Plays from the United Kingdom
M to Q by playwright
TheatreBooks stocks plays in English from around the world and, of course, all
plays published in Canada. We stock and sell plays from Samuel French Ltd., Dramatists Play Service
and Dramatic Publishing Co., and the leading play publishers
in Great Britain. We carry books on all aspects of theatre production, as well
as opera and dance.
If you don't find the title or playwright you are looking for, please stop by the
store and ask, or contact us at action@theatrebooks.com,
by phone at 416.922.7175, toll-free at 1.800.361.3414 or by fax at 416.922.0739.
 Don Juan in Soho
Patrick Marber
The infamous, amoral hedonist in a society entranced by sensation, Moliere's farcical, tragic, anarchic Don Juan (1665) is the inspiration for Patrick Marber's new play in which the action of the original is relocated to present-day Soho, London. Whereas Moliere condemned his anti-hero to a literal Hell, Marber condemns him to a hell of his own making. Softcover, 83 pp. $20.95.
 Closer
Patrick Marber
Four lives intertwine over the course of four
and one half years in this densely plotted, stinging look at modern love and betrayal.
$9.99.
 Closer - Student Edition
Patrick Marber
Four lives intertwine over the course of four and a half years in this densely plotted, stinging look at modern love and betrayal. Dan, an obituary writer, meets Alice, a stripper, after an accident on the street. Eighteen months later, they are a couple, and Dan has written a novel inspired by Alice. While posing for his book jacket cover, Dan meets Anna, a photographer. He pursues her but she rejects his advances despite their mutual attraction. Dermatologist Larry is brought into the story through an internet escapade with Dan. This sets up a series of pass-the-lover scenes in which this quartet struggle to find intimacy but can't seem to get closer. Softcover, 126 pp. $18.00.
 The Jew of Malta
Christopher Marlowe
Hugely popular in its day, this play swings wildly and rapidly in genre, from pointed satire, to bloody revenge tragedy, to melodramatic intrigue, to dark farce and groteque comedy. With its sometimes complex treatment of anti-Semitism and its relationship to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, The Jew of Malta is still relevant to modern audiences. Softcover, 136 pp. $16.50.
 Doctor Faustus - Based on the A-Text
Christopher Marlowe, edited by Ros King
Doctor Faustus is a play about desire: for the best in life, for knowledge, power, material comfort, and influence. Faustus sells his soul to the devil hoping to learn the secrets of the universe, but is fobbed off with explanations which he knows to be inadequate. He is obsessed with fame, but his achievement as a devil-assisted celebrity magician is less substantial than it was previously as a scholar. Softcover, 128 pp. $16.50.
The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus
Christopher Marlowe
Marlowe's classic play on 2 audio cassettes. Cast includes Kenneth Welsh, Eric Peterson, Richard Binsley, Yanna McIntosh, Dennis O'Connor and others. CBC Audio. $19.95.
 No Sex Please, We're British
Anthony Marriott & Alastair Foot
A young bride who lives above a bank with her husband who is the assistant manager, innocently sends a mail order off for some Scandinavian glassware. What comes is Scandinavian pornography. The plot revolves around what is to be done with the veritable floods of pornography that threaten to engulf this happy couple. The matter is considerably complicated by the man's mother, his boss, a visiting bank inspector, a police superintendent and a muddled friend who does everything wrong in his reluctant efforts to set everything right, all of which works up to a hilarious ending of closed or slamming doors. Softcover, 89 pp. $10.99.
 The Malcontent
John Marston
Resonating with echoes of Measure for Measure, and Hamlet,
Marston's tragicomedy is a fabulous study of courtly intrigue, betrayal
and treachery. M-12, W-5. Softcover, 69 pp. $20.95.
 Believe What You Will
Phillip Massinger
A Middle Eastern leader comes out of hiding to reclaim his identity. Denied
his crown and denounced by the Roman Empire, he flees for his life. Rome pursues,
threatening any country he turns to with sanctions, violence and conquest.
Which sovereign state will defy the Roman Empire? Softcover. 84 pp. $22.95.
 Singular Male Voices
Peter Harness & Owen McCafferty
Three distinct and distinctive plays for one male actor - each giving voice
to a character in extremis. Two are by relative newcomers, the other is a new,
as yet unperformed piece by Owen McCafferty. The three plays included in this
versatile collection are Mongoose, Cold Comfort and Brazil.
