Playlist - diverse modern plays

The following list is the result of a question at the College’s Symposium on Intercultural Performance. Contributors were asked to suggest what they thought the most significant modern plays were. The list therefore has a sense of rewriting what the ‘canon’ of contemporary drama might be.

It is included here as an aid to study, and as a guide to audition material, particularly in speaking to the condition of life in modern Britain. Black writers are well represented, and there is a good selection of material from feminist and gay perspectives. Much of the material is from the 21st century.

The List
Agboluaje, Oladipo - Christ of Coldharbour Lane
Albee, Edward - The Goat, Who is Sylvia?
Bandele, Biyi - Brixton Stories
Barry, Sebastian - Steward of Christendom
Beaton, Alastair - Feelgood
Bennett, Alan - The History Boys
Bhim, Michael - Pure Gold
Boakye, Paul - Boy with Beer
Brogan, Linda - What’s in the Cat
Buchanan, Wayne - Under Their Influence
Burke, Simon - The Lodger
Cartwright, Jim - Bed
Churchill, Caryl - A Number
Churchill, Caryl - Serious Money
Churchill, Caryl - Top Girls
Crimp, Martin - Attempts On Her Life
Crimp, Martin - Cruel and Tender
Crimp, Martin - Face to the Wall
D’Aguiar, Fred - A Jamaican Airman Foresees His Death
Dorfman, Ariel - Death and the Maiden
Dove, Rita - Darker Face of the Earth
Dunbar, Andrea - Rita, Sue and Bob Too
Farmer, Jennifer - Compact Failure
Feehily, Stella - O Go My Man
Frayn, Michael - Democracy
Friel, Brian - Dancing at Lughnasa
Friel, Brian - Translations
Gems, Pam - Stanley
Gupta, Tanika - Gladiator Games
Gupta, Tanika - Inside Out
Hare, David - Murmuring Judges
Hare, David - Racing Demon
Hare, David - The Absence of War
Hare, David - The Permanent Way
Jones, Marie - Stones In His Pockets
Kane, Sarah - 4.48 Psychosis
Kane, Sarah - Blasted
Khan-Din, Ayub - East is East
Khan-Din, Ayub - Rafta Rafta …
Kureishi, Hanif - Borderline
Kushner, Tony - Angels in America
Kwe-Armah, Kwame - Elimina’s Kitchen
Kwe-Armah, Kwame - Fix-up
Kwe-Armah, Kwame - Statement of Regret
Lavery, Bryony - Frozen
Lenkiewicz, Rebecca - The Night Season
Lucie, Doug - Grace
Mamet, David - American Buffalo
Mamet, David - Glengarry Glen Ross
Marber, Patrick - Closer
McDonagh, Martin - Lonesome West
McDonagh, Martin - The Cripple of Inishmaan
McDonagh, Martin - The Beauty Queen of Leenane
McDonagh, Martin - The Pillowman
Osborne, John - The Entertainer
Parks, Suzan-Lori - Top Dog, Underdog
Penhall, Joe - Blue Orange
Pinnock, Winsome - Talking in Tongues
Pritchard, Rebecca - Yard Gal
Ravenhill, Mark - Shopping and Fucking
Reitz, Edgar (dir) - Heimat
Rhone, Trevor - Bellas Gate Boy
Samuels, Diane - Kindertransport
Soans, Robin - Talking to Terrorism
Stein, Lou (adapt) - The Possessed (Dostoevsky)
Stoppard, Tom - Arcadia
tucker green, debbie - Born Bad
tucker green, debbie - Trade
Walker, Che - Been So Long
Wertenbaker, Timberlake - Our Country’s Good
Williams, Roy - Fallout
Williams, Roy - Joe Guy
Williams, Roy - Pretty Sweet Thing
Williams, Roy - Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads
Wilson, August - Gem of the Ocean
Wilson, August - Jitney
Wilson, August - Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Wilson, August - King Hedley 2nd
Wilson, August - The Piano Lesson
Wolfe, George C. - The Coloured Museum
Wright, Nicholas - Vincent in Brixton