This article is about the theatre practitioner Simon Stephens. Simon Stephens is a prolific English playwright whose work is widely performed in his native country, Europe and in the United States. In addition to his writing, Stephens has taught his craft at a number of schools and theatre companies—most famously heading up the Young Writers’ Programme at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Given the importance of Simon Stephens’ voice in the contemporary theatre landscape, he remains an invaluable artist to know and follow as his career continues to progress.

If you are like me and you feel the draw of the stage more than the draw of the screen, knowing about contemporary playwrights can provide huge benefits. Outside of enriching your artist’s soul with new drama, characters and storylines, being across the current major players in theatre can also help you enrich your career as an actor. Think about the audition process: does the panel really want to hear Biff whine to his father one more time in that same excerpt from Salesman? Or do they want to experience something totally new? Having been a part of many auditions (on both sides of the panel), I know which I prefer to see. Exhibiting knowledge of current trends, current authors and recently acclaimed productions demonstrates a passion for the craft that reaches beyond the plays you were asked to read in high school. And passion recognises passion. 

An Overview of Simon Stephens

Simon Stephens is a prolific playwright who has continued the tradition of theatre into the 21st Century with a run of gritty tragedies. Working in the UK and Europe, Stephens has been a significant champion of new work, and has written over 20 works—including adaptations of novels and classics—since his first play Bluebird premiered at the Royal Court in 1998. His work is a mainstay of modern British theatre, with his plays being staged at iconic venues in the UK such as the National Theatre, The Royal Court, The Bush, the Young Vic and the Lyric Hammersmith. His most critically acclaimed play, an adaptation of Mark Haddon’s A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won the best new play category at the Olivier Awards in 2013 and Tony Awards in 2015. Other accolades include Olivier Award for best new play for On the Shore of the Wide World in 2006 and the Theatre Heute Award for Motortown in 2007, Pornography in 2008 and Wastewater in 2011. 

As well as his impressive catalogue of works, Stephens’s influence as a 21st Century playwright is amplified by his enthusiastic collaborations with directors. It is through these collaborations, (notably with Sebastian Nubling, Sean Holmes and Ivo Van Hove) that his writing has evolved and shifted constantly throughout his career. His works range from dirty realism like Motortown and Herons, to poetic fragmentation like Pornography, to storytelling like Seawall and even dream-like (or more appropriately nightmare-like) neo-noir in Three Kingdoms. This fluidity of style and genre is borne from a forward-looking attitude towards theatre and an appetite for experimentation and theatrical exploration. It would be fair to suggest that part of his continued acclaim and relevance comes from his work ethic: the man averages a professional production per year since Bluebird in 1998. Impressive. Exhausting.

Simon Stephens For Actors

You may be wondering: “Michael, this is great, but I am just an actor. I don’t need a history lesson. What do I really need to know if I was to work with his texts?” Don’t worry, we are getting to that. (As I am a lecturer in theatre, I can’t help but give the full picture.) Even though his work is largely a continuation of realism—a style we are all aware of and have tools for (targeting, given circumstances, objectives, inner monologue etc etc.)—there are some aspects of his work you should be aware of so you can make the best choices possible when tackling monologues or scenes from his catalogue. 

Tragedy and Comedy: Light and Dark. 

Stephens is not afraid of blending form and genre. Although his works lean largely toward tragedy (like most of his British contemporaries), he is not afraid to sprinkle lightness through his plays as well as some laughs. More often than not, this is not through a set-up/punchline style of writing, but through exploring the absurd reality of the situation he has placed his characters in. The awkwardness of strange bedfellows, the good natured ribbing by teenagers, the joys of unexpected success or the head-butting of characters with conflicting world views can create some hilarious moments. Don’t be fooled, all these situations can also lead to painful tension, harrowing moments and an air of danger, but it is the unpredictable nature of how the story unfolds which makes his work so compelling.

What is most important for the actor to remember is to play the objective and the moment in front of you right now. ‘End gaming’—a term used to describe acting for the outcome of the story—flattens the story and eliminates the beautiful nuance littered throughout his work. Playing the story how you know it will end robs us the audience of the journey. So don’t worry about playing it like a tragedy or playing it like a comedy: play it for real and allow the audience to decide. 

Characters: Best and Worst.

I love Stephens’ characters because they are extremely difficult to like. Its not because they do not have admirable qualities, they often have many, but because he makes sure to show us their worst traits as well. He then leaves it up to us, the audience, to decide how they should be judged. In Birdland, we can’t help but fall in love with the brutally honest yet charismatic rock star. But then he is tricked into sleeping with a 14 year old. Now, he didn’t know how old she was, but we see him make the choice not to check. The ex-soldier in Motortown could be a sufferer of PTSD and military bullying culture, but when he tortures and kills someone, are we still willing to call him a victim?

