{"title":"Books by David Ireland","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781350463738","title":"Ulster American","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWould you mind if I asked you a troubling \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003equestion?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn Oscar-winning American actor, an English director and a Northern Irish playwright are about to begin rehearsals for a new play — one that could transform each of their careers. But when it turns out that they’re not on the same page, the night threatens to spiral out of control.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePower dynamics, cultural identity and the perils of being a woman in the entertainment industry; nothing is off limits in this pitch-black comedy from the award-winning playwright David Ireland.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis edition is published to coincide with the revival at Riverside Studios, London, in December 2023.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298119954805,"sku":"9781350463738","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781350463738_0bca0df6-2b71-41ae-8560-3c1ee5985c81.jpg?v=1786018232"},{"product_id":"9781350184619","title":"Cyprus Avenue","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Ireland’s play slyly makes the case that it is not discrimination that ensures survival ... but rather the ability to be two opposing things at once: Irish and British, politician and terrorist, even comedy and tragedy. If tragicomedy is the natural Irish form, Ireland makes his own inversion here, beginning with amused splutters, ending in hard gulps” \u003ci\u003eThe Irish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEric Miller is a Belfast Loyalist. He believes his five-week old granddaughter is Gerry Adams. His family keep telling him to stop living in the past and fighting old battles that nobody cares about anymore, but his cultural heritage is under siege. He must act.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid Ireland’s black comedy takes one man’s identity crisis to the limits as he uncovers the modern day complexity of Ulster Loyalism.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCyprus Avenue\u003c\/i\u003e premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 2016, before transferring to the Royal Court Theatre, The MAC in Belfast and The Public Theater in New York. It won Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards and the James Tait Black Prize for Drama, 2017.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis edition features a new introduction by Professor Ondrej Pilny.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312214159733,"sku":"9781350184619","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781350184619_001e0631-4d0d-4c4c-aa2b-4b3be5b888d3.jpg?v=1786033994"},{"product_id":"the-fifth-step","title":"The Fifth Step","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNominated for Best New Play at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2026\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe point is to divest yourself of shame. Anything that'll make you pick up a drink in the future. It's about getting clean.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter many years in the 12-step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous, James agrees to become the sponsor of newcomer Luka.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the journey to sobriety, the pair bond over black coffee, trade stories, and build a fragile friendship out of their shared experiences.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the cusp of Step 5, their conversations must turn to confessionals, with progress hinging on Luka revealing secrets that could lead back to alcohol. But it’s clear that James also has dangerous truths in his past, truths that threaten the trust on which both their recoveries depend.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid Ireland's \u003ci\u003eThe Fifth Step\u003c\/i\u003e is a provocative, entertaining and subversively funny new play. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis revised and updated edition was published to coincide with the @sohoplace production in May 2025, after its premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483257643381,"sku":"9781350574069","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781350574069.jpg?v=1786178381"},{"product_id":"cant-forget-about-you","title":"Can't Forget About You","description":"\u003cp\u003eTwenty-five year-old east Belfast man Stevie meets forty-nine year-old  Glaswegian widow Martha while recovering from a painful breakup with his  ex-girlfriend. Stevie and Martha are immediately attracted to each  other. Although their relationship is based entirely upon sexual  attraction, they find themselves falling in love. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis challenges the  expectations of Stevie’s conservative Christian mother and his  ultra-Unionist, Ulster-Scots-speaking sister who work hard to break the  pair up. Stevie and Martha must decide if their relationship has a real  future and if they can both overcome the pain of their heartbroken  pasts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile primarily a hilarious comedy, \u003ci\u003eCan’t Forget About You \u003c\/i\u003etouches  on deeper themes such as grief, loss, sexual mores, cultural identity,  sectarianism, generation, and the question of how Northern Ireland moves  on from the politics of the past and faces the future.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57484264604021,"sku":"9781472530479","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472530479.jpg?v=1786266317"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-david-ireland.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}