{"title":"Nick Hern Books","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781848427891","title":"The Elemental Actor","description":"We are all a complex mixture of the elemental energies identified by many different cultures throughout history: Earth, Air, Fire, Water – and a fifth element called Quintessence or Spirit. As an actor, you need to be able to access each of them, so that you can draw on whichever element you need to bring your role fully into life.   In The Elemental Actor, Mel Churcher explores these deep, primal drives, and gives you practical tools to harness them to make your work more powerful and alive. Her unique approach combines elements of actor training, voice work and movement to increase your range and help you bring depth, specificity and intensity to your performance.   The book includes over one hundred games and exercises to help you explore each of the elements, incorporate this work into your practice, and apply it to the world of your role. There are also tips for preparing for auditions and dealing with performance anxiety, as well as advice on how to stay healthy in body, voice and mind.   Offering an everlasting palette that will enrich any performance, whether on stage or screen, The Elemental Actor will help you release the wellspring of your imagination, and put elemental power into your work.   Mel Churcher is an international acting, dialogue and voice coach who has worked with companies including the Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, Young Vic, Royal Court Theatre and Graeae Theatre Company. She is one of the top acting and dialogue coaches in TV and movies, and has worked with some of the biggest stars of stage and screen.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43071172640946,"sku":"9781848427891","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848427891_956724ac-5cae-47b3-8aad-0d3b05e1dd52.jpg?v=1786029472"},{"product_id":"9781839041495","title":"A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction","description":"'The difference between death and extinction is this: death is to cease to exist. Extinction is to extinguish. I think of death as individual. Extinction is collective.'Naomi belongs to a theatre company that has made a play especially for you, who are living through extinction. The actors haven't shown up yet, but in the meantime Naomi has a plan.   Part ritual, part battle cry, A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction is an innovative one-woman show exploring what it means to be human in an era of ecological disaster.   Miranda Rose Hall's darkly funny, life-affirming play received its 2023 British premiere in a Headlong and Barbican co-production, directed by Katie Mitchell. A bold experiment in eco-theatremaking, it was powered entirely by bicycles. After opening at London's Barbican, it embarked on a 'zero-travel' tour: the play journeyed to other venues around the UK, whilst the people and materials did not.   The play had been first produced at Baltimore Center Stage in 2021, and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43071175164082,"sku":"9781839041495","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839041495.jpg?v=1786027962"},{"product_id":"9781848429321","title":"Deirdr Kinahan: Shorts","description":"'The short play – very traditional to Irish theatre – is a little jewel of a structure, a lightning flash on a different world, the illumination made all the more acute by brevity' Deirdre KinahanDeirdre Kinahan is an award-winning playwright and member of Aosdána, Ireland's elected organisation of outstanding artists. This volume brings together five of her short plays, taken from the full span of her writing career, each of them shining a light into a forgotten corner of our humanity, giving voice to irrepressible characters that the world has done its best to overlook.   In Bé Carna (Tall Tales, 1999), five women reflect on their lives as prostitutes on the streets of Dublin, a dark tale inspired by true-life stories, reverberating with humanity, warmth and comic humour.   In Hue \u0026amp; Cry (Tall Tales\/Bewley's Café Theatre, 2007), two Dublin cousins, Damian and Kevin, are reunited for a family funeral in a highly charged encounter full of disillusion, denial and dark laughter.   In Bogboy (Tall Tales\/Solstice Arts Centre, 2010), originally written as a radio play for RTÉ, two lost souls – a young heroin addict and a reclusive middle-aged farmer – discover a budding friendship in the bogs of Meath, until a terrible secret comes to light.   Wild Notes (Solas Nua, Washington D.C., 2018) explores the impact of colonialism through a meeting between Frederick Douglass, the escaped slave and abolitionist who visited Ireland in the 1840s, and a young Irishwoman hoping to emigrate to the country he's running from.   An Old Song, Half Forgotten (Abbey Theatre, 2023) opens a window into the life and soul of an older actor who is living in care with Alzheimer's disease, rebuilding a man just as he begins to crack and fade. Winner of the inaugural Pratchett Prize for challenging the stigma of Alzheimer's Disease.