I have coined the term ‘victim as perpetrator’ to explain this character dynamic in his works. Everybody is a victim. Everybody is a perpetrator. Being a victim might explain certain behaviour, but does it excuse it when the line is crossed? These are the questions Stephens is forcing us to wrestle with. Sometimes people do the right thing, sometimes they don’t. What’s most important for the actor is to make sure you do not judge your characters. Do not think of their actions in hindsight. Every single one of them is doing what they think is the right thing in any given moment.

By showing the best and worst of everybody he is creating a world of people, not archetypes. Flawed, helpless, people trying to get through life as best they can. Do not make villains, do not make heroes. These are not Greek myths, these are studies of modern life, and by allowing your characters to be just people, warts and all, you are allowing the audience to hold a mirror to themselves. The world as it is, not as it should be. This can be challenging because, as actors, we like to be liked. So when acting in Stephens’ works, be prepared to be unlikeable in your character but respected for your honesty.

And a Note on Motivation…

My least favourite thing for an actor to say is: “My character wouldn’t do that”. Who says? You? We do things that surprise ourselves all the time when put into new situations and we are ourselves! So don’t think for a second you can sum up these characters in a sentence or predict their behaviour. Simon Stephens makes sure to put his characters into situations they are not used to. Situations they have never come up against before. Situations where they must act out of character. As a result, they don’t know how they are going to act. Do not lock your character down into simple statements: “My character is this or that”. No. Your character is just responding and reacting to these circumstances they have never encountered. Every option is on the table, and the only situation you must deal with is the one right in front of you at any given moment.

Secrets and Lies.

Every protagonist I have seen in a Simon Stephens play has a secret. Sometimes it comes out. Sometimes it doesn’t. If it does come out, it usually comes out at the end of the play, and knowing the secret changes our perspective of the events we have just watched. They serve a purpose for story, but it’s also important to know as the actor playing the character. 

Stephens’ characters often lie to keep their secrets. This means you can not believe everything they say. You will also get conflicting truths—one character will believe what their truth is, which might contradict what another character believes is the truth. This does not necessarily mean they are lying, it just means they believe something different to be true. Sound muddy and confusing? Well that’s life, and that’s what he is trying to write! 

What the objective truth can take some investigating and, in the end, you yourself must make the choices about truth in the play. You must decide what that secret is. Stephens writes in a way that demands interpretation from directors, actors and audience. He understands there is a deep well of subconscious and conscious behaviour that we as people have no control over and often have no awareness of. You will not necessarily find a straight, objective answer handed to you in the text, but you must decide on your characters truth and what your characters secret is. Once you have them, that will provide depth, nuance and allow your characters world view to be fully informed and enriched. 

Who am I talking to, and what do I feel about them? 

Stephens is all about text. Words. What people say and how they react. He often asks directors to have no set, or abstraction. He believes the actors can hold the world in between them, we don’t need to be spoon-fed through a naturalistic set. This is exciting, but it also means, as actors, we must invest fully into the relationship we have with all the characters on stage, because often our action/reaction/interaction is the only thing that is actually on stage. 

He can often drop us in mid-conversation with very little information. He is not one for page long stage directions, so we must again make choices to decide what the relationship is between people. For the actor, this means making choices about what our character thinks about the other characters on stage. What is between them? What is the power dynamic? Are we familiar? How much ‘fronting’ is going on? Are we being genuine or not? Are we trying to impress them, or couldn’t we care less? Really we can boil it down to one question: What do we want from them? Keep thinking about this question and the world will exist between you. 

Check out our article on script analysis for more information on extracting a writer’s hidden meaning.

Find Your Ten.

I use this phrase a lot when directing, and it boils down to this: pick your moments. We cannot stay at a ‘level ten’ of intensity for too long, and we should only get there once in a scene otherwise it becomes boring (not matter how ‘emotional’ you think it is). Even in extreme moments, we need to find range, nuance and multiple tactics to achieving our objective. A lot of Stephens work has extended moments of high tension. Seawall is a 35 minute monologue about a man losing his child. Three Kingdoms has a scene where they are trying to decapitate a corpse with a hacksaw and it’s harder than they think it will be. These extended moments have the potential to be extraordinarily powerful, but can be drowned out if we sit in extremity for too long. We need to make sure we structure these moments carefully and don’t wash them out through trying to make 

Remember, emotion is a by-product, not a goal. Units, beats, actioning and objectives are your best friend in these moments. Do not get swept away by trying to ‘get there’ emotionally. Instead, lean on your units/beats and your objective, and trust the emotion will come. 

In Summary

Simon Stephens’ work is written in a way to challenge not just the audience, but the director and actors working on it. He asks everybody to make choices about the characters without boxing them in to a trope or archetype. It requires work, and the answers are not easy to find. The thing to remember is that doing such work will always make you a better actor and collaborator. You’ll improve your craft ten-fold if you immerse yourself in Stephens’ incredible body of work—and once you’re all caught up, you can follow along with him in his next exploit, lock-step in the same creative journey. 

