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.
Bulgo, Matthew: - Matthew Bulgo is a playwright, actor, dramaturg and tutor. He is a graduate of the Sherman Theatre's Advanced Writers Group and an Associate Director of Dirty Protest.
El-Bushra, Suhayla: - "Suhayla El-Bushra is a playwright and screenwriter. In 2015 she was writer in residency at the National Theatre Studio. Her film/TV credits include Hollyoaks, feature screenplays, children's drama and several scripts for Doctors. Suhayla developed an original screenplay, Left Luggage as part of the Guiding Lights scheme where her mentor was Christopher Hampton. Suhayla's stage work includes Pigeons which was produced as part of the Royal Court's Open Court season in 2013 and on a subsequent tour, Cuckoo (Unicorn Theatre, 2014) and The Kilburn Passion (Tricycle, 2014 - two runs). Her play The Suicide, an adaptation of the play by Nikolai Erdman, opened in April 2016 at the National Theatre's Lyttleton Theatre."
French, Robin: - Robin French studied modern and medieval languages at Cambridge University and playwriting on the Royal Court Young Writers' Programme. Plays include Bear Hug (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs and subsequent productions in Italy, Germany, Ireland and Poland), Africa and Pigeon (Flight 5065 on the London Eye), and Breakfast Hearts/Choirplay (Theatre 503). Robin was chosen by the Observer as one of the country's most promising talents. He is writer in residence at Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
Lustgarten, Anders: - Anders Lustgarten is Pearson Playwright-in-Residence at the Finborough Theatre, where his first two plays, The Insurgents (2007) and Enduring Freedom (2008), were produced. Other work includes The Punishment Stories, (shortlisted for the 2007 Verity Bargate Award), an adaptation of Slawomir Mrozek's The Police (BAC 2007), The Sugar-Coated Bullets of the Bourgeoisie (2010) for the National Theatre Studio and If You Don't Let Us Dream Then We Won't Let You Sleep (Royal Court, 2013). Anders is a political activist, has taught on Death Row, been arrested by the Turkish secret police, and holds a PhD in Chinese politics from the University of California. He also won the inaugural Harold Pinter Playwrights Award with a commission from the Royal Court in 2011.
