{"title":"Books by Jack Thorne","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781839042225","title":"When Winston Went to War with the Wireless","description":"In May 1926, Britain grinds to a halt, as workers down tools for the General Strike.   With the printing presses shut down, the only sources of news are the government's British Gazette, edited by Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill, and the independent, fledgling British Broadcasting Company, led by John Reith. The stage is set for a fierce battle over control of the news and who gets to define the truth.   Jack Thorne's When Winston Went To War With The Wireless is a gripping play about the birth of a great British institution and its efforts to stay impartial. It premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in June 2023, directed by Katy Rudd, with Stephen Campbell Moore as Reith, Adrian Scarborough as Churchill, and Haydn Gwynne as Stanley Baldwin.   'Jack Thorne never ceases to stimulate and entertain' Evening Standard","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128020795570,"sku":"9781839042225","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839042225_f32e6614-d30f-40d9-a09f-5869cce7d414.jpg?v=1786027972"},{"product_id":"9781839041525","title":"Jack Thorne Plays: Two","description":"After the breakout success of his early work for stage and screen, Jack Thorne turned for inspiration to his own family for a series of plays about hope, idealism and domestic politics. The work in this collection – five full-length plays and two shorts – showcases his extraordinary ability to combine electrifying dialogue with heartfelt warmth, candour and humour.   Hope (Royal Court Theatre, 2014) is a funny and scathing fable about the leaders of a local council faced with savage funding cuts. 'A surprisingly entertaining state-of-the-nation drama' The StageThe Solid Life of Sugar Water (Graeae\/Theatre Royal Plymouth, 2015) is an intimate, tender play about loss, hurt and rediscovery. 'Startlingly good... an adult play in the very best sense' The TimesJunkyard (Headlong, 2017) is a joyful celebration of imaginative play, a musical drama about a group of young people tasked with building a playground out of junk. 'Genuinely funny and poignant' WhatsOnStagethe end of history... (Royal Court, 2019) is a moving and sophisticated portrait of the impact of political idealism on a family. 'Clever and highly intriguing' IndependentAlso included are Burying Your Brother in the Pavement, written for the National Theatre Connections Festival in 2008, which tackles complex themes of grief, violence and sexuality with fierce compassion and wild imagination; and two short plays: Whiff Whaff and Boo.   'I think these plays are about love, about heroes, about trying to understand how to be heroic, about trying to understand how to lead a good life' Jack Thorne, from his Introduction'Jack Thorne is Britain's hottest playwright and screenwriter' The Times'Jack Thorne never ceases to stimulate and entertain' Evening Standard'Thorne is a writer of immense emotional intelligence and his dialogue regularly devastates' The Stage","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128021090482,"sku":"9781839041525","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839041525.jpg?v=1786027965"},{"product_id":"9780751565355","title":"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two (Special Rehearsal Edition)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBased on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, a new play by Jack Thorne, \u003ci\u003eHarry Potter and the Cursed Child\u003c\/i\u003e is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London's West End on 30th July 2016.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204031905970,"sku":"9780751565355","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780751565355.jpg?v=1786015673"},{"product_id":"9780751565362","title":"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two","description":"The official playscript of the original West End production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.  While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.  The playscript for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was originally released as a 'special rehearsal edition' alongside the opening of Jack Thorne's play in London's West End in summer 2016. Based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, the play opened to rapturous reviews from theatregoers and critics alike, while the official playscript became an immediate global bestseller.   This revised paperback edition updates the 'special rehearsal edition' with the conclusive and final dialogue from the play, which has subtly changed since its rehearsals, as well as a conversation piece between director John Tiffany and writer Jack Thorne, who share stories and insights about reading playscripts. This edition also includes useful background information including the Potter family tree and a timeline of events from the wizarding world prior to the beginning of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204116971698,"sku":"9780751565362","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780751565362_292f7e66-57df-49a9-86bd-c1081f385ef4.jpg?v=1786015674"},{"product_id":"9781839043116","title":"The Motive and the Cue","description":"1964: Richard Burton, the firebrand Welsh actor, newly married to movie star Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new production of Hamlet under the exacting direction of John Gielgud.   But as rehearsals progress, the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel. One of them is the most famous movie star in the world; the other, a patrician from an earlier age of theatre. The stage is set for two titans to collide.   