The post Why You Should Know Simon Stephens appeared first on StageMilk.

Gogol’s largest bodies of work are his short stories, which were heavily influenced by his Ukranian heritage. When emerging on the literary scene with his collection Evenings On A Farm Near Dikanka in 1831, Gogol was praised as a uniquely Ukranian voice who examined the differences between Ukranian and Russian culture and life. Throughout the early years of his career, Gogol also flirted with a profession as a historian; he was thwarted, despite his enthusiasm for Ukranian history, by a lack of any formal qualifications in the academic field. With The Government Inspector (1836) Gogol first realised his full potential as an author and playwright. This influential piece of satire about provincial corruption was seen as politically dangerous theatre; ironically, it was championed into writing and production by Tsar Nicholas I. It is perhaps his best known work, and lays the foundation for the more politically-minded explorations of Russian society that would mark his later output.

The final chapters of Gogol’s life were concerned with travel, living abroad and enjoying the artistic output of foreign countries such as Italy, Germany and Switzerland. However, this period was also marked by tragedy. Gogol was severely affected by the death of his hero Pushkin, and a decline in his health saw him turn to religion with a frightening fervour. The publication of his political satire Dead Souls in 1842 was heralded as a masterpiece—and many were excited to hear that it was intended to be the first work in a loose re-imagining of Dante’s Divine Trilogy. However, plagued by illness and religious remorse, he destroyed the draft of the second part in 1852 and died in pain days later.

Forty-two years of age is hardly enough for a writer who contributed so much to so many different artistic forms. But Gogol’s influence can still be felt in works of political satire and existentialism; his love of the grotesque and surreal has permeated not only the stories we tell, but the new media that developed after his death (cinema, in particular, runs with many of Gogol’s foundational ideas around fusing an everyday object or interaction with new meaning by the lens through which it is seen). His contribution to theatre may be seen as sparse compared to others in the Western literary canon, but it is significant. Nikolai Gogol is worth reading and consideration by any serious artist. 

Notable Works:

The Government Inspector (1836)

Widely regarded as one of the best satires ever written—if not plays in general. Fun-loving, fast-living civil servant Khlestakov is mistaken for a government inspector by a small Russian town’s corrupt mayor. When Khlestakov realises their mistake, he vows to squeeze them dry of every cent they have. The ‘mistaken identity’ aspect of the play is beautifully escalated, and the corruption and greed of the townsfolk make them excellent targets for Khlestakov’s shenanigans. At the climax of the play, after the civil servant has disappeared with everything the town had, the mayor famously turns to the audience in a fourth-wall break and yells “What are you laughing about? You’re laughing about yourselves!” It is the perfect, final, cynical cherry on top of this masterful piece of allegory.

The Nose (1836) [short story]

The Nose is one of Gogol’s better known short stories, and proof that his roots of surrealism and social commentary long ran through his life’s work. Ivan Yakovlevich, a government working in St. Petersburg, wakes one morning to find his nose has left his face. He travels through the city to find it—making police reports and consulting doctors—who all ridicule his situation. When he does finally track his nose down, it refuses to return: it prefers its new life of freedom all the more than living on Ivan’s face. Gogol explores themes of class and the perils of a superficial existence, infused with his trademark black humour. Although it is a short story, The Nose is regularly adapted as a stage work due to its continued relevance and engaging visual imagery.

Marriage (1842)

An indecisive man named Podkolyosin hires a matchmaker to find him a wife (such was custom in Russia at the time). When his friend Kochkaryov hears of his plans, he commits himself to helping Podkolyosin marry—knowing his friend’s tendency to stall and second-guess could cost him his happiness. Sure enough, Podkolyosin does this at the end of the play: despite Kochkaryov’s best efforts, the groom-to-be leaps out of the window of the church and escapes. This is a play that, on surface, feels more like a romantic comedy than anything else. However, the themes beneath seem to suggest a dangerous incompetence in middle class Russian society that will lead to its own inevitable destruction. In many ways, Gogol was more correct than he might have guessed.

The Overcoat (1842) [short story]

Gogol’s most famous work. A government worker in St. Petersburg is constantly mocked for his worn and shabby overcoat; he works hard to replace it, but the new overcoat is promptly stolen by ruffians. The worker complains to the local general, who mocks and provokes him. Distraught and defeated, he catches a fever and dies. However, the story then crosses into a supernatural realm: the general, feeling bad about his part in the man’s death, is confronted by the worker’s ghost—who promptly steals the general’s overcoat. Finally, another ghost—that of one of the ruffians—is seen on the streets elsewhere in the city. It appears that the worker’s misfortunes have followed him into death as well. The Overcoat is a brilliant skewering of classism and bureaucracy; much like The Nose, it has enjoyed countless adaptations to stage and screen since its inception.

