Alecky Blythe

Adam Cork

In late 2006 the everyday life of the quiet rural town of Ipswich was shattered by the discovery of the bodies of five women. The residents of London Road had struggled for years with the soliciting and kerb-crawling that they frequently encountered. As Steve Wright, the occupant of No. 79, was arrested, charged and then convicted of the murders, the immediate community grappled with the media frenzy and what it meant to be at the epicentre of this tragedy. Playwright Alecky Blythe recorded extensive interviews with the people of Ipswich. Composer Adam Cork's score is a response to the melodic and rhythmic speech patterns captured on those recordings. London Road is an experimental and challenging work which reveals the ways in which even the darkest experiences can engender a greater sense of our mutual dependence.

London Road

Anna Deavere Smith

Tim Etchells

Noah Birksted-Breen

Meron Langsner

Denise Uyehara

María José Contreras Lorenzini

This diverse anthology features eight contemporary plays founded in testimonies from across the world. Showcasing challenging and provocative works of theatre, the collection also provides a clear insight into the workings of the genre through author interviews, introductions from the companies and performance images which illustrate the process of creating each piece. Bystander 9/11 by Meron Langsner is an impressionistic but wholly authentic response to the catastrophe as it unfolded and in the days following. Big Head by Denise Uyehara is an interrogation of current perceptions of "the enemy now" as seen through the lens of Japanese American internment during World War II. Urban Theatre Projects' The Fence is a tale of love, belonging and healing. It is a tender work that looks at the adult lives of five family and friends who spent their childhoods in orphanages, institutions and foster homes in Australia. Come Out Eli: Christmas 2002 in Hackney, London, saw the longest siege in British history. Using interviews collected at the time and further material gathered in the aftermath, Alecky Blythe's play explores the impact of the siege on the lives of individuals and the community. The Travels: members of Forced Entertainment undertook a series of journeys during one summer, each travelling alone to locations in the UK to complete tasks determined only partially in advance. This began a mapping process and the creation of a landscape of ideas, narratives and bad dreams. On the Record by Christine Bacon and Noah Birksted-Breen circumnavigates the globe to bring true stories from six independent journalists, all linked by their determination to shed light on the truth. Created by Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail Kriegel, Carol K. Mack, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith and Susan Yankowitz, Seven is based on personal interviews with seven women who have triumphed over huge obstacles to catalyse major changes in human rights in their home countries of Russia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Guatemala and Cambodia. Pajarito Nuevo la Lleva: The Sounds of the Coup by María José Contreras Lorenzini focuses upon sense memories of witnesses who were children at the time of the 1974 military coup in Chile.

Bystander 9/11; Big Head; The Fence; Come Out Eli; The Travels; On the Record; Seven; Pajarito Nuevo la Lleva: The Sounds of the Coup

The Methuen Drama Anthology of Testimonial Plays

"Maureen is a pensioner in search of passion. Since her heart was broken by David from Aberdeen - the world's best lover and a millionaire - she is finding it difficult to meet anyone else who can satisfy her. After 33 blind dates and 12 cruises she is still searching." "But best friend Margaret has had no shortage of suitors. Jim, Jack and Geoff were all in the running, but it's Geoff from Shrewsbury who gets her to the altar. Maureen has her doubts - is Margaret just on the rebound and, more importantly, will she lose her pension?"--BOOK JACKET.

Cruising

A new documentary drama from the author of the acclaimed musical London Road.

Little Revolution

This diverse anthology features eight contemporary plays founded in testimonies from across the world. Showcasing challenging and provocative works of theatre, the collection also provides a clear insight into the workings of the genre through author interviews, introductions from the companies and performance images which illustrate the process of creating each piece. Bystander 9/11 by Meron Langsner is an impressionistic but wholly authentic response to the catastrophe as it unfolded and in the days following. Big Head by Denise Uyehara is an interrogation of current perceptions of "the enemy now" as seen through the lens of Japanese American internment during World War II. Urban Theatre Projects' The Fence is a tale of love, belonging and healing. It is a tender work that looks at the adult lives of five family and friends who spent their childhoods in orphanages, institutions and foster homes in Australia. Come Out Eli: Christmas 2002 in Hackney, London, saw the longest siege in British history. Using interviews collected at the time and further material gathered in the aftermath, Alecky Blythe's play explores the impact of the siege on the lives of individuals and the community. The Travels: members of Forced Entertainment undertook a series of journeys during one summer, each travelling alone to locations in the UK to complete tasks determined only partially in advance. This began a mapping process and the creation of a landscape of ideas, narratives and bad dreams. On the Record by Christine Bacon and Noah Birksted-Breen circumnavigates the globe to bring true stories from six independent journalists, all linked by their determination to shed light on the truth. Created by Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail Kriegel, Carol K. Mack, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith and Susan Yankowitz, Seven is based on personal interviews with seven women who have triumphed over huge obstacles to catalyse major changes in human rights in their home countries of Russia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Guatemala and Cambodia. Pajarito Nuevo la Lleva: The Sounds of the Coup by MarÃ­a JosÃ© Contreras Lorenzini focuses upon sense memories of witnesses who were children at the time of the 1974 military coup in Chile.

'To be honest with you, before I went secondary school I thought that the kids they would be like really mature and like by the time I reached Year Ten I'd be fully mature and everything. And I'd lose my like funsense and stuff... But, I don't know if it's just my class in particular but we really haven't matured at all... I don't want to be the serious adult and have serious children and have serious future in a serious house and serious everything.' Alecky Blythe's engrossing verbatim play tells the stories of a generation. Created from five years of interviews with twelve young people from across the UK, Our Generation is a captivating portrait of their teenage years as they journey into adulthood. Often too extraordinary to be fiction, this funny and moving play is for anyone who is - or has ever been - a teenager. It was co-produced by the National Theatre, London, and Chichester Festival Theatre in 2022, directed by Daniel Evans.

Our Generation

Tessa has set up a business: a brothel where mature women specialise in offering the 'Girlfriend Experience', a surprisingly caring and sympathetic service. As the women stoically strive to make a living in a competitive market, their personal lives start to crumble. Will they ever have loving relationships outside work and enjoy being girlfriends themselves? The play is created entirely from conversations recorded inside an actual brothel, edited and replicated on stage in all their uncanny verisimilitude.

Alecky Blythe

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