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128011456690,"sku":"9781848429321","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848429321.jpg?v=1786029527"},{"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":"9781839042171","title":"Farm Hall","description":"'It was never about the Reich or the war. It was about physics.'Summer 1945. Hitler is dead, but the war in the Pacific rages on. When six of Germany's top nuclear scientists – including three Nobel Prize winners – are detained by Allied forces at a stately home in the Cambridgeshire countryside, they find themselves shut off from the outside world. Their only distractions are board games, a broken piano and a copy of Blithe Spirit. But as the months go by, their attention turns to the ongoing war and thoughts of their broken homeland.   The scientists' tranquil summer is shattered by the inconceivable news that the Americans have succeeded where the Germans have failed: the United States has not only built an atomic bomb, but they have used one against Japan.   Katherine Moar's captivating debut play Farm Hall dramatises the true story recorded inside the bugged walls of the actual Farm Hall between July 1945 and January 1946. It was premiered at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in March 2023, before transferring to the Theatre Royal Bath, directed by Stephen Unwin. It transferred to the West End's Theatre Royal, Haymarket, in 2024.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128020959410,"sku":"9781839042171","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839042171_b0557e03-3f24-4172-a56d-dfb3a8ca3572.jpg?v=1786027969"},{"product_id":"9781839042140","title":"Sea Creatures","description":"'Where's Robin?  Where's Robin?  Where's Robin?' In a cottage by the sea, four women live in a house made for five. Meals are prepared, stories are shared and the waves break on the shore. When only one of their two expected guests arrives for the summer, life is about to change for all of them...    Cordelia Lynn's Sea Creatures is a haunting play about grief, loss and the power of storytelling. It opened at Hampstead Theatre, London, in March 2023, directed by James Macdonald.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128021024946,"sku":"9781839042140","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839042140_b29d08db-f63b-47fe-a287-3c3a5ae47bb7.jpg?v=1786027966"},{"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":"9781839040641","title":"Prima Facie","description":"'Every winner might be the one who loses the next day.'Tessa is a young, brilliant barrister. She has worked her way up from working-class origins to the top of her game: defending, cross-examining and winning.   But an unexpected event forces her to confront the patriarchal power of the law, where the burden of proof and morality diverge.   Prima Facie by Suzie Miller is an award-winning play for a solo actor, taking us deep into a world where emotion and integrity are in conflict with the rules of the game.   After several acclaimed productions in Australia and winning the Australian Writers' Guild Award for Drama, the play received its European premiere at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End in April 2022. It was produced by Empire Street Productions, directed by Justin Martin, and starred Jodie Comer, the Emmy and Bafta Award-winning star of TV's Killing Eve, making her West End debut.   It won Best New Play at both the Olivier Awards and the WhatsOnStage Awards in 2023.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205524553906,"sku":"9781839040641","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839040641.jpg?v=1786027912"},{"product_id":"9781839041150","title":"Medea","description":"'She's chucked out like an old coat that nae langer fits him…'Medea and Jason, clinging together as refugees in Corinth, have struggled to bring up their beloved offspring in this alien and unsympathetic society. Now Jason has a plan to better integrate himself. Unfortunately, this involves abandoning his wife, the mother of his children…Spurned, destitute, desperate, Medea exacts her terrible retribution.   Liz Lochhead's Scots-inflected version of Euripides' classic revenge tragedy was first performed by Theatre Babel in 2000 and won the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award. It was revived by the National Theatre of Scotland as part of the 2022 Edinburgh International Festival, with Adura Onashile as Medea, directed by Michael Boyd.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205524586674,"sku":"9781839041150","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839041150_08d26174-aa9b-4d77-a019-2f4d9c2b0218.jpg?v=1786027943"},{"product_id":"9781839040023","title":"Crumbs from the Table of Joy","description":"The Crump family is adrift and in trouble. Recently widowed Godfrey is under the spell of Sweet Father Divine, while his teenage daughters, Ernestine and Ermina, immerse themselves in the illusions of Hollywood to escape racial prejudice. But things change quickly when free-spirited Aunt Lily shows up…This arresting, thought-provoking play about racial and social issues of the late 1950s was first performed Off-Broadway in 1995, and has since been revived numerous times.