Jack Thorne's The Motive and the Cue is a fierce, funny play which offers a glimpse into the politics of a rehearsal room and the relationship between art and celebrity. This edition was published alongside the West End transfer in 2023, following its world premiere at the National Theatre, London, earlier that year. Originally commissioned and co-produced by Neal Street Productions, it was directed by Sam Mendes, and starred Johnny Flynn as Burton, Mark Gatiss as Gielgud and Tuppence Middleton as Taylor. It was named Best Play at the 2023 Evening Standard Theatre Awards, and Best New Play at the 2024 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43595662491826,"sku":"9781839043116","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839043116_f7d2347e-a2b8-48c1-ae29-af8069f68b32.jpg?v=1786028015"},{"product_id":"9781839040146","title":"After Life","description":"If you could spend eternity with just one precious memory, what would it be?A group of strangers grapple with this impossible question as they find themselves in a bureaucratic waiting room between life and death. Encouraged by enigmatic officials, they must sift through their past lives to choose their forever.   Adapted from Hirokazu Kore-eda's award-winning film, After Life is a surreal and powerfully human look at the way we view our lives, and a haunting meditation on what it is to live – and to die.   Written by Jack Thorne from a concept by Bunny Christie, Jeremy Herrin and Thorne, After Life was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in June 2021.   It was directed by Herrin, in a co-production with Headlong, by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308095779189,"sku":"9781839040146","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839040146_3fd22623-ada5-45ff-b4a9-40fb0c7fba16.jpg?v=1786027866"},{"product_id":"9781848421349","title":"Bunny","description":"An exhilarating coming-of-age drama for a solo performer.   Scorching heat. A fight. A car chase. A siege. When her boyfriend is attacked on the street, feisty eighteen-year-old Katie is thrust on a white-knuckle ride through one extraordinary evening. Amidst the baying for blood and the longing for love, Katie is forced to decide her future.   Jack Thorne's play Bunny was first performed at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in a production by nabokov and Escalator East to Edinburgh in association with Watford Palace Theatre and Mercury Theatre, Colchester. It was awarded a Fringe First, and subsequently toured the UK from June 2011 before a run at Soho Theatre, London, in October 2011.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308577075573,"sku":"9781848421349","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848421349_489f256b-7cbd-4445-8f82-7f5e7ffafd61.jpg?v=1786029302"},{"product_id":"9789362201836","title":"Hanover; Or The Persecution of the Lowly A Story of the Wilmington Massacre","description":"\"Hanover; Or The Persecution of the Lowly\" by Jack Thorne is a powerful novel that serves as both a gripping narrative and a poignant commentary on social justice issues. Set in the fictional town of Hanover, the story exposes the pervasive themes of persecution, injustice, and discrimination faced by the lowly members of society. Thorne's storytelling prowess shines as he navigates the complexities of oppression and inequality, shedding light on the struggles of the marginalized in a historical context. Through vivid characters and evocative prose, the novel delves into the depths of racial prejudice and the enduring fight for civil rights. As a work of historical fiction, \"Hanover\" offers readers a window into a tumultuous era marked by social upheaval and systemic injustices. Thorne's narrative serves as a vehicle for social commentary, advocating for equality and amplifying the voices of the oppressed. With advocacy at its core, \"Hanover\" stands as a testament to Thorne's commitment to social justice, inspiring readers to confront the realities of discrimination and work towards a more equitable society.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56310087614837,"sku":"9789362201836","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9789362201836_ee4ef0ec-2250-4ee9-a721-3e6577b31eac.jpg?v=1786031840"},{"product_id":"9781839045370","title":"Adolescence: The Scripts","description":"The complete scripts of one of the most urgent and talked-about television series of recent times.   Set in a northern English town, Adolescence tracks the aftermath of the brutal murder of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl. When her classmate Jamie Miller is arrested in a dawn raid for the crime, his family, psychologist and the detective in charge are all left asking: how could this have happened?Adolescence gripped audiences and commentators around the world when it was released on Netflix in 2025, sparking headlines and debate about the difficult and vital issues it confronts head on. Also applauded for its technical ingenuity – with each episode presented in one continuous shot, in real time – it became one of Netflix's most-watched series of all time and won numerous accolades, including eight Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes and four BAFTA television awards, including Best Limited Drama.   This volume contains the full shooting scripts of all four episodes, as well as new insights and commentary from the creators – including writer Jack Thorne, co-writer and star Stephen Graham, and director Philip Barantini – colour photographs, and essays about the issues it explores.   A must-read for admirers of this acclaimed series, it's also an invaluable resource for screenwriters and other filmmakers, as well as anyone looking to understand more about the pressures and challenges facing young people today.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56420064231797,"sku":"9781839045370","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839045370_0a3893bb-e92b-45f3-b22a-179077e1f5ce.jpg?v=1786028131"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-jack-thorne.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}