Dead Souls (1842) [novel]

Gogol’s last major work is a bittersweet read: it promises so much from the writer, whose life would end a decade later in misery. The novel is concerned with the exploits of a gentleman named Chichikov, who arrives in a small town to acquire “dead souls”. These dead souls actually refer to dead peasants and serfs managed by landowners who, as “souls”, would need to pay tax and be legally registered. The protagonist plans to buy the ‘dead’ ones from their current ‘owners’, have them legally registered to him and take out a fraudulent loan against the (on paper) impressive workforce. Chichikov is revealed to be a charlatan and disappears with the money; he arrives in another part of Russia and resumes his duties, until he is eventually arrested and pardoned due to the colourful characters he meets. Gogol’s novel was episodic—which was criticised by some upon its release—but now understood to be an homage to epic poems such as Dante’s Divine Comedy and Homer’s Odyssey.

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Goldoni’s writing style is informed by that of Moliere, mixed with his own understanding and cultural experience of Commedia dell’arte. While Goldoni respected this influential cultural form, he also wished to advance Italian comedy away from slapstick and improvisation; his work therefore became focused on more real human interaction (mixed with his own signature wit). This shift can also be seen in his contribution to opera, as he is often credited with helping create the “opera buffa” form (that similarly rejects grand themes and distant settings for relatable, localised characters and settings).

While Goldoni’s career was celebrated in his home country, he eventually abandoned Italy for France in 1761—purportedly fed up with the shabby state of his native country’s theatre scene and taste of the general public. In France, his work became freer in extolling an anti-religious sentiment as the influence of the Catholic church there was greatly diminished. His later life enjoyed some turbulence after the French Revolution—his popularity with the recently beheaded King Louis XVI were known to all. And while he died in poverty, the Convention (newly formed French Government) voted to posthumously reinstate his pension and award it to his widow.

Carlo Goldoni is beloved by those who know his work, and an influential figure in theatre, opera and comedy regardless. In 2011/2012, The Servant Of Two Masters was adapted as West End and Broadway smash hit One Man, Two Guvnors, proving that his humanist sentiment and sharp wit still draw audiences and admirers. He remains one of the best playwrights you’ve never heard of.

Notable Works:

Griselda (1735)

Goldoni wrote the libretto for this opera that depicts a story from Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron. While it is seldom performed by contemporary opera companies, it is notable for the two celebrated artists who brought it to life—Goldoni and Antonio Vivaldi of “Four Seasons” fame—and the turbulent relationship they enjoyed during the opera’s writing and production. A curio for Goldoni enthusiasts and obscure opera fans.

The Servant Of Two Masters (1745)

This comedy is how many people know Goldoni best; many may even know the work, if not the author himself. Conniving, food-obsessed manservant Truffaldino takes on two masters in hope of gaining an extra meal. The confusion he endures when serving them both and keeping their worlds separate makes for some terrific farce. Characters and situations are taken from commedia dell’arte forms, and early drafts allowed large chunks of the piece to be improvised. However, Goldoni later replaced these sections with written material, illustrating his development beyond traditional Italian dramatic conventions. Its revival as the adaptation One Man, Two Guvnors in 2011/2012 is a perfect example of its continuing appeal.

The Comical Theatre (1750 – 1751)

The Comical Theatre is a fascinating, ahead-of-its-time example of metatheatrics. It unfolds as a play-within-a-play, with the characters being the actors in the production, and examines the state of comedy and theatre in Venice at the time of its writing. 

Women’s Gossip (1750 – 1751)

As another example of Goldoni’s willingness to explore new forms in comedy, Women’s Gossip is best described as a sitcom: women sit around and gossip at the local piazza, sharing stories of their lives and those around them. When a meddlesome man overhears, a comedy of errors ensues.

The Fake Innocent (1769)

Much like the other opera on this list, The Fake Innocent, produced as much drama off the stage as on it. Goldoni provided the original libretto for this opera buffa, which was adapted by Viennese court poet Marco Coltellini and put to music by a twelve-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart’s father Leopold insisted his son write the opera to revitalise his career, and was later accused of writing much of the young boy’s score himself. The politics surrounding the work, and jealousy of the younger Mozart’s genius, are thought to have tainted the legacy of an otherwise enjoyable opera.

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We have listed some of the best plays by each author below their names, so make sure you have read of some of these or go along to see Australian plays when they are on!