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205555060914,"sku":"9781839040023","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839040023.jpg?v=1786027857"},{"product_id":"9781848422858","title":"Drama Menu","description":"Drama Menu is a brand new concept for planning and delivering dynamic, progressive drama lessons and workshops. Packed with over 150 tried-and-tested theatre games, exercises and improvisation ideas, it’s an essential resource for any drama teacher or workshop leader – guaranteed to deliver delicious drama sessions every time.   Simply make a selection from each of the three courses, and your whole drama session will come to life with new-found energy and focus:Appetisers are fast-paced warm-up exercises to energise and enthuse the group;Starters are the intermediary course to challenge the players and encourage creativity;Main Courses provide the central part of the session, culminating in a final performance piece;And a few Desserts are also provided, if you have some space at the end of your session for something sweet.   Drama Menu is the recipe book that will relieve the stress of planning lessons and workshops. Now you can get on with what you do best: delivering creative drama sessions that will have your groups hungry for more.   Join the online Drama Menu community, browse and share other recommended menus, and download a comprehensive Resource Pack and selection of sound effects, providing everything you need to start playing straight away.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205564858546,"sku":"9781848422858","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848422858_21d5b5d0-c82a-4fb4-9ac2-28157b220f8f.jpg?v=1786029340"},{"product_id":"9781848423299","title":"Blue Stockings","description":"'Love or knowledge: which would you choose?'A moving, comical and eye-opening story of four young women fighting for education and self-determination against the larger backdrop of women’s suffrage.   1896. Girton College, Cambridge, the first college in Britain to admit women. The Girton girls study ferociously and match their male peers grade for grade. Yet, when the men graduate, the women leave with nothing but the stigma of being a 'blue stocking' - an unnatural, educated woman. They are denied degrees and go home unqualified and unmarriageable.   In Jessica Swale's debut play, Blue Stockings, Tess Moffat and her fellow first years are determined to win the right to graduate. But little do they anticipate the hurdles in their way: the distractions of love, the cruelty of the class divide or the strength of the opposition, who will do anything to stop them. The play follows them over one tumultuous academic year, in their fight to change the future of education.   Blue Stockings received its professional premiere at Shakespeare's Globe, London, in August 2013, directed by John Dove.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205564891314,"sku":"9781848423299","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848423299.jpg?v=1786029347"},{"product_id":"9781848423466","title":"Drama Games for Rehearsals","description":"'I wish I'd had this book when I was starting out as a young director... I cannot recommend it highly enough' Marianne Elliott, from her ForewordThis dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book in the bestselling Drama Games series offers dozens of ideas and exercises to energise and inspire a bold, creative rehearsal process for any play, of any period or genre.   Aimed at directors of all levels, it covers every aspect of rehearsal, including:Warm-up exercises to prepare the body, voice and mind, and to create a strong ensembleIdeas for approaching the text, tackling the 'Story of the Play'A wealth of games for unlocking the 'World of the Play', including developing characters, finding a physical style, understanding genre and investigating themesSuggestions for exploring sound and music, whether for use in the production or simply to encourage a sense of fun in rehearsalsThis essential 'go-to' book will provide you with a host of original and illuminating games, perfect for the play you're rehearsing, be it Shakespeare or Greek tragedy, a Restoration comedy, physical theatre, Modern Naturalism – or even a brand new play.   Marianne Elliott, one of the most innovative and exciting directors working anywhere in the world, describes it as a 'beautiful, and very clearly written book' which will become her 'constant companion in future'.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205564924082,"sku":"9781848423466","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848423466_827fa5b2-3bc6-4784-8fb7-23a1a46f6299.jpg?v=1786029350"},{"product_id":"9781848428751","title":"Kennet Lonergan: Three Plays","description":"Described as 'America's greatest living playwright' (Wall Street Journal), Kenneth Lonergan is internationally acclaimed for his trademark humour and his genius for capturing the real heart and soul of human interactions. This volume gathers together three of his landmark plays.   