Henrik Ibsen

Simon Stephens

Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House premiered in 1879 in Copenhagen, the second in a series of realist plays by Ibsen, and immediately provoked controversy with its apparently feminist message and exposure of the hypocrisy of Victorian middle-class marriage. In Ibsen's play, Nora Helmer has secretly (and deceptively) borrowed a large sum of money to pay for her husband, Torvald, to recover from illness on a sabbatical in Italy. Torvald's perception of Nora is of a silly, naive spendthrift, so it is only when the truth begins to emerge, and Torvald appreciates the initiative behind his wife, that unmendable cracks appear in their marriage.

A Doll's House

Mark Haddon

Christopher, stands beside Mrs Shears's dead dog. It has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight, and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in the book he is writing to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Sea Wall / A Life

Sea Wall

2014 was a spectacular year for playwright Simon Stephens, who has been described by the Independent as 'a brilliant writer of immense imagination' and by the Financial Times as having 'emerged in this millennium as an outstanding playwright'. 2014 was a year for Simon Stephens which featured a high number of world premiere plays including one for the theatre of his birthplace, Manchester's Royal Exchange, a major new play for the Downstairs space at London's Royal Court, and a Chekhov translation for London's Young Vic; a transfer of his West End hit The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time to Broadway; and projects in Germany, a country which has seen Stephens lauded, in which he has worked extensively, and which has shaped much of his dramaturgy. In addition to these major projects, Stephens continued his role as a mentor of young writers, actors and directors, and continued to be one of the most frequent, outspoken and fiercely intelligent voices of the playwriting scene. In an exceptionally honest account, Simon Stephens opens up to us, through daily diary entries, his working practices, his inner-most thoughts, his philosophy on theatre, the arts and politics, and his feelings and reactions to specific projects he has worked on. Through this, we are given unprecedented access to the mind of one of the most important playwrights of the twenty-first century.

Simon Stephens: A Working Diary

William Carlisle has the world at his feet but its weight on his shoulders. He is intelligent, articulate and f***ed. In the library of a grammar school, William and his fellow Sixth-Formers are preparing for their mock A-Levels while navigating the pressures of teenage life. They are educated and aspirational young people but step-by-step, the dislocation, disjunction and latent aggression is revealed. Punk Rock premiered at the Lyric Hammersmith on 3 September 2009 in a co-production between the Lyric Hammersmith and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester.

Punk Rock

Is this the strangest thing that two people have ever done in the history of the world? In this uncertain world, who can predict what brings people together? When two strangers meet by chance amidst the bustle of a crowded London train station, their lives are changed forever. Multi-award-winning British playwright Simon Stephens brings his hit Broadway play to London for the first time. Brimming with blazing theatrical life it explores the uncertain and often comical sparring match that is human connection. Having received its world premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club, New York in 2015 Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle makes its UK premiere in the West End in a thrilling production starring Kenneth Cranham and Anne Marie Duff, directed by Marianne Elliot.

Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle

There's a hole running through the centre of my stomach. You must have all felt a bit awkward because you can probably see it. Sea Wall is a delicate monologue, completely devastating and beautifully powerful. Alex's story, spoken directly to the audience, begins full of clear light and smiles, as he speaks about his wife, visiting her father in the South of France, having a daughter, photography, and the bottom of the sea. His tone is natural, happy and engaging, with flickers of questions about belief and religion glimpsed under the surface. But his contentment falls away into deep and heart-breaking grief, crumbling to pieces with a vividness that is incredibly moving.

THE STORY: BLUEBIRD charts a night in the life of London mini-cab driver Jimmy McNeill. We share with him a night of his fares--the despondent and delirious, the inspired, inspiring and insane. Jimmy is a surprising cabbie: a writer fallen from grac

Bluebird

LOOK ME IN THE EYE AND TELL ME YOU'LL NEVER LEAVE ME. A woman wakes up with a stranger beside her. A student argues with his lover. A single mother fights to feed her baby. A married man flirts with two younger women. And far away, one devastating event is about to change all their lives forever. Artistic Director Sarah Frankcom says goodbye to the Royal Exchange with an extraordinary new play by Simon Stephens, with original music by Jarvis Cocker. Connecting five relatives in five disparate English towns, from Blackpool to Durham, LIGHT FALLS is a richly layered play about life in the face of death, about how our love survives us after we've gone – and about how family, community and kindness help the North survive.

Light Falls

Everything can be quantified. All worth can be quantified. Artistic worth. Human worth. Material worth. Everything. Some food is simply better than other food. Isn't it? Some clothes are better than other clothes. Aren't they? The last week of a massive international tour and rock star Paul is at the height of his fame. Everybody knows his name. Whatever he wants he can have. He can screw anybody he wants to. He can buy anything he desires. He can eat anything. Drink anything. Smoke anything. Go anywhere. As the inevitability of the end of the road looms closer and a return home becomes a reality, for Paul the music is starting to jar. Birdland received its world premiere at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs on 3 April 2014.

Birdland

Anton Chekhov

Chekhov's celebrated masterpiece is given vibrant new life in this dynamic new version by Olivier Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens. Switching effortlessly between the ridiculous and the profound, The Seagull forensically examines the transcendence and destructiveness of love. The burning need to create art and how harshly that need can be crushed permeates the play. Simon Stephens' new adaption of The Seagull received its premiere at the Lyric Hammersmith, London on 3 October 2017.

The Seagull

Christopher, fifteen years old, stands beside Mrs Shears' dead dog. It has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight, and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in the book he is writing to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington. He has an extraordinary brain and is exceptional at maths, but he is ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched and he distrusts strangers. But Christopher's detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that turns his world upside-down. Simon Stephens' adaptation of Mark Haddon's bestselling, award-winning novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time offers a richly theatrical exploration of this touching and bleakly humorous tale.

Roy Williams

Tanika Gupta

Three new plays from three of the UK's most celebrated playwrights. All rooted in West London, the plays explore race, identity and our sense of place and purpose, presented together as one piece, Out West. The Overseas Student by Tanika Gupta London. 1888. An 18-year-old Gandhi has just arrived from India to study Law. Miles from home, his wife and his family, we see him navigate a time of uncertainty, growth and opportunity. As he builds a new life, he explores the joys of money, food and women whilst facing the struggles of class and imperialism. Gupta's sharp and profound play is an insight into the teenage years of a man we know will grow up to be one of the most significant figures in history. Blue water and cold and fresh by Simon Stephens London. 2020. A walk back in time. A walk that may change everything he's ever believed. In the wake of city lockdown living and the Black Lives Matter protests, one man's journey across London raises difficult truths he has to confront. The death of a loved one. His father's racism. His own white privilege. This heartfelt piece explores what it means to be a father, husband and son. Go, Girl by Roy Williams London. 2020. Working as a security guard at Westfield and a mother to a teenage daughter, Donna sees her life as unremarkable. Why have things not turned out how she pictured when she was a young girl, inspired by the words of Michelle Obama? The hope and excitement she once felt has now become isolation and judgement of the choices she has made. Until one night Donna gets a call from her daughter that makes her rethink her entire life. As their bravery and humanity is tested, Donna realises just how remarkable they both truly are. A celebration of Black women, everyday heroism and female resilience.

The Overseas Student; Blue Water and Cold and Fresh; Go, Girl

Out West

Mark Eitzel

“t was then that I decided to write you these letters. One crisp winter day in New York, Willem receives a phone call – it's time to go home. Home to Amsterdam – to an estranged family and forgotten relationships. As he reflects on his life, unwilling to face the future, he finds himself reaching out to the brother he has lost. This revised edition of Simon Stephens's landmark play, is published to coincide with the revival at HOME Manchester, February 2023, starring Will Young

Song from Far Away

As the severed human head of an Estonian woman is found in a river in Hammersmith, two British detectives set off in search of her origins in Europe and how she came to be found dead. Fighting to cross international borders and language barriers, the pair enter a nightmarish world that will change one of them forever. Three Kingdoms tells the stories of trafficked women, the gangs and the police forces across Europe that attempt to control the trade.

Three Kingdoms

Punk rock

"You make one decision. It stays with you. It's like the consequences of it get into your bones." Set on the edges of Heathrow airport, Wastwater is an elliptical triptych - a snapshot of three different couples who make a choice that will define the fallout of their future. Harry is on the point of leaving England and Frieda knows she will never see him again. Lisa and Mark are on the point of a sexual betrayal that takes them into a place darker than they ever thought possible. Sian has a terrifying deal for Jonathan and she isn't going to take no for an answer. A reflective piece by a playwright at the height of his powers and career, Wastwater mimics the flexible and innovative form of Stephens's hit play Pornography with three overlapping, but detachable, parts which can be split and played in differing orders. The play contains Stephens's trademark combination of sensitive character depiction and tough confrontation with political choices. Wastwater is a meditative morality tale and a portrayal of modern-day relationships, formed and deformed by fatal decisions, inevitable consequences and fragile connections. This volume also contains the monologue T5, which portrays a road trip below the heart of London and follows a darkly magical flight out of the edges of the 21st century.

Simon Stephens

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