Softcover, 82 pp. $22.95.
 Scenes from the Big Picture
Owen McCafferty
Softcover, 128 pp. $19.95.
 Mojo Mickybo
Owen McCafferty
Softcover 82 pp. $20.95.
 Lieutenant of Inishmore
Martin McDonagh
Who knock Mad Padraic's cat over on a lonely road on the island of Inishmore and was it an accident? He'll want to know when he gets back from a stint of torture and chip-shop bombing in Northern Ireland: he loves his cat more than life itself. Softcover, 81 pp. $16.50.
 The Pillowman
Martin McDonagh
A writer in a totalitarian state is interrogated about the gruesome content
of his short stories and their simalarities to a number of child murders that
are happening in his town. Combining black humour and lurid imagery, Pillowman --
winner of the Olivier Award for best new play -- is a brilliant meditation
on the nature of theatrical storytelling. M-6, F-2. Softcover, 104 pp. $20.00.
 Girls and Dolls
Lisa McGee
Two women recollect and re-live the events of the summer of 1980 when they first met and were involved in mysterious, tragic incident. Past and present elegantly weave together as Emma and Clare come to terms with the chain of devastating events that began that summer. Softcover, 73 pp. $22.95.
 There Came a Gypsy Riding
Frank McGuiness
The McKenna family gathers at their remote west of Ireland holiday home to mark the twenty-first birthday of their late son Gene. Cousin Bridget appears along the causeway, inviting herself for birthday cake and conversation, ready to expose a family secret. Even the powerful personalities of Gene's parents can't hold things together in the face of an unexpected visit from the past. Softcover, 78 pp. $21.95.
 Frank McGuinness: Plays Two
This second collection of Frank McGuinness contains his beautifully lyrical
plays from 1989 to 1999. The plays included are: Mary and Lizzie,
Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, Dolly West's Kitchen, and The Bird
Sanctuary. Softcover, $25.99.
 Dolly
West's Kitchen
Frank McGuinness
War changes everything -- its tragedies and
its survivals will alter the history of the West family forever. $12.99.
 Shimmer
Linda McLean
Petal, Missy and Hen are on their way to Iona, searching for a miracle, when
their train is halted by floods at Tarbet. At a B&B, they find Jim, Guy
and Sonny. The strange weather and circumstances allow them a glimpse of others
they have loved and lost - and offer them all the tantalising opportunity to
dream it better. Softcover, 108 pp. $22.95.
 The Seafarer
Conor McPherson
It's Christmas Eve, and Sharky has returned to Dublin to look after his irascible, ageing brother, who's recently gone blind. Old drinking buddies Ivan and Nicky are holed up at the house too, hoping to play some cards. But with the arrival of a stranger from the distant past, the stakes are raised ever higher. In fact, Sharky may be playing for his very soul. Softcover, 105 pp. $22.95.
 Shining City
Conor McPherson
Shining City is set in Dublin, where a guilt-ridden man reaches out to a therapist after seeing the ghost of his recently deceased wife. Wrestling with his own demons, the therapist can only do so much to help. Routine visits between the two men quickly become a gripping struggle to survive, changing both of them for the rest of their lives. 3M, 1W Softcover, 45 pp. $10.99.
 Dublin Carol
Conor McPherson
Dublin Carol is the latest of McPherson's rich and evocative plays to be
put to print and follows the storytelling style of The Wier. It is Christmas
Eve and John Plunkett, an undertaker in his late fifties, encounters his estranged
daughter, his young co-worker and his own shameful past. 2m, 1w. Softcover,
43 pp. $9.99.
 The Weir
Conor McPherson
A bar in a remote part of Ireland: the local
lads are swapping spooky stories to impress a young woman from Dublin newly moved
into the area. But she turns the tables on them. $15.95.
 A New Way to Please You (or The Old Law)
Thomas Middleton & William Rowley
The Old Law is passed. At the ages of eighty and sixty respectively, all men
and women are to be killed as they are of no further use to society. This black
comedy is full of cross-generational fireworks, but has some serious underlying
questions about both the law and ageing. Softcover, 91 pp. $22.95.