This Is Our Youth (1996) is a wildly funny, bittersweet and lacerating look at three days in the lives of three affluent young Manhattanites in the 1980s. Its West End premiere in 2002 was notable for its successive casts of young Hollywood stars, including Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anna Paquin and Summer Phoenix. 'A rambunctious and witty play… caustic, cruel, compassionate' The New York Times.   The Waverly Gallery (1999) is a poignant, generous and frequently hilarious play about a feisty grandmother's last battle against Alzheimer's disease. More than a memory play, it captures the humour and strength of a family in the face of crisis. It was a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and revived on Broadway in 2018 to widespread acclaim. 'Both one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see in a Broadway theatre and one of the most profoundly sad' Chicago Tribune.   Lobby Hero (2001) tells the story of a luckless young security guard trying to get his life together after being thrown out of the navy. But working in a lobby proves to be no sanctuary from the world, as he is unwittingly drawn into a murder investigation. The play received its British premiere at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in 2002, and was also revived on Broadway in 2018. 'Artfully intertwines private and public issues… [Lonergan] has the lightest of touches and writes with deft humour' Guardian.   Kenneth Lonergan is an American film director, playwright and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the films You Can Count On Me, Margaret and Manchester by the Sea, for which he won the 2017 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. This collection, published alongside the UK premiere of Lonergan's The Starry Messenger in 2019, also features an exclusive introduction by the author.   'Lonergan's ear for the crosscurrents of love and recrimination, of accusation and confession, is as fine as that of any American dramatist' Washington Post","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205566169266,"sku":"9781848428751","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848428751_995a5c00-0b72-4b94-906b-f80d18c7fcac.jpg?v=1786029507"},{"product_id":"9781854598318","title":"His Dark Materials","description":"A two-play dramatisation of Philip Pullman's extraordinary award-winning fantasy trilogy, first seen at the National Theatre.   His Dark Materials takes us on a thrilling journey through worlds familiar and unknown. For Lyra and Will, its two central characters, it's a coming of age and a transforming spiritual experience. Their great quest demands a savage struggle against the most dangerous of enemies. They encounter fantastical creatures in parallel worlds – rebellious angels, soul-eating spectres, child-catching Gobblers and the armoured bears and witch-clans of the Arctic. Finally, before reaching, perhaps, the republic of heaven, they must visit the land of the dead.   This adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, by Nicholas Wright, was first performed at the National Theatre in London in 2003.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205579407538,"sku":"9781854598318","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781854598318.jpg?v=1786029688"},{"product_id":"9781848421219","title":"Tribes","description":"'I thought everyone's parents spoke like that. Then I realised.'A penetrating play about belonging, family and the limitations of communication.   Billy's family, like every other, is a club, with its own private language, jokes and rules. You can be as rude as you like, as possessive as you like, as critical as you like. Arguments are an expression of love, and after all, you love each other more than anyone in the world. Don't you?But Billy, who is deaf, is the only one who actually listens. When he meets Sylvia, he decides he finally wants to be heard.   Nina Raine's play Tribes was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in October 2010. It won Best New Play at the Off-West End Theatre Awards.   Tribes had its US premiere at the Barrow Street Theatre, Off-Broadway, in 2012, winning the 2012 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Foreign Play.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205593661618,"sku":"9781848421219","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848421219.jpg?v=1786029299"},{"product_id":"9781848421752","title":"How Musicals Work","description":"Musicals are the most popular form of stage entertainment today, with the West End and Broadway dominated by numerous long-running hits. But for every Wicked or Phantom of the Opera, there are dozens of casualties that didn't fare quite so well. In this book, Julian Woolford explores the musical-theatre canon to explain why and how some musicals work, why some don't, and what you should (and shouldn’t) do if you're thinking of writing your own.   