A collection of wide-ranging and ambitious short plays reflecting the complexities of women and political power in the United Kingdom.

The five plays in this volume look at the impact and influence that women have today.

In Acting Leader by Joy Wilkinson, Margaret Beckett finds herself Acting Leader of the Opposition after the sudden death of John Smith.

The Panel by Zinnie Harris is about the power politics underlying the selection of any candidate.

Playing the Game by Bola Agbaje is about the election of a new President of a Students' Association.

In Pink by Sam Holcroft, a millionaire businesswoman is confronted by an unexpected visitor.

You, Me and Wii by Sue Townsend is set in a council house in a small Leicestershire town at election time.

The plays were first performed at the Tricycle Theatre, London, as part of the Women, Power and Politics season in June 2010.

The other plays presented in the season are available in the companion volume, Women, Power and Politics: Then.

About the Author
Joy Wilkinson is a playwright and screenwriter whose plays include: The Sweet Science of Bruising (Southwark Playhouse, 2018); Acting Leader (part of Women, Power and Politics season at the Tricycle Theatre, London, in 2010); Fair (Finborough Theatre, 2005; Trafalgar Studios, West End, 2006); and Felt Effects (joint winner of the 2004 Verity Bargate Award, staged at Theatre503, London, 2006). She has been a Screen International Star of Tomorrow, a two-time Brit List nominee, one of Den Of Geek's '50 Brilliant Screenwriters To Watch Out For', and she was mentored by Sir Kenneth Branagh on the prestigious BFI/Lighthouse Guiding Lights scheme. Zinnie Harris is a playwright and theatre director whose work has been staged by the National Theatre, the RSC and the Traverse, amongst others. Bola Agbaje's plays have been seen at the Royal Court Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and the Young Vic, amongst others. Her debut play, Gone Too Far!, won the 2008 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. Sam Holcroft is a playwright, winner of the Windham Campbell Prize for Literature. Her plays include: A Mirror (Almeida Theatre, London, 2023; West End, 2024); Rules for Living (National Theatre, London, 2015); The Wardrobe for National Theatre Connections; Edgar & Annabel, part of the Double Feature season in the Paintframe at the National Theatre; Dancing Bears, part of the Charged season for Clean Break at Soho Theatre and Latitude Festival; While You Lie at the Traverse, Edinburgh; Pink, part of the Women, Power and Politics season at the Tricycle; Vanya, adapted from Chekhov, at The Gate; and Cockroach, co-produced by the National Theatre of Scotland and Traverse (nominated for Best New Play 2008, by the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland and shortlisted for the John Whiting Award, 2009). In 2013, she wrote The House Taken Over, a libretto for opera, adapted from Cortazar, for the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and Academie Europeenne de Musique. She received the Tom Erhardt Award in 2009, was the Pearson Writer-in-Residence at the Traverse Theatre, 2009-10, and the Writer-in-Residence at the National Theatre Studio from 2013-14. In 2014, she received a Windham Campbell Prize for Literature in the drama category. Sue Townsend (2 April 1946 - 10 April 2014) was an English novelist and playwright, best known as the author of the Adrian Mole books.

Reviews

'A terrific achievement and crucial, frightening viewing, for both sexes'

* Evening Standard *



Book Information
ISBN 9781848421172
Format Paperback
Page Count 128
Imprint Nick Hern Books
Publisher Nick Hern Books
Weight(grams) 140g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 9mm