Product Description

With an introduction by Graham Whybrow, literary manager of the Royal Court Theatre, this anthology collects the defining plays of the 1980s and 1990s in one volume - Top Girls 'The best British play ever from a woman dramatist' (The Guardian) Hysteria 'One of the most brilliantly original and entertaining new plays I have seen in years' (The Sunday Times) Blasted 'Her dialogue is both sparse and stunning. They will call her mad, but then they said that about Strindberg' (Mail on Sunday) Shopping and F***ing 'A real coup de theatre' (Evening Standard) The Beauty Queen of Leenane 'The most wickedly funny, brilliantly abrasive young dramatist ...a born storyteller' (New York Times)The result is a collection of "must reads" that's excellent value for students and theatre fans alike.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28729 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 425 pages

Review
"Top Girls 'The best British play ever from a woman dramatist' Guardian Hysteria 'One of the most brilliantly original and entertaining new plays I have seen in years' Sunday Times Blasted 'Her dialogue is both sparse and stunning. They will call her mad, but then they said that about Strindberg' Mail on Sunday Shopping and F***ing 'A real coup de theatre' Evening Standard The Beauty Queen of Leenane 'The most wickedly funny, brilliantly abrasive young dramatist... a born storyteller' New York Times"

About the Author
Mark Ravenhill burst on to the theatre scene in 1996 with the huge hit Shopping and Fucking. He has continued to garner critical acclaim for plays that include Some Explicit Polaroids, Mother Clap's Molly House, and most recently Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat (National Theatre, Royal Court, Paines Plough, The Gate Theatre, April 2008). Martin McDonagh's first play THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE was the 1996 winner of the George Devine Award, won the Writer's Guild Award for Best Fringe Play and the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Newcomer. The play was nominated for six Tony awards, of which it won four, and the Laurence Olivier Award. Terry Johnson's previous plays for the Royal Court are Hitchcock Blonde, Hysteria and Insignificance. Other work includes an adaptation of The Graduate (Gielguld Theatre), Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle And Dick (National Theatre/winner Olivier Award for Best Comedy 1998), an adaptation of The London Cuckolds (National Theatre), Dead Funny (Hampstead Theatre/Vaudville/Tour/winner Critic Circle Award for Best Play, Time Out Drama Award 1994), Imagine Drowning (Hampstead/winner of the John Whiting Award 1991), Cries From The Mammal House (Leicester Haymarket/Royal Court), Unsuitable For Adults (Bush).

Customer Reviews

Essential reading
This collection showcases some of the move evocative and throughly enjoyable plays of modern drama. Each play is at complete contrast to the others and this snippet of such diverse content adequately provides the dramatist or student with a beautiful selection of some of the best work of the 20th century.
Hysteria, a play based on psychologist Freud, is a hilarious and witty script with one of the funniest scenes I've every read. It is fast paced, lucrative and a delight to absorb into the creative juices.
In startling contrast to Hysteria is the shockingly brutal and provocative Blasted. Kane's career although tragically cut short sparked an explosion of appreciation and this play, one of her most well known, is stunningly superb. Gritty, dark, horrifying but mystifyingly beautifully created.