Drawing on his experience as a successful writer and director of musicals, and as a lecturer in writing musicals at the University of London, Woolford outlines every step of the creative process, from hatching the initial idea and developing a structure for the work, through creating the book, the music and the lyrics, and on to the crucial process of rewriting. He then guides the reader through getting a musical produced, with invaluable advice about generating future productions and sustaining a career.   The book includes dozens of exercises to assist the novice writer in developing their craft, and detailed case studies of well-known musicals such as Les Misérables, The Sound of Music, Miss Saigon, Little Shop of Horrors, Godspell and Evita.   An essential guide for any writers (or would-be writers) of musicals, How Musicals Work is a fascinating insight for anyone interested in the art form or who has ever wondered what it takes to get from first idea to first night.   ‘A comprehensive and thoughtful guide to everything one must consider in order to write a successful musical. It would take at least a decade to learn all of this on one’s own. Invaluable.’ David Zippel (lyricist of City of Angels and The Woman in White)‘If anyone knows how musicals work (I’m not sure I do), this highly entertaining dissection of every aspect of that bewildering art form reveals that Julian Woolford does.’ Tim Rice","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205595365554,"sku":"9781848421752","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848421752.jpg?v=1786029315"},{"product_id":"9781848423503","title":"Chimerica","description":"A powerful, provocative play about international relations and the shifting balance of power between East and West. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play (2014), the Evening Standard Best Play Award (2013), the Critics' Circle Best New Play Award (2014), and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.   Tiananmen Square, 1989. As tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door, Joe – a young American photojournalist – captures a piece of history.   New York, 2012. Joe is covering a presidential election, marred by debate over cheap labour and the outsourcing of American jobs to Chinese factories. When a cryptic message is left in a Beijing newspaper, Joe is driven to discover the truth behind the unknown hero he captured on film. Who was he? What happened to him? And could he still be alive?A gripping political examination and an engaging personal drama, Chimerica examines the changing fortunes of two countries whose futures will shape the whole world.   Lucy Kirkwood's play Chimerica was first performed at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2013 before transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205595398322,"sku":"9781848423503","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848423503_345e99a0-309f-4894-abbd-b614f9b6729a.jpg?v=1786029352"},{"product_id":"9781848424067","title":"The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit","description":"A revised and updated edition of Bella Merlin's essential guide to Stanislavsky.   The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit collects together for the first time the terms and ideas developed by Stanislavsky throughout his career.   It is organised into three sections: Actor-Training, Rehearsal Processes and Performance Practices. Key terms are explained and defined as they naturally occur in this process. They are illustrated with examples from both his own work and that of other practitioners.   Each stage of the process is explored with sequences of practical exercises designed to help today's actors and students become thoroughly familiar with the tools in Stanislavsky's toolkit.   'Bella Merlin magically converts her extensive knowledge into real-world practice and on-the-floor technique. This new edition is a necessary and lively resource for any theatre practitioner' David Chambers, Professor of Directing, Yale School of Drama'One of the essential books about acting for both professionals and students… brings new clarity to unlocking what Stanislavsky means for actors today' Michael Earley, Principal, Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205595496626,"sku":"9781848424067","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848424067.jpg?v=1786029369"},{"product_id":"9781854591029","title":"Long Day's Journey into Night","description":"A true modern classic from one of the twentieth century's most significant writers, Long Day's Journey into Night is an intensely autobiographical, magnificently tragic portrait of the author's own family - a play so acutely personal that he insisted it was not published until after his death.   One single day in the Tyrones' Connecticut home. James Tyrone Snr is a miser, a talented actor who even squanders his talent in an undemanding role; eldest son Jamie is an affable, whoremongering alcoholic and confirmed ne'er-do well; youngest son Edmund is poetic, sensitive, suffering from a respiratory condition and deep-seated disillusionment; and their mother Mary, living in a haze of self-delusion and morphine addiction.   