British gangster drama penned by the writers of 'Sexy Beast', featuring an ensemble cast that includes Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Ian McShane, Joanne Whalley and Tom Wilkinson. Ray Winstone stars as Colin Diamond, a London gangster who enlists the help of his friends to kidnap his wife's young French lover (Melvil Poupaud) in the hope of restoring his damaged ego.

Steven Nesbit directs this thriller starring Steven Berkoff and Bernard Hill. When two young lovers realise that they belong to rival gangs, they quickly discover that their love must be hidden from their gang leaders Vic Clarke and John Claridge (Berkoff and Hill) for fear of causing an inter-gang war. The cast also includes Mason Adams, Freema Agyeman and Judith Alexander.

British crime thriller. Mickey Skinner (Leo Gregory) is a small-time crook saddled with mounting debts and a seemingly endless run of bad luck. Mickey's break finally comes when he is unexpectedy given the keys to the empire of gangland boss Don Barber (Vincent Regan). But does he have what it takes to make it in the big league?

A World Elsewhere is Steven Berkoff's bold attempt to describe his multifarious theatrical works. Berkoff outlines the methods that he uses, first of all as an actor, secondly as a playwright and thirdly as theatre director, as well as those subtle connections in between, when one discipline melds effortlessly into another. He examines the early impulses that generated his works and what drove him to give them form, as well as the challenges he faced when adapting the work of other authors. Berkoff discusses some of his most difficult, successful and unique creations, journeying through his long and varied career to examine how they were shaped by him, and how he was shaped by them. The sheer scale of this book offers a rare experience of an accomplished artist, combined with the honesty and insight of an autobiography, making this text a singular tool for teaching, inspiration and personal exploration. Suitable for anyone with an interest in Steven Berkoff and his illustrious career, A World Elsewhere is the part analysis and part confession of an artist whose work has been performed all over the world.

What goes through a man's mind when he is playing Hamlet? How does Shakespeare's best known play actually work, from the inside? And what effect does playing Hamlet have on a man's life? Steven Berkoff nine years ago directed a production of "Hamlet" in which he took the title role, and here are his scene-by-scene observations, which cover the whole range of human experience - from love and death, to life in Britain now. "I am Hamlet" not only shows the mind of an actor at work, but it is also an expression of the lasting authority of Shakespeare's play.

Steven Berkoff is a phenomenon. Among the artists working in the theatre today he is probably the most theatrical - his special combination of speech, movement and spectacle is uniquely powerful. This first collection of his plays includes East, described by Berkoff as 'an outburst or revolt against the sloth of my youth and a desire to turn a welter of undirected passion and frustration into a positive form'. Also included in this collection are the plays West and Sink the Belgrano!

What made Steven Berkoff? Born in the East End in 1937 and educated at Hackney Downs Grammar (Harold Pinter's old school), throughout his life as actor, director and playwright, Steven Berkoff has been variously described as exciting, controversial, thrilling, egocentric, electric and dynamic. Ranging freely between his childhood, his teenage years spent going 'up West', a formative year with family in the USA, his early days in theatre, this first collection of autobiographical writings from Steven Berkoff shows how he siphoned off and transformed those experiences for his plays, East and West and how his later experiences informed Greek. Berkoff's autobiography is essential reading for all those fascinated by his explosive dynamism and an inspiration to those wanting to enter the theatrical profession.

'Franz Kafka has found his perfect modern interpreter in Steven Berkoff.' Financial Times Focusing on rehearsals for the 1992 Mitsubishi Theater, Tokyo, production of his adaptation of Kafka's Metamorphosis, Steven Berkoff muses on the nine previous productions of the play over a twenty-three-year-span, starting with his own performance as Gregor Samsa in 1969 at the Round House, London, and taking in the productions in Los Angeles in 1982 with Brad Davis, 1986 at the Mermaid in London with Tim Roth, 1988 in Paris with Roman Polanski and 1989 in New York with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Meditations on 'Metamorphosis' dissects and illuminates Kafka's story and Berkoff's own stage adaptation, contrasting rehearsal techniques and performance styles between different cultures and sexes. A valuable document for anyone interested in Metamorphosis and all who relish the explosive dynamism of Steven Berkoff's work.

A World Elsewhere is Steven Berkoff's bold attempt to describe his multifarious theatrical works. Berkoff outlines the methods that he uses, first of all as an actor, secondly as a playwright and thirdly as theatre director, as well as those subtle connections in between, when one discipline melds effortlessly into another. He examines the early impulses that generated his works and what drove him to give them form, as well as the challenges he faced when adapting the work of other authors. Berkoff discusses some of his most difficult, successful and unique creations, journeying through his long and varied career to examine how they were shaped by him, and how he was shaped by them. The sheer scale of this book offers a rare experience of an accomplished artist, combined with the honesty and insight of an autobiography, making this text a singular tool for teaching, inspiration and personal exploration. Suitable for anyone with an interest in Steven Berkoff and his illustrious career, A World Elsewhere is the part analysis and part confession of an artist whose work has been performed all over the world.

