The Methuen Drama Book of Royal Court Plays 2000-2010 - Under the Blue Sky; Fallout; Motortown; My Child; Enron

Five of the best plays from the first decade of the twenty-first century produced by the Royal Court Theatre, London. Royal Court Plays 2000-2010 is an essential anthology for anyone interested in the best work from the most important new writing theatre produced during the last decade. Under the Blue Sky by David Eldridge is a touching and comic play about love, war and teaching. Produced in 2000 it was revived on the West End in 2008 and has become a turn-of-the-century classic. Roy Williams'' play Fallout was written in response to the killing of Damilola Taylor and the McPherson report into racism in the Metropolitan Police and is an essential play exploring how black teenagers are drawn into violence and mutual mistrust. Motortown is about the ''war on terror'' and the war in Iraq. Described as ''an instant modern classic, the first major anti-anti-war play of this era'' ( What''s on Stage ) Simon Stephens'' play examines the effects of the war on individuals. Mike Bartlett emerged as one of the most exciting young writers of recent times when his play My Child premiered in 2007. A play about fatherhood, broken families and what it means to be a good parent, it was heaped with praise: ''Brutal, thrilling... unmissable'' ( Evening Standard ). The final play, Enron , is an epic satire about the notorious rise and fall of Enron and its founding partners, written by Lucy Prebble . A huge hit and acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, the play transferred to the West End in 2010 and opened on Broadway that same year.