Existing together under this roof, and the profound weight of the past, they subtly tear one another apart, shred by shred.   'Set in 1912, the year of O'Neill's own attempted suicide, it is an attempt to understand himself and those to whom he was irrevocably tied by fate and by love. It is the finest and most powerful play to have come out of America' Christopher BigsbyEugene O'Neill's play Long Day's Journey into Night was written in 1939-41, and first published in 1956 (after O'Neill's death in 1953). 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But Otis's downfall is set in train when his half-witted son Meshak falls in love with a young girl, Melissa, and rescues the unwanted son she has had with a disgraced aristocrat. The child is brought up in Coram's hospital, and proves to have inherited the startling musical gifts of his father - gifts that ultimately bring about his father's redemption and a heartbreaking family reunion.   Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Jamila Gavin's award-winning novel, Coram Boy, was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in 2005. It won the Time Out Live Award for Best Play.   'A rich and almost Gothic drama' - Philip Pullman","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205797642418,"sku":"9781854598943","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781854598943.jpg?v=1786029704"},{"product_id":"9781854599964","title":"Stage Lighting Design","description":"The definitive text for today's and tomorrow's lighting designers, covering the complete history, theory and practice of lighting design.   With over four hundred illustrations and nearly sixty colour photographs, as well as interviews with many well-known professionals, Stage Lighting Design is a comprehensive, insightful and inspiring book that every designer and would-be designer should own.   It is arranged in four sections:Design: the basic principles, illustrated with reference to specific productionsHistory: a brief survey of the historical development of stage lightingThe Life: interviews with 14 other lighting designers, plus notes on Pilbrow's own careerMechanics: a comprehensive section dealing with all the technical data today's designer will need.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205797707954,"sku":"9781854599964","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781854599964.jpg?v=1786029720"},{"product_id":"9781848425491","title":"Escaped Alone","description":"“I’m walking down the street and there’s a door in the fence open and inside there are three women I’ve seen before.”Three old friends and a neighbour. A summer of afternoons in the back yard. Tea and catastrophe.   Caryl Churchill's play Escaped Alone premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2016, in a production directed by James Macdonald. It was named Best Play at the 2017 Writers' Guild Awards.   'Caryl Churchill never does the same thing twice. Each play in her exquisite portfolio is an experiment in form. Her works are uniquely individual creations' The Times","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205798887602,"sku":"9781848425491","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848425491.jpg?v=1786034013"},{"product_id":"9781848426313","title":"Angels in America","description":"America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell.   Originally premiered in Britain at the National Theatre, London, where it won the Evening Standard Best Play Award, Tony Kushner's Angels in America went on to win two Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.   This volume contains both Part One: Millennium Approaches and Part Two: Perestroika, plus 45 pages of bonus material including a new introduction by the playwright, a full production history, deleted scenes, and notes on staging. It was published alongside a new production in 2017 at the National Theatre, London, directed by Marianne Elliott and starring Andrew Garfield, Denise Gough, Nathan Lane, James McArdle and Russell Tovey.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205798920370,"sku":"9781848426313","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848426313_8fb58ad2-87b1-4e29-a29a-fa844612adb7.jpg?v=1786029436"},{"product_id":"9781848428676","title":"Jez Butterworth Plays: Two","description":"‘Come, you drunken spirits. Come, you battalions. You fields of ghosts who walk these green plains still. Come, you giants!’When Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2009, it served notice of an astonishing development in the career of a writer whose debut, Mojo, had premiered on the same stage nearly fifteen years before.   Unearthing the mythic roots of contemporary English life, and featuring Mark Rylance in an indelible central performance as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron, the play transferred to the West End and then to Broadway, before returning to the West End in 2011. 'Storming… restores one's faith in the power of theatre' Independent. 'Unarguably one of the best dramas of the twenty-first century' Guardian.   