Our Top Picks

• Andrew Bovell
  1

  Speaking in Tongues, When the Rain Stops Falling

• Joanna Murray-Smith
  2

  Bombshells, Rockabye, Honour

• Nick Enright
  3

  Blackrock, Daylight Saving

• Dorothy Hewett
  4

  The Chapel Perilous, This Old Man Comes Rolling Home

• Louis Nowra
  5

  Cosi, Radiance, The Golden Age

• Patricia Cornelius
  6

  The Call, Love, Do Not Go Gentle 

• Patrick White
  7

  Ham Funeral, The Season at Sarsaparilla 

• Michael Gow
  8

  Away, Europe, The Kid

• David Williamson
  9

  The Club, Don’s Party, The Removalists

• Peter Kenna
  10

  A Hard God, The Slaughter Of St. Teresa’s Day

• Leah Purcell
  11

  The Drover’s Wife, Box the Pony

• Nakkiah Lui
  12

  Kill the Messenger, Blackie Blackie Brown

• Jack Davis
  13

  No Sugar, The Dreamers

• Kate Mulvany
  14

  The Seed, The Harp in the South

• Declan Greene
  15

  Moth, Pompeii, L.A. 

• Hilary Bell
  16

  Wolf Lullaby, Fortune

• Ray Lawler
  17

  Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

• Wesley Enoch
  18

  The 7 Stages of Grieving, Black Medea

• Glace Chase
  19

  Triple X

• Stephen Sewell
  20

  The Blind Giant is Dancing

• Tommy Murphy
  21

  Holding the Man, Strangers in Between, 

• Angela Betzein
  22

  The Hanging, Hoods 

• Susan Miller
  23

  Driving into Walls, Medea 

• Kendall Feaver
  24

  The Almighty Sometimes

• Angus Cerini
  25

  The Bleeding Tree, Wretch

Australian Plays Transform

If you’re interested to learn more about Australian playwrights, or if you’re looking for where you can find Australian plays to read, visit Australian Plays Transform. This is the new home of Australian Playwriting, and is the result of a consolidation of the two organisations Playwrighting Australia, and Australian Plays.

Australian Theatre for Young People

If you’re looking for fresh, emerging, and up and coming playwrights, Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) is where you want to go. Pound for pound, ATYP produces the most work of new Australian playwrights of any company in the country! This is the place to go for work by Australian writers, for young Australian audiences.

Griffin Theatre Company

If Australian writing is something you want to see more when you go to the theatre, then Griffin Theatre Company should definitely be on your radar. Griffin is Australia’s leading new writing theatre, dedicated to bringing the best Australian stories to the stage.

Griffin Theatre Company hosted this forum in 2012 to discuss Australian Playwrighting:

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“Fuck you, that’s my name.”

A celebrated and, at times, a controversial figure, Mamet’s vast body of work is worth careful consideration and study by any serious performer.

“The world is lies.” (Mamet On Stage)

Mamet’s output in theatre began in the early seventies, before hitting its stride over 1975-1977 with productions of American Buffalo, The Duck Variations and Sexual Perversity In Chicago. Themes around masculinity, male bonding and dysfunctional relationships (both romantic and platonic) emerged and would continue to be explored in his work for the rest of his career.

The eighties saw the premiere of dark fable Edmond (1982), as well as his best-known work, Glengarry Glen Ross which received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1984. Also in this decade was the premiere of movie-business satire Speed-The-Plow (1988), the themes of which would later be revisited in his films Wag the Dog (1997) and State And Main (2000).

Oleanna (1992), a two-hander about a college professor accused of sexual misconduct, remains a popular and polemic work as well as a common introduction to Mamet’s theatre writing; his 1999 play Boston Marriage is a refreshing departure from much of his male-heavy/-only casts and sports excellent comic dialogue and compelling queer characters.

He has continued to produce stage work in the 2000s-2010s, although there are notable periods where his work in Hollywood has seemingly taken a higher priority. His most recent play, Bitter Wheat (2019) was panned by the Guardian as a “monstrous misfire” in its attempt to speak to the lay of post-Weinstein Hollywood.

Mamet’s writing style is highly distinctive—it is sometimes referred to as “Mamet speak”—and his dialogue can be recognised by the use of pauses, repetitions and quotation marks to modify semantics. You can expect profanity, jargon, minimal exposition and for characters to interrupt and question one another at lightning pace.

Five Essential David Mamet Plays:

• American Buffalo (1975)
• Glengarry Glen Ross (1984)
• Oleanna (1992)
• Speed-The-Plow (1988)
• Edmond (1982)

“Bambi vs. Godzilla” (Mamet On Film)

Mamet’s work in film began in the eighties with a one-two punch of The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) and The Verdict (1982), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. 1987 saw the release of Mamet-written The Untouchables, as well as his directorial debut House of Games starring then-wife Lindsay Crouse and many of his former theatre collaborators.

Mamet’s propensity for quick, hard-boiled dialogue seemed to fit well with cinema; the following decades saw him write a number of projects including crime thriller Homicide (1991), the obscure but brilliant Chekov adaptation Vanya on 42nd Street (1994), Wag the Dog (1997), Ronin (1998) and Hannibal (2001). In this time, he returned to the con artistry of House of Games with two more directorial efforts: The Spanish Prisoner (1997) and his greatest commercial success Heist (2001).