About the author

Ruth Little joined the Royal Court in 2007 as Literary Manager. Previously, she was Artistic Associate at the Young Vic and Literary Manager of the Soho Theatre.David Eldridge's theatre credits include: Market Boy (Olivier Theatre, National Theatre); Holy Warriors (Shakespeare’s Globe); Miss Julie, The Lady from the Sea (Royal Exchange, Manchester); In Basildon, Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness, Under the Blue Sky (Royal Court & West End); Something, Someone, Somewhere (Sixty-Six Books/Bush Theatre); MAD, Serving it Up (Bush); The Knot of the Heart (Almeida), Festen (Almeida, Lyric West End & Broadway); The Stock Da'wa, Falling (Hampstead); A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky (with Robert Holman & Simon Stephens, Lyric Hammersmith); Babylone (Belgrade Coventry); John Gabriel Borkman, The Wild Duck, Summer Begins (Donmar Warehouse); A Week With Tony, Fighting for Breath (Finborough); Thanks Mum (Red Room); Dirty (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Cabbage for, Tea, Tea, Tea! (Platform 4 Exeter).
Television credits include: Killers, Our Hidden Lives, The Scandalous Lady W (BBC).
Radio credits include: Michael and Me: Stratford, Ilford, Romford and all Stations to Shenfield; Festen; The Picture Man; Like Minded People; The Secret Grief; John Gabriel Borkman; Jenny Lomas (BBC).
Under the Blue Sky won the Time Out Live Award 2001 for Best New Play in the West End and Festen the 2005 Theatregoers Choice Award for Best New Play. The Picture Man won the Prix Europa Best European Radio Drama 2008. Under the Blue Sky won the 2009 Theatregoers Choice Award for Best New Play. The Knot of the Heart won the 2012 Off West End Theatre Award for Best New Play.
In 2007 the University of Exeter conferred on David an Honorary Doctorate of Letters recognising his achievement as a playwright. He is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, University of London.
Roy Williams, OBE, worked as an actor before turning to writing full-time in 1990. He graduated from Rose Bruford in 1995 with a first class BA Hons degree in Writing and participated in the 1997 Carlton Television screenwriter's course. The No Boys Cricket Club (Theatre Royal, Stratford East, 1996) won him nominations for the TAPS Writer of the Year Award 1996 and for New Writer of the Year Award 1996 by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. He was the first recipient of the Alfred Fagon Award 1997 for Starstruck (Tricycle Theatre, London, 1998), which also won the 31st John Whiting Award and the EMMA Award 1999. Lift Off (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 1999) was the joint winner of the George Devine Award 2000. His other plays include: Night and Day (Theatre Venture, 1996); Josie's Boys (Red Ladder Theatre Co., 1996); Souls (Theatre Centre, 1999); Local Boy (Hampstead Theatre, 2000); The Gift (Birmingham Rep/Tricycle Theatre, 2000); Clubland (Royal Court, 2001), winner of the Evening Standard Charles Wintour Award for the Most Promising Playwright; Fallout (Royal Court Theatre, 2003) which was made for television by Company Pictures/Channel 4; Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads (National Theatre, 2002, 2004), Little Sweet Thing (New Wolsey, Ipswich/ Nottingham Playhouse/Birmingham Rep, 2005), Slow Time (National Theatre Education Department tour, 2005), Days of Significance (Swan Theatre, Stratfordupon- Avon, 2007), Absolute Beginners (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, 2007), Joe Guy (Tiata Fahodzi/Soho Theatre, 2007), Baby Girl (National Theatre, 2007), Out of the Fog (Almeida Theatre, 2007), There's Only One Wayne Matthews (Polka Theatre, 2007), Category B (Tricycle Theatre, 2009) and Sucker Punch (Royal Court, 2010). He also contributed A Chain Play (Almeida Theatre, 2007) and Sixty Six (Bush Theatre, 2011). His screenplays include Offside, winner of a BAFTA for Best Schools Drama 2002. His radio plays include Tell Tale, Homeboys, Westway, which was broadcast as part of Radio 4 First Bite Young Writers' Festival, To Sir with Love, and The Interrogation. He also wrote Babyfather for BBC TV. He was awarded the OBE for Services to Drama in the 2008 Birthday Honours List.Simon Stephens began his theatrical career in the literary department of the Royal Court Theatre, where he ran its Young Writers' Programme. His plays for theatre include Bluebird (Royal Court Theatre) Herons (Royal Court Theatre, 2001); Port (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, 2002); One Minute (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 2003 and Bush Theatre, London, 2004); Christmas (Bush Theatre, 2004); Country Music (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 2004); On the Shore of the Wide World (Royal Exchange Theatre and National Theatre, London, 2005); Motortown (Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, 2006); Pornography (Tricycle Theatre, London, 2009); Harper Regan (National Theatre, 2008); Sea Wall (Bush Theatre, 2009); Heaven (Traverse Theatre, 2009); Punk Rock (Lyric Hammersmith, London, 2009); The Trial of Ubu (Essen Schauspielhaus/Toneelgroep Amsterdam, 2010); A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky (co-written with David Eldridge and Robert Holman; Lyric Hammersmith, London, 2010); Wastwater (Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, 2011); Morning (Lyric Hammersmith, 2012); an adaptation of A Doll's House (Young Vic, 2012); an adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (National Theatre, 2012); Blindsided (Royal Exchange, 2014); and Birdland (Royal Court, 2014). His radio plays include Five Letters Home to Elizabeth (BBC Radio 4, 2001) and Digging (BBC Radio 4, 2003). Awards include the Pearson Award for Best New Play, 2001, for Port; Olivier Award for Best New Play for On the Shore of the Wide World, 2005; and for Motortown German critics in Theater Heute's annual poll voted him Best Foreign Playwright, 2007. His adaptation of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Play.Mike Bartlett is a multi-award-winning writer for both stage and screen. Theatre includes: Scandaltown (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre); The 47th (The Old Vic); Cock (The Ambassadors’ Theatre/Royal Court); Mrs Delgado (Arts at the Old Fire Station/Theatre Royal Bath/Oxford Playhouse); Albion, Game (Almeida); Snowflake (Arts at the Old Fire Station); Wild (Hampstead Theatre); King Charles III (Almeida Theatre/Wyndham’s Theatre/Music Box Theatre, New York); An Intervention (Paines Plough/Watford); Bull (Sheffield Theatres/Off Broadway/Young Vic); Medea (Headlong/Glasgow Citizens/Watford/Warwick); Chariots of Fire (Hampstead Theatre/Gielgud Theatre); 13 (Royal Court); Decade (Headlong); Earthquakes in London (Headlong, National Theatre); Love, Love, Love (Paines Plough / Plymouth Theatre Royal/Royal Court/Roundabout Theatre Company, New York/Lyric Hammersmith Theatre);Contractions (Royal Court/Crucible Theatre, Sheffield); My Child (Royal Court); Artefacts (Bush Theatre/ Nabokov);
Television includes: Life, Doctor Foster SE2, King Charles III, Doctor Foster SE1 (Drama Republic/BBC); Sticks and Stones, Trauma (Tall Story Pictures/ITV); Press (Lookout Point/BBC).
Lucy Prebble lives in London. Her smash-hit play, Enron, transferred to the West End and Broadway in 2010 after sell out runs at both the Royal Court and Chichester Festival Theatre. In addition to the huge critical acclaim it has received, Enron also won the award for best New Play at the prestigious TMA Theatre Awards, and was shortlisted for the Evening Standard Award 2009. Lucy created the TV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper, which enjoyed three series and was sold to Showtime, the major US channel famed for its daring dramas. Lucy won the prestigious George Devine Award 2004 for her outstanding debut play The Sugar Syndrome in May 2004, followed by the TMA Award for Best New Play in October 2004. She also won the 2004 Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright. Lucy was also nominated for the Most Promising Newcomer Award at the Olivier Awards 2004, shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award 2003 and nominated for the prestigious Evening Standard Charles Wintour Most Promising Playwright Award 2003.Lucy Prebble lives in London. Her smash-hit play, Enron, transferred to the West End and Broadway in 2010 after sell out runs at both the Royal Court and Chichester Festival Theatre. In addition to the huge critical acclaim it has received, Enron also won the award for best New Play at the prestigious TMA Theatre Awards, and was shortlisted for the Evening Standard Award 2009. Lucy created the TV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper, which enjoyed three series and was sold to Showtime, the major US channel famed for its daring dramas. Lucy won the prestigious George Devine Award 2004 for her outstanding debut play The Sugar Syndrome in May 2004, followed by the TMA Award for Best New Play in October 2004. She also won the 2004 Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright. Lucy was also nominated for the Most Promising Newcomer Award at the Olivier Awards 2004, shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award 2003 and nominated for the prestigious Evening Standard Charles Wintour Most Promising Playwright Award 2003.

Summary

Five of the best plays from the first decade of the twenty-first century produced by the Royal Court Theatre, London. Royal Court Plays 2000-2010 is an essential anthology for anyone interested in the best work from the most important new writing theatre produced during the last decade.

Product details

• Authors: Mike Bartlett, David Eldridge, David Prebble Eldridge, Ruth Little, Lucy Prebble, Step, Simon Stephens, Roy Williams
• Assisted by: Ruth Little (Editor)
• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 02.07.2010
• EAN: 9781408123935
• ISBN: 978-1-4081-2393-5
• No. of pages: 464
• Dimensions: 129 mm x 198 mm x 26 mm
• Series: Play Anthologies; Methuen Drama Modern Plays; Play Anthologies; Methuen Drama, Modern Plays
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature