Peter Barnes

In 'To Be or Not to Be' (1942), Ernest Lubitsch brought his legendary comic touch to the most unpromising situation: life in Nazi-occupied Poland. In this study, Peter Barnes considers what it is to make comedy out of tragedy.

To be or Not to be

Adapted from Frank Wedekind's Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box. Translated by Charlotte Beck, with an Introd. by Martin Esslin

Lulu: a Sex Tragedy

Set in 17th century Spain. The Hapsburg monarchy is on the brink of total collapse, the reins of power held in the trembling, epileptic hands of the King, Carlos II.

A Play

The Bewitched

A selection of plays by "one of the most original and biting comic writers working in Britain" (The Times) The Spirit of Man is "an ingenious triple-bill exploring Man's need for faith through three short satires based in medieval France, Protectorate England and nineteenth-century Eastern Europe" (Independent); Nobody Here But Us Chickens is a linked trilogy of satires on New Age, corporate and bedroom politics. Red Noses is a political satire about the plague and takes place in 1348. Set in medieval Italy during a crisis in the Church, Sunsets and Glories is "a work of the highest and most thrilling theatrical energy" (Independent on Sunday), whilst Bye Bye Columbus is a "highly entertaining" (Guardian) television play. "Peter Barnes is one of the unrecognised geniuses of the English theatre" (Plays and Players)

Red Noses, The Spirit of Man, Nobody Here But Us Chickens, Sunsets and Glories, Bye Bye Columbus

Barnes Plays: 2

THE TWIST of the KNIFE is a story set in Scotland; the stories of two families who were judged for the misdeeds of their ancestors; the Malcoms and the McCarthys. Right before their eyes, they watched their families perish one by one until the last member. The ghosts of those who were wrongfully killed, vowed to take their revenge on these families, who, by fate, came to live in the castle where all of these atrocities took place.

The Twist of the Knife

Seven short scenes from Peter Barnes for two people each.

Seven Duologues

Barnes' People II

Set in medieval Italy during a crisis in the Church, Sunsets and Glories is "a work of the highest and most thrilling theatrical energy" (Independent on Sunday) Sunsets and Glories is set in the late thirteenth-century Italy where power struggles between Church and State inspire such characters as the spineless Charles 11, paid killer Montefelto and 'madwoman' Maifreda. Into this maelstrom steps Peter de Morrone, the saintly Pope Celestine V, provoking a bitter crisis of faith in the abiding values of violence and corruption. Once again, Peter Barnes' mordant wit takes history and imbues it with a savage humour. "Peter Barnes is one of the unrecognised geniuses of the English theatre" (Plays and Players)

Sunsets And Glories

Cheryl  Barnes

Describes the various kinds of pets, including bears and alligators, kept at the White House by presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama.

and Other White House Pets

President Adams' Alligator

Red Noses

Global warming has finally made clear the true costs of using our atmosphere as a giant sponge to soak up unwanted by-products of industrial activity. As nations, businesses, and citizens seek workable yet fair solutions for reducing carbon emissions, the question of who should pay -- and how -- looms large. Yet the surprising truth is that a system for protecting the atmosphere could be devised that would yield cash benefits to us all. In Who Owns the Sky?, visionary entrepreneur Peter Barnes redefines the debate about the costs and benefits of addressing climate change. He proposes a market-based institution called a Sky Trust that would set limits on carbon emissions and pay dividends to all of us, who collectively own the atmosphere as a commons. The Trust would be funded by requiring polluters to pay for the right to emit carbon dioxide, and managed by a non-governmental agency. Dividends would be paid annually, in much the same way that residents of Alaska today receive cash benefits from oil companies that drill in their state. Employing the same spirit of innovation that brought millions of dollars to the nonprofit sector through his company Working Assets, Barnes sets forth a practical new approach to protecting our shared inheritance -- not only the atmosphere, but water, forests, and other life-sustaining and economically valuable common resources. He shows how we can use markets and property rights to preserve and share the vast wealth around us, allowing us not only to profit from it, but to pass it on, undiminished, to future generations. Who Owns the Sky? is a remarkable look at the future of our economy, one in which we can retain capitalism's virtues while mitigating its vices. Peter Barnes draws on his personal experience as a successful entrepreneur to offer viable solutions to some of our most pressing environmental and social concerns.

Our Common Assets and the Future of Capitalism

Who Owns the Sky?

Nigel Davies

Covering the principles behind building information modelling (BIM), its current use in practice and how it may develop in the future, BIM in Principle and in Practice provides construction professionals with an overview of this emerging field to enable informed discussions with clients and colleagues.

BIM in Principle and in Practice

How we understand ourselves and life in this world is inexorably linked to how we understand God. Knowing ourselves and understanding the world in which we live is something about which we are all concerned. Augustine confessed to God, ' I could not find myself, much less find you.' Sixties' folk singer Joni Mitchell sang, 'I've looked at life from both sides now' but lamented, 'I really dont know life at all.' In this contemporary look at the book of Ecclesiastes, Peter Brnes takes up these issues. Life is examined honestly and perceptively, confronting us with the realities of life in a fallen world and the inevitablity of death. Thinking carefully about all the apparent meaningless of life can actually be used by God, who is totally good, to lead us to himself. All else fails; God alone is worthy of our trust. Those perplexed by the futility and emptiness of life will find much help here in their search for God, meaning and fulfillment. This book also provides a useful evangelistic resource for Christians keen to share their faith in Christ with others.

Ecclesiastes and the Human Condition

Both Sides Now

Cheryl Barnes

Uses a tale about mice disagreeing over laws requiring that all mice eat the same cheese every day of the week to introduce readers to the workings of the Supreme Court.

Peter Barnes

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