Of his later film career—which slowed as his focus returned to theatre, literary and journalistic pursuits—his made-for-television drama Phil Spector (2013) is worth mentioning and tracking down. Based on the true story of the eponymous murderer/disgraced record producer, Mamet’s departure from fact to tell a semi-fictional version of events has been likened to David Fincher’s The Social Network (2010). It remains controversial in its seeming advocacy for the convicted felon.

Much like the style of writing that dominates his stage work, Mamet’s writing for film is something of a paradox: poetic and coarse, lofty and prosaic. The romanticised vulgarity of his words that sizzle on stage can almost feel stilted when filmed, but one only needs to watch the films he himself directed to realise that Mamet has little interest in capturing beauty or even reality. What sings in his screen work are the stories, the characters that populate them and the wonderful, terrible things they do to move his plots along.

Five Essential David Mamet Screenplays:

• The Spanish Prisoner (also directed) (1997)
• The Untouchables (1987)
• State And Main (also directed) (2000)
• Wag The Dog (1997)
• Phil Spector (2013)

“It’s only words … unless they’re true.” (Mamet On The Page)

Mamet’s contributions to prose writing contain some of his most valuable resources for actors, writers and directors. As a well-known figure in film and theatre, it is curious how little his non-fiction work is read by some aspiring film and theatre creatives; his work in this field is extensive and speaks to his experience as a respected acting teacher.

A Whore’s Profession: Notes and Essays by David Mamet is a collection of some of Mamet’s earlier writings (including On Directing Film) and is the perfect entry point to the writer’s prose. The collections of essays, recollections, dialogues and memories included are all extremely readable and provide anything from direct insight into Mamet’s artistic process to his thoughts on memory, nostalgia. human emotion and family.

More prescriptive for artists are books such as Theatre (2010), On Directing Film (1991) and Three Uses of the Knife (1998). Each volume provides invaluable insight into acting, theatre, directing and storytelling without sacrificing the distinct voice that makes his words so inviting. Essays on story are taught in parables about baseball; it feels more like Mamet is holding court from the driver’s seat of a New York cab than standing behind a lectern. But not a single sentence suggests that Mamet is holding anything back about his work: his writing feels like a demystification of the process of making theatre. Honesty and frankness abound so much that his work can come across as almost abrasive. But it also makes for engaging, fascinating reading.

Five Essential David Mamet Books:

• A Whore’s Profession: Notes and Essays by David Mamet (1994)
• Theatre (2010)
• Three Uses of the Knife (1998)
• Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose and Practice of the Movie Business (2007)
• On Directing Film (1991)

“A man is his job…”

David Mamet is, and remains a controversial public figure. The contentious nature of his plays have rendered many of them divisive with audiences, and some of their content and themes have not aged favourably. More troubling, still, is Mamet’s steady shift to the right in American politics: his come-to-Jesus conservative epiphany was announced in a 2008 Village Voice essay “Why I Am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead Liberal”, and his support for 45th U.S. President Donald Trump was vocal. Mamet remains an outspoken critic of such topics as political correctness, progressivism and gun control laws.

While the lasting impact of conservatism on his legacy remains to be seen, David Mamet is nonetheless an important and influential figure in contemporary American film and theatre. His considerable output of work, across all media, is well worth the time of anybody looking to enrich the very foundations of their artmaking.

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John Osborne was a British playwright, screenwriter and actor, renowned for catalysing an era of “angry young man” theatre. He embodied this term both in his work which was scathing of established social and political norms, but also in his relationships with his multiple wives and children, of which there are extensive accounts of his abusive behaviour. His 1956 play Look Back in Anger is a pivotal work in the history of English theatre.

Born in 1929 to an advertising copywriter and a cockney barmaid, Osborne’s family moved from London to a small suburb north of Surrey in search of a better life. His father died when he was 12, leaving him money to undertake private education. After two years at the school he was expelled after striking the headmaster, who had struck him for listening to a banned broadcast by Frank Sinatra. After school he moved back home with his mother, whom he is said to have loathed, and briefly worked in trade journalism. Through this work he encountered a touring theatre troupe and later became a stage manager and actor with the group. He tried his hand at playwriting and experienced early success, with his first play that he co-wrote with Stella Linden who directed it at the Theatre Royal in 1950.

Osborne’s most successful play, Look Back in Anger, was written over 17 days and is largely autobiographical. It is said to be written about his first marriage with Pamela Lane, their arguments and his experience of her having an affair. Mary Ure acted in the play’s debut season, and she later married Osborne, with Osborne divorcing Lane to do so. The phrase “angry young man” originated from criticism by a press officer at the theatre who was concerned the play would be impossible to market. While the play did initially receive criticism from a number of critics, reception ultimately became overwhelmingly positive and resulted in Osborne winning the Evening Standard Drama Award for most promising playwright of 1956.

