Raffish, urbane and frequently drunk, David Highland has kept a grip on his remote coastal parish through a combination of disordered charm and high-handed determination. When his faith impels him to take a hard line with a bereaved parishioner, he finds himself dangerously isolated from public opinion. As his own family begins to fracture, David must face a future that threatens to extinguish not only his position in the town, but everything he stands for. The Southbury Child is a darkly comic play exploring family and community, the savage divisions of contemporary society, and the rituals that punctuate our lives. It was co-produced by Chichester Festival Theatre and the Bridge Theatre, London, in 2022, starring Alex Jennings and directed by Nicholas Hytner.

When Patrick is eight years old, his absent father returns unexpectedly for a brief but memorable encounter. Years later - recalling that meeting, and the revelations that followed - Patrick traces the events of his father's life, laying bare a journey of grandiose plans, aching disappointments and audacious self-delusion. Three Kings by Stephen Beresford is a heartbreaking and hilarious play for a solo actor about fathers and sons, the gifts and burdens of inheritance, and the unfathomable puzzle of human relationships. It was written for Andrew Scott to perform as part of Old Vic: In Camera, a series of live performances streamed from the Old Vic Theatre, London, in 2020. This edition includes an introduction by the director Matthew Warchus. 'A knockout - entertaining, sad and outrageous. [Stephen Beresford] is going to be a major name' Observer on The Last of the Haussmans

A funny, touching and at times savage portrait of a family full of longing that's losing its grip - The Last of the Haussmans examines the fate of the revolutionary generation. Anarchic, feisty but growing old, high-society drop-out Judy Haussman remains in spirit with the ashrams of the 1960s, while holding court in her dilapidated art deco house on the Devon coast. After an operation, she's joined by her wayward offspring, her sharp-eyed granddaughter, a local doctor and a troubled teenager who makes use of the family's crumbling swimming pool. Over a few sweltering months they alternately cling to and flee a chaotic world of all-day drinking, infatuations, long-held resentments, free love and failure. Stephen Beresford's play The Last of the Haussmans was first staged at the National Theatre, London, in 2012, in a production starring Julie Walters and Rory Kinnear.

'There is no shame in deriving pleasure from this little world.' Siblings Fanny and Alexander are growing up amidst the gilded romance and glamour of 1900s Sweden. But their world is turned upside down when their widowed mother remarries the iron-willed local bishop. As creative freedom and rigid orthodoxy clash, a war ensues between imagination and austerity in this magical study of childhood, family and love. Legendary film-maker Ingmar Bergman's 1982 masterpiece Fanny & Alexander was adapted for the stage by Stephen Beresford. It premiered at The Old Vic, London, in 2018, in a production starring Penelope Wilton and directed by Old Vic Associate Director Max Webster. Stephen Beresford is the BAFTA award-winning screenwriter of Pride. His other plays include The Last of the Haussmans, which premiered at the National Theatre.