings his unique blend of story-telling mixed with an apocalyptic vision of a society at conflict with itself to the stage. 'Look - they're fading. Those liars. Dissolving ...It's the end of their world ...The birth of a new one ...Our one ...Our world.' It's Mother's Day and mother is dead. Now her two sons gather in her home to argue about the truth of their childhood. But a storm is approaching ...with a violent new truth all of its own. This programme playtext is published to tie in with the premiere at Soho Theatre, London, on 15 May 2008. Praise for Leaves of Glass: 'Like a shard of glass plunged straight to the heart ...superb.' Guardian

Challenging new play by the enfant terrible of dark, disturbing drama

Elliot is panicking. The party that he and his brother Darren have been planning has been brought forward - to tonight.In a lawless, ravaged city, where memories of the past have been brutally erased, the boys and their team survive by realising their clients' darkest fantasies. But just how far are they prepared to go in trading humanity for information? As the light fades and events spiral out of control it becomes clear that on the success of the evening hangs not just their security, but their existence. The world is at its worst...let the party begin. Mercury Fur is a challenging new work containing some explicit scenes that may cause offence.

Published to tie-in with the play's premier at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth and The Chololate Factory, London in February 2005, produced by Paines Plough."Philip Ridley is a singular writer, a prolific polymath, probably a genius, and the creator of some of the most peculiar, grotesque and compelling British plays (and films) of the last several years" Time Out