Later, in 1961 Osborne won a Tony award for his play Luther, an Oscar for his 1963 screenplay adaption of Tom Jones, and Evening Standard Best Play of the Year Awards for A Patriot for Me and The Hotel in Amsterdam in 1968.

Osborne developed health issues with his liver later in his life, developing diabetes. When he was 65 he died from health complications related to diabetes in Shropshire, England.

Top 5 John Osborne Plays

If you are going to read one play from John Osborne, without a doubt it has to be Look Back in Anger. This is one of the best plays ever written, and is a must-read for all actors.

1. Look Back in Anger (1956)
2. The Entertainer (1957)
3. Luther (1961)
4. A Patriot for Me (1965)
5. The Hotel in Amsterdam (1968)

Quotes by John Osborne

“Don’t be afraid of being emotional. You won’t die of it.”

“It is not true that drink changes a man’s character. It may reveal it more clearly.”

“You see I learnt at an early age what it was to be angry – angry and helpless. And I can never forget it. I knew more about – love, betrayal and death when I was ten years old than you will probably ever know in your life.”

“Writers don’t need love; all they require is money.”

“There’s no such thing as failure – just waiting for success.”

“Let’s pretend that we’re human beings and that we’re actually alive.”

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Martyna Majok is a Polish-American playwright who has consistently written excellent work even at this early stage in her career. She won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for her play Cost of Living, amongst a gamut of other awards and scholarships over the years. Majok is known for writing work that highlights underrepresented voices, including those of immigrants, women, and people with disability.

Born in Bytom, Poland, in 1985, Majok immigrated to America as a toddler with her Mother. She grew up in New Jersey and loved writing from a young age. She was encouraged by a schoolteacher to write a theatre play for a competition and won, but only went to the theatre for the first time as a teenager. She saw the musical Cabaret directed by Sam Mendes, and she has spoken about how this show captivated her and inspired her to go into theatre.

After trying acting classes and being frustrated by having to play roles she didn’t identify with, and receiving a degree from the University of Chicago in English Literature, Majok applied to study Playwriting at Yale. Upon graduation, her early works revealed themes of social and economic struggle. She went on to study Playwriting further at Juilliard. Ongoing characterisation of her work shows her flair for drawing on her personal experience of the world and portrays life with specificity and clarity.

Top Five Plays by Martyna Majok

1. Cost of Living
2. Ironbound
3. Queens
4. Sanctuary City
5. John, who’s here from Cambridge

Martyna Majok Quotes

“That’s always the hope: connecting to the world, feeling fuller in one’s life, seeing and being seen.”

“I don’t like writing. I just find it so incredibly difficult.”

“I approach these stories, these plays, from the human and the personal. The characters are often loose composites of people I know, combinations of aspects of people I grew up with.”

“Once a playwright writes it, it’s kind of law, and so I learned in the process how powerful that is, you know, and how in charge you are about what the narrative is.”

“If we don’t support the voices that come from low incomes, we’re essentially preparing ourselves to have a very limited amount of stories available to us in theater.”

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The White Devil (c.1611)

According to John Webster himself, this plays first performance was a catastrophic failure. However that doesn’t diminish the literary mastery that Webster weaves in this play and it’s counterpart.

Centring around the love affair of Vitoria Corombona and The Duke of Brachiano, this play is packed to the rafters with political intrigue, adulterous desire, and bloody revenge. 

The White Devil is considered one of the finest tragedies of the Jacobean Era.

The Duchess of Malfi (c.1612)

The companion piece to The White Devil, The Duchess of Malfi is a play you may have heard of before. The play is centered around the court of Malfi, Italy and the recently widowed Duchess, who falls in love with Antonio, a lowly steward.

The play may start as a love story, when the Duchess marries beneath her class, but it makes a hard left turn to tragedy-ville as her two brothers undertake their revenge, destroying themselves in the process.

Appius and Virginia (c.1608-1634)

The third and probably least famous of Websters plays Appius and Virginia was likely a collaboration with Thomas Heywood. The play is set in ancient Rome, in the time of the Decemvirate, from 451 to 449 BCE. Remind you of anyone? Appius and Virginia is a tale of unrequited lust between the two titular characters. Appius lusts after Virginia but she would rather die than be with him, and thus she does, by her fathers hands in an honour killing. Her father, having slain his own daughter leads a rebellion and ultimately has the final word with Appius opting to commit suicide for his crimes. But this will never bring back his daughter or right the wrongs done to her.

The Devils Law Case (c.1617)

A tragicomedy surrounding the love story of Jolenta, and Contarino, who despite their love for each other are thwarted by Jolentas brother, who wishes for her to marry someone else. But Jolenta and Contarino have a plan. This play is quite interesting in that it has no central clown figure, however the comic relief is provided by a series of minor characters throughout. This play saw John Webster “reverse his anarchic position” according to critics.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Now unfortunately, many of John Webster’s plays were lost or never even printed. Who knows why. But that means we have no idea what else we could have had. These are the plays we know of.

