Alexis Zegerman – författare

National Theatre Connections 2024 draws together ten new plays for young people to perform, from some of the UK's most exciting and popular playwrights. These are plays for a generation of theatre-makers who want to ask questions, challenge assertions and test the boundaries, and for those who love to invent and imagine a world of possibilities.The plays offer young performers an engaging and diverse range of material to perform, read or study. Touching on themes like trans-rights, the mental health crisis, colonial history, disability activism, and climate change, the collection provides topical, pressing subject matter for students to explore in their performance.This 2024 anthology represents the full set of ten plays offered by the National Theatre 2024 Festival (eight brand-new plays, and two returning favourites), as well as comprehensive workshop notes that give insights and inspiration for building characters, running rehearsals and staging a production.

'We are all slaves to our genes. Worse than that; we are all slaves to our parents' genes.'Dr Richard Myers, the great IVF innovator, is virtually a secular saint because of the thousands of babies he has created throughout his career. Now, his family have gathered at his home on Manhattan's Upper West Side to see him receive a lifetime achievement award.It's not long before this fractious group, more accustomed to debate than empathy, fall into dispute once again: over conflicting Thanksgiving memories, polarised opinions on investment banking, and how best to care for their ailing father. And crucially, who will inherit Richard's wealth and his prestigious science institution?A vivid and thrilling portrait of a brilliantly dysfunctional family, Alexis Zegerman's The Fever Syndrome was first produced at Hampstead Theatre, London, in March 2022, directed by Roxana Silbert.

'I want to connect. I want to be able to laugh and love, and be loved back... I want to be able to speak, without throwing up.'In a world full of words, how can Dana be herself when she can't speak? Dana has selective mutism, but that doesn't stem her vivid imagination. Because it's not just the noise you make that makes you who you are.Alexis Zegerman's play Shout is a funny, moving drama about anxiety, celebrating difference, and finding your voice. It wonders what exactly it takes to overcome anxiety and cope with mental health issues when you're a teenager.Written specifically for young people, the play formed part of the 2024 National Theatre Connections Festival and was premiered by youth theatres across the UK, including a performance at the National Theatre, London. It offers opportunities for a flexible cast of any size and mix of genders.