Books in Modern Plays series

A Taste of Honey became a sensational theatrical success when first produced in London by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop company. It was made into a highly acclaimed film in 1961. The play is about the adolescent Jo and her relationships with those about her - her irresponsible, roving mother Helen and her mum's newly acquired drunken husband, the black sailor who leaves her pregnant and Geoffrey the homosexual art student who moves in to help with the baby. It is also about Jo's unshakeable optimism throughout her trials. This story of a mother and daughter relationship set in working class Manchester continues to enthral new generations of readers and audiences. Now established as a modern classic, this comic and poignant play by a then nineteen-year-old working-class Lancashire girl was praised at its London premiere in 1958 by Graham Greene as having "all the freshness of Mr Osborne's Look Back in Anger and a greater maturity."

April, 1984. Winston Smith thinks a thought, starts a diary, and falls in love. But Big Brother is watching him, and the door to Room 101 can swing open in the blink of an eye. Its ideas have become our ideas, and Orwell’s fiction is often said to be our reality. The definitive book of the 20th century is re-examined in a radical new adaptation exploring why Orwell’s vision of the future is as relevant as ever. An edited and updated version of the script of this critically acclaimed adaptation, to tie in with the new Broadway production.

Dead Centre’s new solo work for an eleven -year-old boy is devoted to Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, who died in 1596, only eleven himself.A single letter separates Hamnet from the philosophical heights of Hamlet. Unlike the Prince, he cannot ask ‘to be or not to be’. Condemned not to be, he now seeks to understand the world from which he has been wrested. Hamnet is too young to understand Shakespeare. We are too old to understand Hamnet. Two generations, asking each other what they want to pass on and receive.

A hilarious dramatisation of a classic children's storySince it first appeared in 1883, Carlo Collodi's classic tale of the mischievous puppet who becomes a boy has enchanted readers of all ages. Now dramatised by Lee Hall (acclaimed writer of Billy Elliot, Spoonface Steinberg and Cooking with Elvis) Pinocchio's hilarious and treacherous journey through childhood comes alive in the spirit of the Italian commedia dell'arte and good old-fashioned slapstick.The Adventures of Pinocchio, directed by Marcello Magni, premiered at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith in November 2000.

Following the success of Sleeping Beauty, Park Theatre's annual Christmas show returns with their second instalment of The Chronicles of Waa. With original music, magic and plenty of laughter for the whole family, Jack and the Beanstalk is a tale of friendship, love and Tupperware: lots of Tupperware!In Gazoob, the land of the Giants, evil inventor Ms Grimm wants world domination and it seems there is nothing her lovely daughter Grenthel and Geoff, the smallest giant in the world, can do to stop her.Meanwhile in Nowen, a peaceful but poor Kingdom, Jack and his mum Tina struggle to pay the rent. To make matters worse, they have to get rid of their trusted cow, Daisy. When Grimm's evil plan lands at their feet, all seems doomed. But what will save the day and unite these two kingdoms? Jack's heroic deeds at the Nowenthian Sports festival? Tina's extensive knowledge of antique Tupperware? Or will the musical, Mariachi oracles known as 'The Shepherds Gonzales' have the answer?The future of the Land of Waa is at stake!