I can't take care of you anymore. I can't take it. It's like an endless boxing match. Mia is at boarding school. She has access to drugs. They are Martha's. Henry is preparing for art college. He has access to alcohol. From Martha. Martha controls their lives. Martha is their mother. That Face premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in April 2007, and won the TMA Award 2007 for Best New Play. Polly Stenham received both the Charles Wintour Award 2007 and the Critics' Circle Award 2008 for Most Promising Playwright.

You were brought up on mythology. Hollow mythology. That's why you're all stuck, all angry, a prince in the wrong story. A prince with a black eye. Fleeing a world he has rejected, Robin finds solace in his music and the sanctuary of his remote family home. But as his kingdom begins to crumble around him, how far will he go to save it and at what cost? Polly Stenham's No Quarter premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in January 2013.

Wild and newly single, Julie throws a late night party. In the kitchen, Jean and Kristina clean up as the celebration heaves above them. Crossing the threshold, Julie initiates a power game with Jean. It descends into a savage fight for survival. Polly Stenham reimagines August Strindberg's Miss Julie in contemporary London. Julie premiered at the National Theatre, London, in May 2018.

Come on troops. Let's take check: Finn Bar, slightly ruffled but still in fighting form. Maggie, could do with a full night's sleep but otherwise all in order... Stay here. Don't answer the door. I'll go out and get some proper food. In a new flat, three children play hide and seek. Eliot wears a crown, little Finn, King of the Wild Thing's, draws on the walls. Maggie climbs them. Hiding from the world, needing to be found, their one shared focus a mobile phone. Will it ring? Who will call? And what are they waiting for? Tusk Tusk is a tale of family loyalty as an uncertain future circles. Polly Stenham's second play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in March 2009.

Polly Stenham's explosive That Face, written at the age of nineteen, was staged at the Royal Court before transferring to London's West End. Tusk Tusk and No Quarter followed, also for the Royal Court. Her fourth play, Hotel, opened at the National Theatre. All four are contained in Plays 1, together with an introduction from the author. That Face 'One of the most astonishing debuts I have seen in more than 30 years.. In every respect this is a remarkable and unforgettable piece of theatre.' Daily Telegraph Tusk Tusk 'A cracking confirmation of Stenham's talent... [A] gripping, witty, sad play.' Financial Times No Quarter 'Stenham is that rare thing, a truly exciting writer... It is hard to envisage anything providing this kind of mainlining thrill.' Evening Standard Hotel 'At its core, Hotel is about civilisation peeled down to savagery. And that is where Stenham is at her brutal, universal best.' Independent