 Body Blows: Six Performances
Tim Miller
Hailed for his humour and passion, the internationally acclaimed
performance artist Tim Miller has delighted, shocked, and emboldened
audiences all over the world. Body Blows gather's six of Miller's
best-known performances that chart the sexual, spiritual, and political
topography of his identity as a gay man. Softcover, 241 pp. $25.95.
 Loyal Women
Gary Mitchell
Brenda is under siege in her Belfast home. Daughter Jenny's
baby is crying upstairs, her mother-in-law is sleeping in the front
room and her husband is back after years away. And now the women
of the Ulster Defence Association want to hold meetings there as
well. M-2, F-7. Softcover, 104 pp. $19.95.
 As The Beast Sleeps
Gary Mitchell
Softcover 98 pp. $18.95.
 Jonathan Moore: Three Plays
Jonathan Moore
This collection includes three of the best plays by one of Britain's most
distinctive playwrights. In Treatment, Liam is trapped between two worlds
and he has to choose between the dark allure of violence and the healing power
of love. This Other Eden is a tough play about a woman's soul told with
beauty humour and hope. And Fall From Light concerns a working-class opera
composer whose lover takes him on a Dantesque journey to the council estate where
she grew up. Softcover, 199 pp. $27.95.
 Tiny Dynamite
Abi Morgan
When Memory takes hold, when chaos takes over, and when electricity between
becomes overwhelming. An impossible love story is given a second chance
and three scorched characters are about to learn that lightning does
strike twice. Softcover, $27.95.
 Frost/Nixon
Peter Morgan
Following the scandalous 1972 break-in at the Watergate Hotel in Washington
DC, David Frost's televised interview with Richard Nixon drew a record-breaking
audience. This exciting play investigates whether or not the British
talk-show host, with no know political convictions and a playboy
reputation, was able to elicit an apology from the man who committed
one of the biggest felonies in American political history. M-7, F-3.
Softcover, 82 pp. $21.95.
 How Love Is Spelt
Chloe Moss
New city, new people, and a new life - Peta is moving on. Rejecting the familiarity
of Liverpool, she's up for the excitement and adventure in London. But going
solo isn't quite so simple, especially when there's a constant reminder of
the life you're trying to escape. With each new encounter, Peta flirts with
what might have been, but can you ever really run away from yourself? Softcover,
84 pp. $19.95.
 Thomas More
Anthony Munday
Race riots and dissent abound in London as a result of asylum seekers from
Europe fleeing religious persecution. Londoners view them as a threat to their
employment and their relationships. Thomas More attempts to quell the uprising,
pleading for racial harmony. Softcover, 85 pp. $22.95.
 The Wonderful World of Dissocia
Anthony Neilson
Lisa Jones is on a journey. It's a colourful and exciting off-kilter trip in search of one lost hour that has tipped the balance of her life. The inhabitants of the wonderful world she finds herself in - Dissocia - are a curious blend of the funny, the friendly and the brutal. Softcover, 156 pp. $22.95.
 The Pain and the Itch
Bruce Norris
With a young daughter in serious need of attention and a ravenous creature possible prowling the upstairs bedrooms, what begins as an average Thanksgiving for one privelaged family unravels into an expose of disastrous choices and less-than-altruistic motives. The Pain and the Itch is a scathing satire of the politics of class and race, a controversial, painfully human examination of denial and it consequences. Softcover, $11.99.
 Intemperance
Lizzie Nunnery
It's 1854, a time of dizzying change. Liverpool's streets are teeming with merchants and new arrivals from all corners of the globe. Every day as the walls of St George's Hall grow higher, in the bowels of the city the poor of the cellar-slums dring away their fears. It's never their time and they know their place. Softcover, 105 pp. $19.00.
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Savoy
US and Them
Spy For Love
Is This About Sex?
From Both Hips: Two Plays
tHe dYsFUnCKshOnalZ!
Crossing Jerusalem and Other Plays
Kensuke's Kingdom
The Jungle Book
Joe Penhall Plays: 2
Landscape with Weapon
Dumb Show
Modern Dance for Beginners
Rough Crossings 
Joe's Palace & Capturing Mary
The Canterbury Tales
The Lancaster Plays
David Pownall: The Composer Plays
Johnson Over Jordan
Eden End