This is a collection of three history plays, each displaying the sparkling muscularity of language that marks Berkoff out as one of the foremost wordsmiths in the English language. Set in thirteenth-century England, Ritual in Blood looks at the persecution of the Jews. Messiah begins with the image of Christ on the cross and pits His humanity and transcendent goodness against the evil of those who would kill Him. Finally, Berkoff offers a sharp and accessible adaptation of Sophocles's Oedipus tragedy.

Written with characteristic Berkoff flair and an understanding of the subtle power and violence of the English language, this second collection of his plays includes Decadence, described by the Guardian as being 'enthused with Berkoff's violent, imagist, vivid wordplay'. The collection also includes Kvetch, Acapulco, Harry's Christmas, Brighton Beach Scumbags, Dahling You Were Marvellous, Dog and Actor, and is introduced by the author.

Harry is a dedicated actor, often out of work, rejected and desperate for opportunities to practice his art. Brief moments of success only serve to increase his thirst for fulfillment. In these moving, sometimes harrowing short stories Steven Berkoff, tears the skin off the acting profession to reveal the raw, bleeding reality of the actors everyday life.

'There is no other like Berkoff and there'll never be another.' Daily Mail This volume marks Steven Berkoff's eightieth birthday by bringing together two of his greatest plays from the 1980s, Greek - an audacious take on Oedipus - and Decadence, a visceral satire of the upper classes and the social divide in Britain. With a preface by the playwright and an introduction by Aleks Sierz. 'The least remarked upon achievement of Berkoff is his influence.' Dominic Dromgoole, The Full Room

Steven Berkoff was asked to direct Shakespeare's Richard II in New York early 1994. It was a project he found fascinating: performing an Elizabethan play within the scrapers of Manhattan and the still rotting slums of the Lower East Side, between the steaming breath oozing out from the cracked pipes and the brutality of modern New York speak. New York became the backdrop and the energy centre which charged him each day and fed his inspiration. This book offers a wonderful insight into the many characters, challenges and places that were integral to the project and details how gradually the production took form. Served by a first-rate company that worked incredibly hard, the achievement was a critically acclaimed production and the fulfilment of a personal goal to direct the Bard. NEW YORK POST This morning I have joy to report - so let the trumpets sound and the canons roar Last night at the Anspacher Auditorium of the Joseph Papp Public Theater, there opened a production of The Tragedy of Richard II which can hold its own with the world's best in Shakespearean stagings. NEW YORK SUNDAY TIMES The Tragedy of Richard II now being given an exceptionally stylish production by Steven Berkoff. Mr Berkoff's production, which, among many virtues, is so well and clearly spoken and so clean of dramatic line that it's accessible from start to finish... THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER NEW YORK - They'll be talking about this Richard II for years.

Steven Berkoff has been variously described as controversial, thrilling, electric and dynamic. A Renaissance man of the theatre, he is known equally for his writing, directing and acting. Collecting together nineteen one-act plays, this volume presents never-before-published material. Abusive, shocking and endlessly surprising, these sharply written pieces showcase Berkoff's trademark controversy, black humour and dramatic dialectics. Themes that haunt much of his work are present: his luxurious verbosity; his counterpoint of crude street-patter and elegiac proclamation; sex wars; class wars; dislocation and abandonment of love in a thankless and unyielding world. The selection of plays allows the performer and reader to experience Berkoff's fluid anarchic poetry at its most profane within the complete and pithy structure of the one-act play. Established plays such as The Biblical Tales (which enjoyed success in their 2010 run at the New End Theatre, Hampstead) stand alongside previously unpublished material, giving the range of Berkoff's work full expression, from his established thematic concerns to his new and unseen work. Perfect for student and amateur performances, this volume contains a full introduction by Geoffrey Colman, Head of Acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

John has crossed the line from performance to reality, from stage to street, from imagination to visceral breath - and he needs to take control before all is lost. Themes that haunt the Berkoff canon are present in this startling novel: his luxurious verbosity; his counterpoint of crude street patter and elegiac proclamation; sex wars; class wars; dislocation and abandonment of love in a thankless and unyielding world. This is a challenging, brutally honest novel that will inspire, enrage and divide - and live on long after the final word. Sod the Bitches! is testament to the power of words. It will shock, amaze, inspire and horrify. This is a book for the brave - a novel to expand your mind and challenge your moral compass and beliefs.