Robin French

All the rooms reek of lavender and rose petals. There's something dead about it. Like flowers the day after a ball. Returning to her home town in the house of her dreams, her husband with a new job on the horizon, and a feeling of change in the air. Yet, for Heather, there is only the feeling of boredom, a feeling as futile as it is fatal. A powerful and emotionally charged play about a woman's separation and isolation from the affluent, materialistic society that she has become a part of. Set in 1960s Edgbaston, Heather Gardner is a fresh and stylish new take on Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. It is written by one of the UK's most promising young writers Robin French, whose first play, Bear Hug, won the Royal Court Young Writer's Festival and was produced at the Royal Court in 2004, where it earned an extended run.

Heather Gardner

Written by successful young writer Robin French, and set in 1960s Edgbaston, Heather Gardner is a stylish new version of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler.

"Journalist Katy is desperate for her big break, and an interview in Paris with world famous concert pianist Silvia De Zingaro looks like just her chance. But the odds are against her. After a disastrous interview, Katy feels certain there's a bigger story there than meets the eye. She hunts for clues, finding Silvia has a collection of mystical books and an apparent fixation with composer Erik Satie. Just as Katy's hope begins to fade, a mysterious night-time encounter with the pianist may well give her the scoop she's looking for"--

Crooked Dances

Lizzie Nunnery

Patrick Marber

Tim Etchells

Alistair McDowall

Suhayla El-Bushra

Anders Lustgarten

Kellie Smith

Harriet Braun

Matthew Bulgo

Drawing together the work of 10 leading playwrights, this National Theatre Connections anthology features work by some of the most exciting and established contemporary playwrights. Gathered together in one volume, the plays collected offer young performers between the ages of 13 and 19 an engaging selection of material to perform, read or study. Each play has been specifically commissioned by the National Theatre's literary department with the young performer in mind. The anthology contains 10 play scripts; notes from the writer and director of each play, addressing the themes and ideas behind the play; and production notes and exercises for the drama groups. This year's anniversary anthology includes plays by Suhayla El-Bushra, Anders Lustgarten, Robin French, Tim Etchells, Patrick Marber, Kellie Smith, Lizzie Nunnery, Harriet Braun and Alistair McDowall.

Robin French

Books

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