• Caesars Fall
• Christmas Comes but Once a Year

He also collaborated on many works that did survive the test and sands of time such as.

• Westward Ho
• Northward Ho
• The Malcontent
• Anything For a Quiet Life
• A Cure For a Cuckold
• Keep the Widow Waking
• The Fair Maid of the Inn

Conclusion

While there isn’t much we know of John Webster or his works, what we have is more than enough. His sometimes forgotten works are truly remarkable and it goes without saying that he certainly earned his seat at the big kid table, long with Shakespeare, Marlow, Behn, Johnson and their compatriots.

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David Mamet is an American playwright, screenwriter, dramatist, director and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed-the-Plow. He is one of the co-founders of the Atlantic Theater Company and the Atlantic Theater School for actors. The company was inspired by the historical examples of the Group Theatre and Stanislavski.

Born in 1947 in Chicago, Mamet’s parents worked as a teacher and a labor attorney. He is Jewish and his paternal grandparents were Polish Jews. Growing up, Mamet worked a range of jobs including as a busboy, actor, editor for Oui magazine and as a cab driver. Mamet was educated at the Francis W Parker School, Goddard College in Vermont and studied drama at New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse. In 1972 he returned to Chicago and established the St Nicholas Theatre Company, being the writer in residence for four years.

The first of his plays to achieve widespread recognition was Sexual Perversity in Chicago and American Buffalo in the 70s. Al Pacino later performed American Buffalo on Broadway and London’s West End and won an Award Obie. Mamet later achieved great success as a screenwriter, adapting his play Glengarry Glen Ross into a screenplay and also writing screenplays for The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Verdict, which was nominated for an Oscar. Mamet both wrote and directed films such as House of Games, Homicide and The Spanish Prisoner. In 1987 he taught a series of classes about directing for film at Columbia University Film School which were printed in book form in ‘On Directing Film’.

Mamet is a Reform Jew and strongly pro Israel. He has recently expressed support for Trump and has received criticism for sexist attitudes and the way he has engaged with gender issues in his work.

Top Five David Mamet Plays

1. Glengarry Glen Ross (1984)
2. Speed-the-Plow (1988)
3. Oleanna (1992)
4. Sexual Perversity in Chicago (1974)
5. American Buffalo (1975)

David Mamet Quotes

“Every scene should be able to answer three questions: ‘Who wants what from whom? What happens if they don’t get it? Why now?’”

“Like Lincoln said, ‘If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong,’ and I feel the same way about the leftist dismantling of the West. If that’s not wrong, then nothing is wrong.”

“It is the writer’s job to make the play interesting. It is the actor’s job to make the performance truthful.”

“Luck, if there is such a thing, is either going to favor everyone equally or going to exhibit a preference for the prepared.”

“When you come into the theatre, you have to be willing to say, ‘We’re all here to undergo a communion, to find out what the hell is going on in this world.’ If you’re not willing to say that, what you get is entertainment instead of art, and poor entertainment at that.”

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Kushner is an iconic American playwright best known for his Angels in America plays (part one and part two). His play “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, Part One: Millennium Approaches” debuted in 1993 and won innumerable awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. The following year, “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, Part Two: Perestroika” again won the Tony Award for Best Play. These plays are considered landmark plays for breaking stigma surrounding AIDS and giving voice to LGBTQ characters and stories.

Kushner was born in 1956 in Manhattan, United States, to two musicians of a Jewish family, and grew up in Louisiana. He studied a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Medieval Studies at Columbia University and then at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.

Following Kushner’s success in theatre, he had the opportunity to adapt Angels in America into an HBO mini series, writing the screenplay. He also co-wrote the screenplays for film, most significantly for the Spielberg film Munich and Mike Nichols’ film version of Angels in America. Kushner has also written a number of essays and novels.

Top Five Tony Kushner Plays

1. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, Part One: Millennium Approaches
2. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, Part Two: Perestroika
3. A Bright Room Called Day
4. Hydrotaphia
5. Homebody/Kabul

Quotes by Tony Kushner

“Everybody knows that to love someone puts you at risk of loss and that is very frightening. It forces us into a recognition of limitations: life is not eternal. The more you are aware how much you need other people, the more you realise you are composed of connections to others – what they give you and you them – and you become aware their loss is going to be calamitous. There’s also the possibility of their losing you. It’s terrifying to contemplate. There’s an understandable impulse to run.”

“Everything has been a struggle, I would not trust anything that wasn’t.”

“To be with a group of people loving something and drawing great value and meaning from something collectively is an experience that — well, it’s a cliché now how hard it is to find those experiences. We’ve eliminated moviegoing as part of that thing. We don’t see movies in groups anymore, and that is one of the most important functions of theater.”

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