Brad Birch

Do you know what I believe in? I believe in us. Me and you, right here. This town was once an incredible place. We have to have courage to fight for it again. Hero or enemy? Who can actually tell the difference? Everything is going to be fine, better than fine, in fact there's nothing that can't be achieved if everyone just believes a little. That's what the town's MP, Mick, thinks. He's optimistic, positively boosterish about his plan for the town. He just wants the naysayers to pipe down. But there's a problem. His sister, Dr Rhiannon Powell, has discovered that the project appears to be polluting the town's water supply. Mick sold the town a story about the future, but what will happen when reality looks to tear that story apart? Is Mick a hero of the people, or is he in fact their enemy? Brad Birch's bold new reimagining of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People pits the personal against the political and facts against emotion. A Hero of the People is a gripping contemporary drama for 2022.

Hero of the People

You don't want to go to war on this, Tom. I mean, not now. Not after everything. You don't want to lose more than you can afford. Brad Birch (Pinter Commission winner, 2016) takes Ibsen's An Enemy of the People into the centre of a very modern scandal. How does Tom Stockmann keep both people and press on side when he makes a discovery about the town's prestigious new Spa? A taut and rigorous adaptation of Ibsen's classic play, En Folkfiende examines the faultlines of municipal power as media, politics and the public good come head to head in a thrilling drama of the conflict between the personal and the public. En Folkefiende premiered at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in May 2016 ahead of a production at the Pleasance, Edinburgh, in August 2016.

An Enemy of the People

En Folkefiende

Barney Norris

Alice Birch

Fiona Doyle

Chris Bush

Natalie Mitchell

Chinonyerem Odimba

In-Sook Chappell

Phoebe Éclair Powell

Theatre has a funny way of getting to the heart of who we are now and – particularly in the case of Connections – who we are going to be. Drawing together the work of nine leading playwrights, National Theatre Connections 2018 features work by some of the most exciting contemporary playwrights. Gathered together in one volume, the plays offer young performers an engaging selection of material to perform, read or study. From friends building bridges and siblings breaking down walls; girls making their voice heard and boys searching for home; and not forgetting a band of unlikely action heroes taking control of the weather. The anthology contains nine play scripts along with imaginative production notes and exercises, as well as a short introduction to the writing process for the tenth Connections play [ BLANK ] by Alice Birch. National Theatre Connections is an annual festival which brings new plays for young people to schools and youth theatres across the UK and Ireland. Commissioning exciting work from leading playwrights, the festival exposes actors aged 13-19 to the world of professional theatre-making, giving them full control of a theatrical production - from costume and set design to stage management and marketing campaigns. NT Connections have published over 150 original plays and regularly works with 500 theatre companies and 10,000 young people each year.

The Blue Electric Wind; The Changing Room; The Free9; The Ceasefire Babies; These Bridges; When They Go Low; Want; The Sweetness of a Sting; Dungeness

National Theatre Connections 2018

I believe in this. I believe in here. Me and you. Everyday life, is it nothing but a series of creeping, soul-destroying disillusionments and compromises? This young couple start to think so, falling further and further into a lyrical, wild and emotional world of their own, but their escape could prove much more dangerous than the conformity they ve rejected. Combining shrewd observation of the toils of daily living, with a keen and lyrical style, Even Stillness Breathes Softly Against a Brick Wall by exciting young playwright Brad Birch is sure to inspire and delight audiences and readers alike.

Even Stillness Breathes Softly Against a Brick Wall

Birch Plays: 1 celebrates the work of Welsh writer Brad Birch. Winner of the 2016 Harold Pinter Commission for the Royal Court Theatre Birch is the writer in residence at Undeb Theatre and is currently on attachment at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. His work has been produced by the Royal Court, Sherman Cymru, Theatre503 and the National Youth Theatre as well as around the world in Russia, the USA, Italy, Germany and Spain. Bringing together plays from throughout his career to date this remarkable collection includes a selection of previously published and unpublished works along with an introduction by the author. Where the Shot Rabbits Lay (Royal Court, 2012) - "There are some lovely grace notes in Brad Birch's intimate father-son tale" (Time Out London) Even Stillness Breathes Softly Against a Brick Wall (Soho Theatre, 2013) - "a lovely play of sharp edges, falsehoods and unsaid thoughts, twinning great humour and strong emotion throughout" (WhatsOnStage) The Brink (Orange Tree, 2016) - "short, sharp, shockingly entertaining" (The Guardian) Black Mountain (Paines Plough Roundabout, Edinburgh, 2017) - "This is a real rarity: a psychological thriller that feels psychologically accurate – and it actually thrills too." (Scotsman)

Where the Shot Rabbits Lay; Even Stillness Breathes Softly Against a Brick Wall; The Brink; Black Mountain

Birch Plays: 1

It's what life does to you. We don't have time to waste. Worrying over the small stuff while the big stuff takes its toll. You're living and then . . . boom. At 27, History teacher Nick is on the edge. A hidden secret lies under the Brink. Nick can't get it out of his mind. A series of visions force Nick to investigate what lies beneath. Nick's girlfriend doesn't understand. Neither do his fellow teachers. Frustrated, he confides in a Year 10 student but can she be expected to have all the answers? The Brink is an arch but affecting parable for the times we live in. This edition was published to coincide with the play's world premiere at the Orange Tree Theatre, London, in April 2016.

Brad Birch

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