Jerusalem was followed by the bewitching chamber play The River (Royal Court, 2012), a 'magnetically eerie, luminously beautiful psychodrama' Time Out. 'A delicately unfolding puzzle… all of it is wrapped in marvellous language… extraordinary' The Times.   This volume concludes with the multi-award-winning The Ferryman (Royal Court and West End, 2017; Broadway, 2018), an excavation of lives shattered by violence, set in a farmhouse in Northern Ireland in 1981. 'A richly absorbing and emotionally abundant play… an instant classic' Independent. 'A magnificent play that uses, brilliantly, the vitality of live theatre to express the deadly legacy of violence' Financial Times.   Also included here is the screenplay for the short film The Clear Road Ahead (2011), published here for the first time, and an edited transcript of a conversation between Butterworth and the playwright Simon Stephens.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205800165554,"sku":"9781848428676","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848428676.jpg?v=1786029501"},{"product_id":"9781854593900","title":"Death and the Maiden","description":"A classic of 20th-century theatre, Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden ran for a year in the West End, was a hit on Broadway and was filmed by Roman Polanski starring Ben Kingsley and Sigourney Weaver.   A woman seeks revenge when the man she believes to have been her torturer happens to re-enter her life.   Death and the Maiden was given a first reading at the Institute for Contemporary Art in London in November 1990. After a workshop production staged in Santiago, Chile, in March 1991, the play had its world premiere at the Royal Court Upstairs, London, in July 1991, transferring to the Main Stage at the Royal Court in October.   The play then transferred to the West End, at the Duke of York's Theatre, in February 1992.   Death and the Maiden won the 1992 Olivier Award for Best New Play.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205810946226,"sku":"9781854593900","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781854593900.jpg?v=1786029636"},{"product_id":"9781848420533","title":"Apologia","description":"A disastrous family reunion is the occasion for a sharp and perceptive look at what has happened to 60s idealists and their children.   Kristin Miller is an eminent and successful art historian. As a young mother she followed her politics and vocation, storming Parisian barricades and moving to Florence. Her birthday should be a time for celebration but, when her two sons deliver their versions of the past, everyone must confront the cost of Kristin‘s commitment to her passions.   Alexi Kaye Campbell's play Apologia premiered at The Bush Theatre, London, in 2009. It was revived at the Trafalgar Studios, London, in 2017, directed by Jamie Lloyd.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205855707314,"sku":"9781848420533","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848420533_8d909830-f3e9-46be-a817-881ec1844acc.jpg?v=1786029285"},{"product_id":"9781848424951","title":"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas","description":"Bruno has a friend called Shmuel. Like Bruno, Shmuel is nine years old. Their birthdays are on the same day. But Shmuel lives on the other side of a fence, and he's always wearing striped pyjamas...   Based on the best-selling novel by John Boyne, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a heart-wrenching tale of an unlikely friendship between two innocent boys. Angus Jackson's deeply affecting adaptation was produced by The Children's Touring Partnership and Chichester Festival Theatre on a UK tour in 2015.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205855740082,"sku":"9781848424951","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848424951_23083f3e-514a-4e5e-b3f6-0a6b414266b6.jpg?v=1786029394"},{"product_id":"9781848425767","title":"Things I Know To Be True","description":"A complex and intense portrait of the mechanics of a family – and a marriage – through the eyes of four siblings struggling to define themselves beyond their parents' love and expectations.   Bob and Fran have worked hard to give their four children the opportunities they never had. Now, with the kids ready to make lives of their own, it's time to sit back and smell the roses. But the change of the seasons reveals some shattering truths, leaving us asking whether it's possible to love too much.   Andrew Bovell's beautifully touching, funny and bold play Things I Know To Be True was premiered in Adelaide, Australia, as a co-production between Frantic Assembly and the State Theatre Company of South Australia. It received its British premiere in 2016, co-produced with Warwick Arts Centre in association with Chichester Festival Theatre and the Lyric Hammersmith.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205855805618,"sku":"9781848425767","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848425767_d8d5c5ed-b942-43e2-860d-49dab479ecc6.jpg?v=1786029420"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/publisher-nick-hern-books.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}