Pauline McLynn

the time is now

Lucy White can't quite believe what's happened to her happy, ordinary life. Ending up homeless - not to mention husbandless - has come as an almighty shock. All she wants to do is lie low for a while, but when she arrives in a quiet street in South London she's in for a surprise. The residents of Farewell Square are anything but quiet. There's a housewife with a secret that needs to be shared, a publicist whose behaviour outside office hours would shock his clients and an artist who can't seem to control her lodgers. They're as intrigued by Lucy as she is by them, and as she's drawn into their midst, she realises that life can be kind as well as cruel. And that no one has to be lonely if they don't want to be.

Summer in the city

It's not easy being the mother of a twelve-year-old boy who's in love with his babysitter and having trouble at school. Nor are matters helped by the unexpected arrival of an elderly mother who's suddenly footloose and fancy free. At least Susie Vine feels secure at Arland & Shaw, London's leading theatrical agency, where her clients love her almost as much as they love themselves. Then the man who broke her heart comes back into her life and she's forced to ask herself whether she was right to leave him all those years ago. Or is someone else waiting in the wings...'

Bright Lights and Promises

It's a typical Tuesday evening in Kilbrody. Cathy Long is on her way to collect her drunken father from the pub. Ozzy O'Reilly is in the graveyard, watching the Dublin bus through his binoculars. Charlie Finn is pulling pints, when suddenly it hits him: he's bored. And that's when the woman from the bus walks through his door and drinks herself into oblivion. Now the whole village wants to know, who is the woman on the bus? The question is, will she tell them?

The Woman on the Bus

Sabrina Mahfouz

Catherine Johnson

Deborah Bruce

Simon Vinnicombe

Evan Placey

Matt Hartley

Luke Norris

Sam Holcroft

Dafydd James

Draws together the work of ten leading playwrights including Sabrina Mahfouz, Simon Vinnicombe, Catherine Johnson, Pauline McLynn, Dafydd James, Luke Norris and Sam Holcroft. This National Theatre Connections anthology is published to coincide with the 2014 festival, which takes place across the UK and finishes up at the National Theatre in London. It offers young performers between the ages of thirteen and nineteen everywhere an engaging selection of plays to perform, read or study.

Plays for Young People: Same; Horizon; The Wardrobe; Heritage; A Letter to Lacey; A Shop Selling Speech; Angels; Hearts; Pronoun; Tomorrow

National Theatre Connections 2014

Daf James

Drawing together the work of ten leading playwrights - a mixture of established and emerging writers - this National Theatre Connections anthology is published to coincide with the 2014 festival, which takes place across the UK and finishes up at the National Theatre in London. It offers young performers between the ages of thirteen and nineteen everywhere an engaging selection of plays to perform, read or study. Each play is specifically commissioned by the National Theatre's literary department with the young performer in mind. The plays are performed by approximately 200 schools and youth theatre companies across the UK and Ireland, in partnership with multiple professional regional theatres where the works are showcased. As with previous anthologies, the volume will feature an introduction by Anthony Banks, Associate Director of the National Theatre Discover Programme, and each play includes notes from the writer and director addressing the themes and ideas behind the play, as well as production notes and exercises. The National Theatre Connections series has been running for nineteen years and the anthology that accompanies it, published for the last three years by Methuen Drama, is gaining a greater profile by the year. Some iconic plays have grown out of the Connections programme including Citizenship by Mark Ravenhill, Burn by Deborah Gearing, Chatroom by Enda Walsh, Baby Girl by Roy Williams, DNA by Dennis Kelly, and The Miracle by Lin Coghlan. The series has a recognisable brand and the anthologies continue to be an extremely useful resource, their value extending well beyond their year of publication. This year's anthology includes plays by Sabrina Mahfouz, Simon Vinnicombe, Catherine Johnson, Pauline McLynn, Dafydd James, Luke Norris and Sam Holcroft.

Jenny Q, Unravelled is the next book in the hilarious series from Father Ted and Shameless star Pauline McLynn. I'm Jenny Q. How do you do? I am officially a middle child since the baby bro arrived. But it's OK because he is the best little bundle ever. Even my big brother's group Ten Guitars are well into the lil dude. That includes the gorgeous Stevie Lee Bolton with his looks that just mesmerise me! And now my bro's asked me to handle their fan mail - I'll be secretary to the hottest boyband in Dublin! Will Stevie Lee FINALLY notice me? But in between babies, boys and crazy band fans, will I have enough time to help Dad or look after exhausted Mum before everything becomes UNRAVELLED! She's funny, frank and a surprisingly good knitter, meet Jenny Q. ** Perfect for fans of Adrian Mole and Louise Rennison. 'Creative, funny, and burdened with just the right amount of teen angst . . . very entertaining' Anna Carey, Irish Times About the author: Pauline McLynn lives in Dublin with her husband, Richard, and two cats named Brenda and Alice. She used to have other cats too - Mutt, Geoff, Noel, Brendan, Snubby and Geezee. When she was growing up in Galway, in the west of Ireland, her family had dogs - Roberta, Lady Pink Weasel, Dennis and TD. Her brothers used to call her 'verucca head' and 'hook nose' (serio) but they don't do that any more, at least not to her face, which is good. She has a wonky, crackly right knee from doing Irish Dancing (probably the wrong way!) when she was younger. Pauline still loves performing and is now an award-winning actor, perhaps best-known for playing the role of Mrs Doyle in Father Ted and Libby Croker in Shameless. She is also very good at knitting and has written eight other novels, but Jenny Q is her first series for teenagers.

Jenny Q, Unravelled!

Right, here's how things are . . . My mother is pregnant. I shizz you not. My mum will be going around with a bump for all to see that she's still, well, shagging. Then there's Stevie Lee Bolton. Every time I see him I'm like a stunned goldfish, standing there with my mouth opening and closing. So, between my embarrassing family and a certain Stevie Lee, how will I be ready for Teen Factor X? Not even my friends know about my secret obsession with becoming a star . . . She's funny, frank and surprisingly good knitter, meet Jenny Q in the hilarious new series from Father Ted and Shameless star Pauline McLynn.

Jenny Q, Stitched Up!

Right, here's how things are . . . My mother is pregnant. I shizz you not. My mum will be going around with a bump for all to see that she's still, well, shagging. Oh god I can't bear it - talk about a stitch-up. THEN there's Stevie Lee Bolton - every time I see him I'm like a stunned goldfish and just stand there with my mouth opening and closing. So between my untakebackably embarrassing family and a certain Stevie Lee, how will I be ready for Teen Factor X - not even my friends know about my dodgy yodelings and secret obsession with becoming a star . . . Funny, frank and surprisingly talented with a pair of knitting needles, meet Jenny Q in the hilarious new series from Father Ted and Shameless star Pauline McLynn.

Pauline McLynn

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